Naruto Genkyouien
by Daneel Rush
Summary: The nine-tailed demon fox. Its mighty tails can crumble mountains, cause tsunamis, and set things on fire. Lots of fire. It might have been better if she actually were an evil entity bent on destroying the world. Yes, she. AU pseudo-x-over.
1. Enter Sayuri

**Disclaimer: **so...I don't own Naruto. That's good. I do own any and all OCs used in this story. Which are a lot, now that I think about it.

I don't own School/Summer/Cross Days, either. That belongs to 0verflow. Mahoraba is a creation of Kojima Akira, but I guess it belongs to Square Enix.

* * *

_**Naruto Genkyouien**_

- ナルト- 幻脅威宴

**Chapter One: Enter Sayuri

* * *

**"Wha…where…where the heck am I?"

Uzumaki Naruto eyed the strange structure he found himself in with outright confusion. It was a bleak, old building; its original colors long replaced by the colors of age. The passage he was in extended beyond his range of sight, and lateral passages emerged from both sides their lengths consumed by darkness beyond belief. Strange ductwork riddled both walls and ceiling, and water (or at least he hoped it was water) flooded the whole place almost to his hips.

"Wha-what the…?" Naruto muttered to no one but himself. He needed to think; not an activity he enjoyed or practiced very often, but when it became necessary, he could put up with it. He would normally sit down, cross his legs and make a face, but if he did that he would probably drown, so he just made the face.

"I…last I remember, that bastard ero-sennin pushed me off the cliff –I'm so getting him for that!– and then I tried to grab that rock but I slipped………"

His face crunched up more and more with every word, until it reached critical point.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?" He yelled, once again, to no one but himself.

"Kyah!" A voice squeaked in the distance.

"Kyah?" Naruto repeated. That's when he felt it: what he would have felt since the very moment he made it there had he not been too busy complaining and asking questions to no one.

_This feeling…it's that chakra…_

The strange –yet undeniably powerful– chakra hit his senses like a bizarre amalgam of sound, scent and taste. Naruto had no problem following it as it grew stronger, until he reached the jail.

Naruto could do nothing but gape at the sheer size of the thing. The huge metal bars were as thick as Naruto himself, and tall beyond measure. A big paper strip with the kanji for "seal" stood in place of the lock. He also noticed the water level had dropped in this room, to the point that only his feet were submerged.

_This is…?_

"Sob…mugyuu…"

"Mugyuu?"

Naruto couldn't help but make a strange face at the…well, strange sounds coming from beyond the bars. Despite the whole "DON'T GET ANY CLOSER!" vibe the jail pretty much smashed on him with the subtlety of a sledgehammer, he couldn't stop himself from moving forward. The sounds, in all their weirdness, were sorta like someone crying. There was no way Naruto could ignore something like that.

"Um……anyone there?"

"Gyaaah!"

Naruto followed the sound and managed to catch a glimpse of a small figure creeping away from him, deeper into the darkness. He did not need advanced chakra-sensing skills to tell that the mysterious figure was the source of the strange chakra that seemed to flood the whole place.

"Um…hello?"

A gasp from within the darkness was his response. He was about to speak again when the other one beat him to it.

"Who……who is there?"

Naruto blinked. The voice was unmistakably a girl's. A very young girl's, if he had to guess. So, where was he and why was there a little girl in a bigass jail? He hoped he could get some answers soon…the fact that he was supposed to be falling to his death notwithstanding.

"Um…Uzumaki…Naruto…I guess."

"Ah!" The girl gasped. If Naruto had to describe it with a word, he would have gone with "excited."

The "pichi, pachi" sounds of feet splashing water reached his ears an instant before the lone inhabitant of the cell appeared before him. Had he been given some warning, he would have seriously considered running away screaming.

_No. Fucking. Way._

She was wearing nothing. Absolutely nothing. Unless you count ears, fur and nine tails as clothing, of course. The tips of her exaggeratedly long, plain hair made wriggly trails on the water as she moved. The hair was the color of honey, the same color as the…uh…fur…that covered her legs all the way up until mid-thigh.

Her eyes, her disturbingly big red eyes, stared at him as if she were in the presence of the truth of the universe. Her nine bushy, white-tipped, fluffy tails wagged up and down, right and left, with no apparent control from the girl, who seemed to be focusing the entirety of her brain capacity on memorizing his face.

As for Naruto, well…he was dealing with some internal issues.

_No way…no…just…that…no…no way…_

With his mind unable to form coherent thoughts, he relied on his mouth to get his out of this dead end. Being used to speaking before thinking, it wasn't that hard.

"Uh…" He grasped at straws. Very thin straws made of barbed wire. "…Kyuubi?"

"Jiiiiiiiiii…" The "girl" just **STARED**. She didn't blink. Naruto would say she wasn't even breathing.

"Umm…hello?" Naruto insisted, leaning his body forward to get closer to eye level with the "girl" beyond the bars.

"Gyaaah!" The "girl" was apparently startled by Naruto's sudden movement, releasing a deafening shriek as she fell on her naked rear.

A long and uncomfortable silence ensued, interrupted only by the annoying "plick" of water droplets falling from leaks in the ducts and the occasional sobs coming from the wide-eyed nine-tailed little girl.

"Umm…" Naruto tried again, not really sure of anything anymore. "…you okay?"

The girl sobbed one more time. Naruto easily recognized the way her body was shaking. He had seen it before, in babies and in girls of all ages. _Oh Kami she's going to cry._

"Eh, wai-"

"Waaaaaaa!" The girl wailed and rushed towards him, her arms extended with the obvious intention of wrapping Naruto in a hug…

Naruto had to wince and look away from the bright fireworks as the seal kicked in and did a fine job of electrocuting the little girl. Had he been in another state of mind, he might have realized it could not be real electricity, or he would be suffering in the same way, with all the water around.

_Okay, that's just plain pathetic. _Naruto found himself thinking at the sight of a twitching, smoking nine-tails. "Um…you okay?"

"Mugyuu…"

"Uh…what's that supposed to mean?"

"Mugyuuuuu…" The girl repeated as she struggled to get up. Naruto sweatdropped, but hurried to aid the little one, seemingly unaware that he had just walked THROUGH the seal and INTO the cell.

"Hey…hold onto me, I'll help ya."

The girl, though, stiffened at the contact of his hand on her left shoulder. After an uncomfortable moment of silence, her body relaxed and her left hand held on to the fabric of his orange pants. Naruto wrapped his right arm across her lower back and rested his hand on her right side, eliciting a tiny squeak from the girl, who simply allowed herself to be lifted. He quickly checked for any lasting wounds, but apparently the shock was not as nasty as it had looked. The girl was still sobbing and wiping off some tears with her left arm.

Naruto once again lowered his body to get closer to eye level. "Oi, are you o-"

He was stunned to silence by the girl burying her face on his belly. He was even more disturbed by her tails, which also moved to her front, as if attempting to hug him.

"O-Oi-"

"I was wonwy." Whatever that means.

"…"

Naruto said no more, allowing the girl…fox…girl…to cry in his clothes.

* * *

Once the girl ran out of tears, introductions were in order. Naruto had already noticed he was inside the cage. He just shrugged and went with the flow. He wasn't dead yet, after all. The water was very shallow inside the cell, so they just sat down.

It had taken a full five minutes to stop the girl from sitting on his lap. Not that he minded children sitting on his lap, the whole situation was already wrong enough.

She was right in front of him, her knees touching his footwear.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto."

"…Higashiyama Sayuri."

Naruto blinked. For some reason he couldn't fathom, that was the answer he least expected. "Uh…okay. Sayuri."

"Naruto-nii-chan."

A shudder went all the way from his scalp to his toes. From that point onwards, Naruto's inner dictionary defined "wrongness" as "**that **moment."

"Uh…sure. So, you are…" Naruto muttered, shooting an odd look at the tails, which seemed to move with a mind of their own.

"A _**Kiko**_ of the Higashiyama Clan." She suddenly was all smiles as her tails wiggled wildly. "I've got nine tails! They're pwetty!"

Wiggle, wiggle.

Naruto was known as a particularly loud individual. However, in that moment, and from that day, a definite change began to take place. For starters, he stored her self-denomination of "_**Kiko**_" for posterior inquiry…if he ever got the chance, that is.

"So you're the Kyuubi."

The foxgirl nodded effusively. She was obviously proud of her status. "Sayuri's a Kyuubi, yup!"

Naruto didn't notice the change of article. "You're the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox."

"Demon Fox?" Sayuri tilted. "Nope, that's not Sayuri's name. Sayuri is Sayuri!" She exclaimed happily, wagging her tails for good measure.

She suddenly dropped her fox ears as she went into her equivalent of "deep thinking."

"Sayuri's name's Sayuri so Sayuri is Sayuri. If Sayuri wasn't Sayuri then Sayuri wouldn't be Sayuri, but…uh…Sayuri…"

Naruto sweatdropped. _What's that supposed to mean?_

"What does that mean, onii-chan?"

"HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW?" Naruto screeched, eliciting a "Kyaaaah! Mugyuu…" from the tiny foxgirl.

It was impressive how Naruto managed to yell and shudder at the same time.

"Anyway! You're the nine-tails who attached Konoha when I was born!"

"Eeeh? Attack? Sayuri? Ko-no-ha? Nope, didn't do that."

Naruto made an odd face (an amalgam of gaping and glaring) before he exploded again. "But you attacked the village!"

Sayuri was quick to reflect his feelings. "Sayuri didn't! Sayuri's a good girl! Sayuri would never huht anyone!" She suddenly paused, her eyes turning upwards in remembrance. "Uhh…there was that time…and that one…but that wasn't mah fault!"

"Uhh…" Naruto clutched his head, trying to filter the useful information out of whatever the little foxgirl had just said. "…mou, whatever! You're the nine-tails who attacked Konoha!"

"I DIDN'T!" Sayuri cried back, the corners of her eyes holding tears. "Sayuri is a good girl!"

"Then what the hell were you doing when you ended up here?"

Sayuri's angry mode quickly switched back to 'pouty' mode. "Sayuri…Sayuri was just-" She stopped herself, covering her mouth with her tiny hands and doing her best to hide the blush forming on her cheeks. Her foxy ears were pointing straight up.

Naruto? Naruto just glared. The secret of Kyuubi's attack was just about to be revealed. Like hell he wouldn't get to hear it. His eyes glowered with burning intensity, breaking through the little girl's feeble mental defenses. Her ears gradually dropped, reflecting her embarrassment.

"Sayuri was just…" She repeated. Naruto's eyes narrowed a bit further. Sayuri whimpered and dropped both her face and her ears. If Naruto wasn't…well, he wasn't sure of exactly how he felt, but it wasn't a nice feeling. Anyway, if he wasn't feeling however he was feeling, he would have found the sight incredibly cute.

"Sayuri was just…" Sayuri said for the third time. The blush had extended throughout her skin, giving her rosy skin a deeper tone.

Unable to resist the pressure of Naruto's angry (?) stare anymore, the little girl exploded.

"I WAS JUST CHASING MAH TAILS!"

"…" A long pause. "…huh?"

Her reluctance utterly crushed; there was no stopping her tongue anymore.

"See, Sayuri was all 'waaai, waaai', 'cause Sayuri got the nine tails, you know?" Sayuri "explained," using wide arm gestures and changes in tone for emphasis. "Yeah, so Sayuri was all 'yaaaay', and Sayuri was checking her new powers and then Sayuri became weaaaaaaaally huge! Like thiiiiiii…" She extended her arms as far her the little limbs could. "…iiiiiiis big! Sayuri was like 'wow, so cool!' and then Sayuri saw her biiiiig tails and Sayuri was like 'tails!' and Sayuri went like 'wissshhh'…"

Naruto could only stare as the little foxgirl rolled on the damp floor, her tiny arms reaching for the fluffy tails, which also moved away from the eager limbs.

"…and Sayuri wolled all the way to the sea! Sayuri got all wet! Yuck-cky! So Sayuri was like, 'eww, salty!' and Sayuri stopped chasing her tails, and when they fell on the sea there was a big 'whoosh!'" She raised her arms over her head. "And this HUUUGE lot of water got me even MOAR wet. Yucky! Oh, and the water fell on this tiny human town thingy, and the town disappeared."

Naruto gaped.

"But it didn't really matter because Sayuri had just rolled over them."

Naruto gaped more.

"Anyway, so Sayuri was all wet and yucky, so Sayuri began to shake, you know, like this." Sayuri shook like a dog dealing with wet fur. This time not even angry (?) Naruto failed to notice the sheer cute of her actions. He was still angry (?), though. "But then evwything got blown away, like, 'fwoosh!" Sayuri suddenly threw her arms to the sides, gesturing that everything around her was blown away by the winds raised by her colossal form. "And the water was flying, and the trees were flying, and the houses were flying, and the pigs were flying…well I think they were pigs; they were weaaaally small, you know, 'cause Sayuri was big. So, well, pigs. And the pigs were flying, and the boats were flying, and the people were flying…"

Naruto shuddered.

"So Sayuri got weally scared, 'cause Sayuri didn't want to fly. Sayuri doesn't like tall places."

Naruto's face took its best "WTF!?" look. She had turned into a colossal fox of DOOM! That's, like, a +32 size bonus to Strength! And it was **her** who was making all those things fly!

"So Sayuri wan away. I wan weaaaaally far, 'cause Sayuri couldn't see the sea anymoar. But Sayuri was wunning so fast there was a big 'whoosh!' and I tripped and fell on something weally hard. It huht."

Naruto remained silent…or more like Sayuri continued before he could think of saying anything.

"So Sayuri looked awound and I was in, like, a town or something." Her face suddenly displayed great excitement. "And there was a big festival!"

"Festival?"

"Yup, festival! Because, you know, everyone was screaming weaaaally loud! And everyone was, like, wunning around, and there was lots of fire! The fire was kinda scawy, but my momma told me that humans make big fires duwing festivals, so it was okay. And fire is cool. Even if it's scawy."

Naruto groaned.

"So, Sayuri wanted to join the fun, so I made my trick!"

Naruto actually hesitated before asking. "Your trick?"

"Yup!"

On cue, tiny balls of flame took form on the tips of Sayuri's tails. "Kitsune fire! Pwetty!" The nine fireballs began to make a clockwise motion behind Sayuri, creating a perfect circle. "Sayuri played with them like this for a while, but then I skewed up and they fell. But nobody cared, it was great! Everyone just yelled even louder! Everyone was sooo happy!"

"Oh Kami."

"So Sayuri kept doing moar and moar tricks until the festival ended…I think. Everyone just went silent. I didn't even notice them go away! That was cool."

_They didn't go away, they became ashes. _Naruto concluded.

"Sayuri guessed everyone had gone to sweep, so Sayuri left, 'cause she didn't want to bother."

Naruto blinked.

"So Sayuri was twotting awound when suddenwy this human appears on my nose!"

Naruto frowned. This was different. "Human?"

"Yup! Human. He was weawing this weally funny thing on his head, like, a mask or something. He said his name was…uh…Madawa…or something. He said that he needed my help and I was like 'Sure!', 'cause momma always told me I had to be nice to people."

"Uh-huh." _Madawa…? That would be 'Madara', huh…nope, doesn't ring a bell._

"Yup. So Madawa tells me to look at his eyes, but it was weaaaally hard, 'cause, you know, he was weaaaaally tiny, and he was standing on my nose, and that was kinda ticklish so Sayuri sneezed and he went like 'whoooosh!' He flew away. It was weaally funny!"

Naruto rolled his eyes. He knew he should be angry, or terrified, but it proved incredibly hard.

"But then Sayuri remembered momma said that people get hurt if they fall from too high, so Sayuri went to wook for him. Sayuri got to this town, you know, and Sayuri was going to ask if they had seen Madawa, but they began throwing all these nasty things at me! And the nasty things stung."

Naruto's expression hardened. It was obvious she had gotten to Konoha.

"Sayuri thinks it was another festival, 'cause there was screaming and fire, too, but I didn't wike it 'cause the nasty things stung. I wanted to go away, but I had to find Madawa, you know? 'Cause if Madawa got hurt then Sayuri was a bad girl, and Sayuri doesn't want to be a bad girl. Sayuri's a good girl."

"Uh-huh." By this point, Naruto had so many potential responses he just couldn't find it to voice any of them. So the Kyuubi girl continued.

"So I was wooking for Madawa, wooking awound evwywhere, but people were flying all awound so I couldn't find him. I didn't know humans could fly. Can you fly, Naruto-nii-chan?"

"Um…no."

"Aww…too bad for onii-chan."

Naruto just let the cringing flow over him until it was properly grounded. He did, however, notice that Sayuri's expression had changed. She had lowered her head and she looked downcast.

"Um…Kyuubi? I-I mean…uhh…Sa-Sayuri…chan?"

"…then…" Sayuri's shoulders shook a bit. "…then this big and ugwy toad showed up. I…I thought…" The shaking became more pronounced and her voice was faltering. Naruto began to feel a bit disturbed. "…I thought they would start a new game, so I was kinda happy, 'coz I didn't like the stingy things…"

By this point it became obvious to Naruto that she was crying.

"But then…then…there was this blue flash…and Shinigami-sama appeawed…" Sayuri pronounced before a loud sob. Naruto frowned. _Shinigami?_

"Shinigami-sama…he…he…" Sayuri looked up at the blond child. Her bloodshot, teary eyes and her flushed cheeks struck a string inside Naruto. He just couldn't deal with sad children, having plenty of sad memories himself. Even if said children could obliterate small nations unconsciously.

"…he stabbed me with his knife…"

Naruto cringed.

"…and it hurt! It weally weally hurt!"

This time Naruto didn't flinch when Sayuri buried her face in his chest, embracing him as if her very existence depended on it. His hands hesitated, but he eventually settled on letting them rest on her back.

"…it hurt so much…" The girl muttered between sobs, wails and tears in full force. "…it hurt…and I cried…I cried and called for momma…and then…and then I was here, and I've been here for so long, and it's so bowing, and wet and wonwy…I wanna go home…I wanna go home…I want to see mama, and Sayoko-chan, and…and…"

Naruto remained surprisingly silent the whole time the foxgirl wailed her pain, sorrows and loneliness out. But, seriously, what could he say to that?

* * *

After Sayuri ceased her crying once more, Naruto made things clear for her (now that's a first). He told her she had been sealed by the Yondaime (he wasted around five minutes explaining the concept of "Hokage," which led to ten more minutes explaining the concept of "ninja") inside his body (though why the inside of his body looked like a disgusting sewer thing, he had no idea).

"Look, Sayuri-chan, if I had any idea how to get you out of here, I'd do it right now. I…" He scratched the back of his head. "…I don't think you're a bad person…fox…girl…thing."

Sayuri blinked. "…I'm not a thing, Naruto-nii-chan."

Naruto cringed for the third time. That wasn't going away anytime soon.

"But I'm happy."

It was Naruto's turn to blink.

"…because Sayuri's not alone anymoar. Now Sayuri has Naruto-nii-chan!" Wiggle, wiggle.

Naruto actually blushed a little at this. For someone like him, being appreciated was an unusual luxury…even if it came from an unknowingly genocidal fox…girl.

Sayuri hadn't moved away from Naruto once she went into her second crying fit. Once she regained some sense of composure, she simply made herself comfortable on his lap. Her back resting on his chest, which proved rather difficult will all the fluffy tails. Naruto quickly discovered that Sayuri liked the feeling of his hand caressing her tails, as well as the fact of her ears being very sensitive and very ticklish.

While they had plenty of things to talk about, Naruto hadn't forgotten that he was **still **in the middle of falling to his doom. He made a pinky promise swearing to meeting her away as soon as he could (setting aside the fact that he had no idea how to enter his mindscape). Sayuri told him she would try to communicate with him while he was in the "outside world."

Of course, she didn't say it like that.

After a good measure of goodbyes, Sayuri unleashed her chakra and gifted it to the boy. It was a notable reminder of the fact that the sweet little girl was, indeed, a mighty supernatural creature capable of immeasurable devastation. He glanced nervously at the tongues of orange-red chakra that seemed to want to invade him and swallow him whole. Sayuri's innocent look as she unleashed her terrifyingly powerful chakra didn't help relieve him much.

He blinked…and he was out and back in the "outside world."

And his mind shattered in unfathomable agony, as the delayed feedback of massive body damage suddenly hit his pain receptors. The pain didn't even let him open his eyes, which was good because he didn't want to see the bloody mess his broken body had become.

…**seems like you hit the bottom of the pit thingy while we were talking, onii-chan…woopsies?**

Naruto tried to respond with the most awful curse he could think of. Unfortunately, his mind, overcome with unbelievable pain, couldn't come up with anything.

**But check it out! I can talk to you from here now! Waaaaai! **(Wiggle, wiggle)

Naruto's "_I hate my life_" came out like a garbled "_Uhuguwufu_," even in his mind. He resigned himself to wait out as he felt the massive surge of kitsune chakra which had already gotten started with his uncountable wounds.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **And it begins. The rewrite. This chapter was perfect enough as it was, so I just added some tiny things here and there.

As a reminder, Genkyouien roughly means "Phantom Menace Party."


	2. Kitsune Parade

**Disclaimer: **I still don't own Naruto.

* * *

_**Naruto Genkyouien**_

- ナルト- 幻脅威宴

**Chapter Two: Kitsune Parade

* * *

**Jiraiya was scared out of his mind.

Since the moment he first saw Uzumaki Naruto, he saw the resemblance to his father. Seriously, how could anyone **not see** that Naruto had to be at least related in some way to the Fourth? How many blondes are in Konoha anyway? Not that many. How many non-Yamanaka blondes?

And Orochimaru called **him** an idiot. Stupid snake fetishist jerk.

So anyway, he decided to train Naruto. Even if the boy was a stupid brat. That was part of his charm, Jiraiya guessed. Of course, what best to teach him than the Summoning Technique? He had to start following his pops' and his godfather's footsteps!

And there was the whole matter with Akatsuki and Orochimaru, too. Of course. All in the boy's best interests. Right.

Unfortunately, the brat couldn't focus his chakra if his life depended on it. How he actually managed to walk on water (and learn it so quickly) was beyond him.

So Jiraiya, in a bout of genius, decided to try using the Kyuubi's chakra. Seriously, who needs chakra control when you have all the chakra in the world?

A brilliant plan indeed.

When it became obvious that the brat was just completely useless (Really, how **hard **can it be to summon the diabolic energies of the most fearsome creature in existence?), Jiraiya went for…strenuous measures. Namely, shoving Naruto off a cliff and hope for the best.

It was supposed to work! Naruto was supposed to trigger his inner badass in the most critical moment, tap into the Kyuubi's chakra and summon a bigass frog to get out of his predicament! Then Naruto would go, like, "awesome!" and Jiraiya then would pat the boy's head and smile proudly, and then Naruto would grin like an idiot.

It was the perfect godfather-godson bonding moment!

Five minutes had passed since Naruto disappeared in the darkness. No Kyuubi chakra, no bigass frog, no head patting.

Jiraiya was pretty much shitting his pants.

"Ohshitohshitohshitohshit-_**Kuchiyose no Jutsu**_." In the end he was the one who summoned the bigass frog.

* * *

As soon as the pain dulled enough to allow coherent thinking, Naruto tried to figure out how the hell he actually survived that fall. Sayuri, Inari bless her, tried to help him.

Together they proved that their combined intellect is nowhere near the sum of its parts. In fact, their brain waves seemed to generate destructive interference.

However, they did manage to solve the intellectual challenge with a believable hypothesis. Sorta. Within the boundaries of what's acceptable in shonen manga.

Naruto had probably hit one of the stalactites protruding from the walls of the canyon at some point. He bounced from one to the other, taking dozens of weaker hits instead of one single ultra-nasty impact at the bottom.

His clothes had made it fairly well; at least enough to make it back to his apartment with a measure of decency…once he made it out of the canyon, of course.

**Nee, onii-chan…how are we gonna get out of here?**

Naruto let the already-familiar shudder course through his body.

_We can't…the damn walls are too slippery. We wait until baka Ero-sennin comes down here for us._

**Mugyuu…he's a mweanie…don't talk to that mweanie anymoar! I don't wike him.**

_Well, duh! Like hell I'm staying with that crazy bastard any longer than I have to. The moment we get out of here I'm out!_

The weight of the incoming Chuunin Exam finals hit him like a ton of bricks.

_Man, I can't believe I wasted three weeks with baka Ero-sennin! I've only learned the water walking, and the Summoning Technique sucks balls! Ooh, Neji, look at me! I can summon tadpoles! I'm gonna kick your ass! Damn, I'm such an idiot! What am I gonna do?_

**I don't like toads. Toads are evil.**

Well, Sayuri does have a very bad experience involving the Boss Toad.

**You should summon kitsune. We are nice and funny. And pwetty.**

Naruto blinked. _Yeah, that would be kinda cool. _His mind forged an image of a giant fox paw squishing one Hyuuga Neji. _Heheh, 'squish'. Megassa-cool. But I can't. Well, now I have your chakra…_

**Yup! Anytime!**

_Yeah. Thank you, Sayuri-chan. But chakra's not enough! I have to become stronger to beat that Hyuuga bastard and make him pay for looking down on me…_

A flashback to the Chuunin prelims reminded Naruto of just why he got so mad at Neji in the first place.

_Oh shit, Hinata!_

**Who's Hinata?**

Naruto was about to share the whole story of the prelims with the foxgirl when the voice of an old pervert interrupted him.

"Oi! Naruto! You alive?"

_Alive and ready to kick your ass, bastard._

He didn't reply. For once he felt like being consciously mean to someone. He was **really** pissed off.

Jiraiya found him at the bottom of the chasm, calmly seated on the gray, sandy ground. It was a blessing he didn't fall on the water current, which would have dragged him to Kami-knows-where.

"Oi, Naruto, you okay?"

Naruto stared back with a deadpan expression. Calmly, he got on his feet, as if he hadn't just dealt with a fall of a few hundred yards, walked over to the large toad Jiraiya had summoned and jumped on its back.

_Aw crap._ The Toad Sannin concluded.

"Naruto, I'm so-"

The boy pointed up with his right index finger.

They made the ride back up in silence…but Naruto's mind was a storm of activity, of course.

_Really, what am I gonna do? What can I learn in…what, ten days? Ah! Nee, Sayuri-chan, that 'Kitsune Fire' thingy you showed me!_

**Yup, it's pwetty!**

Wiggle, wiggle.

_Yes, I know it's pretty. _Naruto rolled his eyes. _Can you teach me how to do it? That would totally kick ass!_

**Umm, but…you don't have tails.**

_Eh?_

**Kitsune Fire…I make it from mah tails. You don't have tails, Naruto-nii-chan.**

The shudder was getting milder and milder with each repetition. Maybe one day he'd get used to the freaky way the **Kyuubi** used to address him. He just knew it wouldn't be any time soon.

_Tails, huh…shoot. Why the tails, anyway? Can't you, like, make it on your hands?_

Sayuri sent him a mental shrug. **Yuri-mama told me, I think, but I always fall asleep when she's teaching stuff. It's bowing.**

_Yeah, I know the feeling. _Naruto concealed a fond smile as memories of Iruka-sensei filled his mind. _Wait, "Yuri-mama"?_

**Yup! Sayuri's mama is Yuri-mama!**

_Whoa…well…I guess you had to have a mother… _Naruto suppressed a shudder at the thought of **Kyuubi's mother**.

**Yup! She has seven tails! She's pwetty!**

Wiggle, wiggle.

_Everything's "pwetty" to you, isn't it?_

**Wha-no! Toads are fugly. Old men are fugly too. That scawy bear youkai is fugly too.**

_Bear youkai?_

**Yeah. He looks at me funny. I don't wike it. Yurimi-nee-chan calls him "Pedobear." I don't get it.**

_O-kaaayy…so, you have a sister, too?_

**Sayuri has seven nee-chans! They're all pwetty!**

Wiggle, wiggle.

_Figures…_

The large toad finally made it out of the chasm, kicking Naruto out of his mental conversation.

Before Jiraiya could even think of opening his mouth, Naruto had already ninja-dashed away. The Hermit only watched the orange figure quickly disappear.

* * *

_So…you have seven older sisters._ Once he felt he was far enough, he dropped into a pleasant walk back to the metropolitan area of Konoha. His mind quickly pictured eight giant foxes trashing Konoha. Not a pretty sight.

**Yup.**

_By any chance do they all have 'Yuri' in their name somewhere?_

**Waa! How did you know? You're amazing, Naruto-nii-chan!**

_Ah, so I was right. _Naruto unwillingly grinned at the praise. It was stupid to feel good after being praised by something like that, but that's how it was.

**Yup! We're the seven pwetty yuri sisters!**

Naruto rested his hands on the back of his head and enjoyed the early autumn sky. His birthday was in a few days, wasn't it?

_That's a lot of yuri._

**Heheh, we're a huge yuri family!**

_Isn't it hard, dealing with so many siblings? _Naruto was an orphan, so he couldn't possibly imagine life as the youngest of so many siblings.

**Nope! We all get along gweat! We're weally close! We're the happy and pwetty yuri sisters!**

_Ah, that's nice…but still, there's a lot of yuri in your family. How did your mother manage to come up with all that yuri?_

**Well, Yuri-mama's weaaaally old, so she's weaaally smart. But don't tell her I told you that, 'coz she'll hit me.

* * *

**"At-choo!" In a hidden shrine far away from Konoha, Higashiyama Yuri sneezed, her long hair like threads of silver jumping and glittering under the sunlight. Seated on the wooden floor with the vast view of the gardens she had grown herself so many centuries ago, she reflected.

"Ara…" She mused. "…someone must be talking about me." Her beautiful, gentle, womanly frame went into a fit of giggles more suitable for a teenage human girl. "I wonder if it's a handsome guy, heheh!"

"Mom." A voice from behind interrupted Yuri's self-amusement. "Seriously, stop that. It's disturbing."

"Hmph." Yuri did stop, her face returning to her usual placid demeanor. Narrow eyes that were pools of liquid silver lost themselves in the all-too familiar landscape of the Higashiyama grounds. "Let your mother entertain herself, Yuria."

* * *

_Umm, got it. _Naruto "said" for the sake of complying. _So what are your sisters' names? This whole yuri thing is really fun!_

**Ah, well, there's big sis Himeyuri-nee-sama. She's the oldest. She's a six-tails! And she's weally smart, and pwetty, and nice! But not when she's all bossy and mwean. She has two daughters! Chiyuri-chan and Yurino-chan!**

_Wha-so your sisters' daughters are also yuri? Awesome!_

**Yeah, we're full of yuri! Anyway, they're mah…what was the word…nutsies?**

_Nieces?_

**Yeah, that! Thank you, onii-chan!**

Cue shudder.

**They're mah nieces, but they're all older than me! It's weally funny!**

**Yurine-chan has five tails. She's weally funny! And she makes the best food! It's weaaaaally good! And she has two daughters, too! Yurina-chan and Yuriyo-chan. I play with them a lot! Yuriyo-chan laughs all the time, and Yurina-chan's weally nice and kind. They're older than me, too.**

_So there's Himeyuri-san and Yurine-san, and they both have two daughters each._

**Yurisa-nee-chan has four tails. She has a daughter with two tails, Mayuri-chan. She's older than me for a few years. Like, twenty or something.**

_Uhh…_Naruto already feared to ask Sayuri's age.

Sayuri's voice became quieter. **Mayuri-chan's weally quiet. Weaaaaaally weaally quiet. She never says anything…it's like, she's very very far. I dunno. It's weird.**

Then her voice became perky again.

**Then there's Yuriko-chan and Yurika-chan! They're twins! They are weaaaaally close; they do evwything together! And they're weally funny! They make the funniest pwanks! But Yuri-mama's angwy at them 'coz they don't want to find mates. Oh, and they have thwee tails.**

Sayuri had Naruto at "pranks." Now he REALLY wanted to meet these yuri twin pranksters.

**Yuria-nee-chan has thwee tails, too. Yuria-nee-chan, Yuriko-chan and Yurika-chan have the same papa. Yurimi-nee-chan and I have the same papa, too, but he had alweady left when I got mah nine tails.**

_Oh, so you have different fathers? How does that work?_

Sayuri shrugged in her prison. **Yuri-mama meets a male she wikes, they mate and she has a kit.**

Naruto blinked. He guessed he wasn't ready to understand Kitsune society.

_Wait. So the older you are, the more tails you have?_

**Yup! A tail evewy hwundwed years.**

…_but you're the youngest._

**Yup, Sayuri's one hwundwed and fouhteen years old. Sayuri's young and pwetty!**

_Then why do you have nine tails?_

**Kitsune poker night.**

Naruto stopped walking.

…_excuse me?_

**Kitsune poker night. **Sayuri repeated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

_Oh, I so have to hear this. No, wait. We were supposed to do something now, right? Ah! Right, we want to get you out of me, right? I guess we could try asking old man Hokage, but I don't think we can just ask him to break the seal…_

**Why not?**

Naruto gulped. He wasn't really looking forward to explain to Sayuri that she wasn't…particularly well liked in his village. He guessed she had an idea (summoning the Death God to shove you into someone's belly is a very good way to make a point, after all), but explaining to her the full extent of the village's hatred and fear towards her (and, by extension, him) was something he'd rather avoid for as long as possible. At least until they made it back to the apartment.

_Nah, it just…wouldn't work. So, how do I get ojii-san to talk? I'll have to be extremely cautious and subtle…

* * *

_"Hey, ojii-san! Can you break the Fourth's seal?"

Let it be known that Uzumaki Naruto has never been one for caution and subtlety.

Naruto waited for the Hokage (and the two Chuunin guarding the door, and the ANBU squad guarding the village chief from the shadows) for stop choking and properly regain his breath. In the mean time he tried to come up with more female names with 'yuri.' He didn't succeed.

"Naruto." He had to give the old man credit. He actually managed to put up a serious face and look decent after a whole of choking and coughing. "What brought up such a question so suddenly?"

Truth be told, the Hokage and his guard were in high alert. Why could Naruto be asking such a thing? It could anything from a really bad joke to Kyuubi having taken control of his mind or something.

Now, Naruto might not be a master of subtlety, but he actually put some thought into what he was going to say. Just a little.

"Um, well…just want to know if it's possible. I mean…shouldn't I know these things, so I can be ready…and stuff…you know…just in case?"

**Lame, onii-chan.**

_Yeah, I know. Sorry you had to hear that. He's so kicking me out after that._

"Naruto, please sit down."

_Score!_

**Waaaai!**

Wiggle, wiggle.

"Now, Naruto, really. What brought this sudden interest in the Fourth's seal? Did something happen today?"

Naruto is actually a very fast thinker when the proper situation arises. Namely, when his ass is in trouble. He proved it quite blatantly during his first C-rank mission in Wave Country. And he would prove it again in this moment.

The moment the Third said those words, the first thing Naruto thought was: _Hey, I can get baka Ero-Sennin in trouble for this!_

**You sure you not Kitsune?**

This led to a thorough and detailed description of his last twenty-one days with Jiraiya of the Sannin. Of course, Naruto first put special emphasis on Jiraiya's perverted antics, but at the sight of the stupid grin slowly taking form of the Hokage's face, Naruto soon realized there was a slight flaw in his plan (as in, Sarutobi being a dirty old man himself), so he switched to emphasizing Jiraiya's rather deficient teaching methods (while making sure not to mention his own learning deficiencies, of course). He **really **got a reaction when he began to describe Jiraiya's focus on him learning how to use Kyuubi's power and the events that led to him being shoved off the edge of a chasm.

He didn't mention Sayuri, for obvious reasons. He was still dealing with her bizarre version of the attack-on-Konoha-that-wasn't-really-an-attack. He didn't want to deal with the hassle of telling the story to someone else. Not yet. Maybe one day. When it becomes absolutely necessary and unavoidable. Yeah. That sounds fine.

"That Jiraiya! What is he thinking?" The Third hissed, his knuckles turning white with the force he used to grasp the edges of his rather large desk. From that point he was all serious business. "Naruto, thank you for bringing this to my attention. It seems a long talk with my former student is due."

"That idiot was your student?"

"Yes, when he was a Genin like you are now." The Sandaime offered the boy a fond smile.

"Creepy." Naruto made his trademark frown, which further accentuated his fox-like face. "Anyway, just keep him away from me. As it is right now I think Kyuubi's nicer than him!"

Sarutobi (and the ANBU hidden in the shadows) cringed together. That was pretty harsh.

**Awww, Naruto-nii-chan, I wuv yuu!**

And the cringing returned with renewed strength, as Sayuri had just unleashed a whole new level of wrongness.

Seriously, there cannot be many things more wrong than Kyuubi saying she loves you.

Despite the fact that he would deal with her in a constant basis from that day onwards, it would still be hard to get rid of the preconceptions of the vile, omnipotent beast of DOOM. Sayuri wouldn't help much either.

"Naruto, are you okay?"

"I'm…I'm fine…" The shuddering finally reached the crown of Naruto's head and dissipated. "…just…umm…bad memories."

"Well then." The Sandaime, finally dismissing Naruto's curiosity as a false alarm, regained his usual amicable mien. "I'll talk to Jiraiya. I'll make sure he teaches you properly-"

"Hell no." Naruto crossed his arms stubbornly. "I'm not dealing with that perv again. Not even in your dreams. Not even close."

**No way! He's a mweanie! Fugly, fugly, fugly mweanie! Blweeeeeeeh!**

Naruto made an odd face for an instant at the sound of Sayuri blowing raspberries in his head.

Sarutobi shot the boy a compassionate glance. "Alright then, if that is your choice…" He randomly shuffled the stack of papers on his desk. "…I'm sure Kakashi can give you some pointers in this last week, then."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Yeah, the Kakashi who left Konoha with Sasuke the very moment the prelims were over to give him special training. That Kakashi."

"Kakashi?" The Third blinked. "Left Konoha?" Blink. "With Sasuke-kun?" Blink.

"Yeah. That pretty much means exactly what I said." Naruto retorted, deadpan.

"Why wasn't I informed of this?"

Naruto shrugged. "How am I supposed to know? Check their places if you want. So, can I leave now?"

* * *

"Well, we'll let the old man deal with baka Ero-sennin." Naruto declared once they were out of the administration building. "And Kakashi-sensei."

**He's a nice old man. I wike him.**

"Right. It's good to have at least the village leader on your side." Naruto had yet to realize he was talking out loud.

**What do you mean?**

"Ah, nothing, nothing." Naruto avoided the difficult topic one more time. "You know, I'm kinda hungry."

Still blissfully unaware of his rather one-sided conversation (at least on the outside), Naruto ignored the looks he was getting. He was used to getting looks from people; he just didn't know that, for once, the looks didn't come from who he was, but from what he was currently doing.

He nodded to himself and grinned widely for the whole world to see. "Yup, it's time to eat!"

**Gweat! I want to taste food!**

"Huh? How does that work?"

**We're connected now! I see what you see and I hear what you hear! I feel what you feel and taste what you eat! Hey, that whymed! So funny!**

Naruto rolled his eyes at the threnody of childish giggles that filled his mind. But he did have a question.

"Wow, you actually did all that?"

**I'm a Nine-Tails. I can do ANYTHING. **Sayuri blatantly bragged.

"Uh-huh. Get out of my belly, then."

**Mugyuu…onii-chan, you mweanie.**

Naruto chuckled. _Oh my God I'm joking around with Kyuubi._

That's when it hit him. _I'm the only person on this village…in the whole continent, who is not afraid of Kyuubi._

"…I'm fucking awesome."

**Onii-chan?**

Naruto's chuckling became cackling, which quickly turned into maniacal laughter.

In the middle of the street.

Oh yes, this Naruto is changing.

* * *

"Oi! A bowl of miso ramen, please!" Naruto loudly announced himself to the chagrin of the few customers of Ichiraku Ramen. Claiming his usual stool he shot a grin at the owner and one of his favorite people in the world, Teuchi. Naruto loves the old man, because he makes ramen. It's love that comes from his stomach, so it's not queer.

Ayame was nowhere to be seen.

"Ah, Naruto." The ramen chef greeted the boy with his usual warm smile. "Just one?"

Naruto grinned. "Yup. Today's special. We're talking it sloooow." He "explained" in what he thought was a "smooth" tone.

"My." The chef's daughter emerged from the back of the store, welcoming her favorite customer with a beautiful smile. "And what makes today so special, Naruto-kun?"

**WAAAAHH!**

Naruto almost fell off his stool because of Sayuri's sudden shriek. "WHAT THE HELL?"

He got nothing but stares from every single person nearby, mostly of annoyance, but poor Ayame was utterly stunned. Naruto felt blood rushing towards his cheeks.

"Oh crap-sorry!"

He dropped his head and tried to make himself as small as humanly possible.

_What the hell, Sayuri-chan?_

**B-But…Kitsune!**

_Huh?_

**She's Kitsune!**

_What?_

**That girl! She's Kitsune!**

"What the-? Kitsune?" Naruto exclaimed in blatant disbelief.

Once again, he got the attention of everyone nearby, but this time there were more than a few alarmed looks on him. _Oh shit._

Not bothering to apologize, Naruto simply slumped down on the bar and clumsily tried to cover his head with his arms, with little success, of course.

_Stop being silly! Ayame-nee-chan's no Kitsune!_

**She is Kitsune! Weally!**

_For Kami's sake, Sayuri-chan, there's NO WAY IN HELL she can-_

From a corner of his right eye, Naruto caught Teuchi's daughter staring at him. While Teuchi had quickly turned back to his job and the customers were slowly returning to their meals (with plenty of new nasty things to say about Uzumaki Naruto to whoever was willing to listen), the look on Ayame's face was what stopped Naruto's mental rant.

Her eyes were round. Too round. So were her pupils, and her mouth had taken the shape of a pretty cute 'o'. She stayed like that for a few seconds before her lips and her eyes finally relaxed, but she never took her eyes off him. Naruto blinked and turned to face her directly, his head still slumped on the bar. Ayame blinked a few times before smiling.

It was a smile he had never seen on the generally nice, homely girl. Her smile was supposed to be kind, warm and considerate.

This one was playful, mischievous and calculating.

_Oh crap, she's a Kitsune._

**See? Told ya! I knew it! See? See? Huh? Onii-chan? I told ya she is Kitsune! I told ya! I was right! Huh? Huh? See? Naruto-nii-chan, you see? I got it wight! See? See?**

Naruto could only groan. He could actually **feel **Sayuri poking the floor of her jail.

* * *

**CHAPTER 02 END**


	3. Eating with Kitsune

**Disclaimer: **in case you still don't get how this works. I don't own Naruto.

* * *

_**Naruto Genkyouien**_

- ナルト- 幻脅威宴

**Chapter T****hree****: Eating with Kitsune

* * *

**"Alright, let's recap."

"When I asked Kakashi-sensei for training to beat that bastard Hyuuga Neji, he dumped me off with the closet pervert! But it turns out that the guy's actually a pretty decent teacher. Showed me the water-walking trick, pretty cool. Not that walking on water would help me beat Neji, but it's a start! But then he suddenly decides to act cool and gets his ass kicked by Ero-sennin."

**Umm, onii-chan?**

"I used my awesome _**Oiroke no Jutsu **_to get Ero-sennin to train me instead of closet perv, and he gives me the Toad Summoning Contract. Whoop-de-fucking-doo. After three pointless weeks of walking on water and summoning tadpoles, the baka comes with the awesome idea of **pushing me off a cliff**! I mean, really, **what the hell**? I won't say I'm an expert in teaching and stuff, but even I can tell **that's** not a good idea!"

"But he guessed it was cool, because the point was tapping into the Kyuubi's power. And Sasuke calls **me** a dobe."

**Onii-chan…?**

"Crazily enough, it works. Fuck damn it. But then it turns out Kyuubi's this little girl who doesn't know what she's doing half of the time and ended up in Konoha for the most ridiculous of reasons."

**I was chasing mah tails.**

"But I guess I can't really blame her. I mean, she's a child. Sure, she's got nine tails-"

**They're pwetty! **(Wiggle, wiggle)

"But she's just a child. In Kitsune standards. She's really like, twice as old as old man Hokage."

**But I'm cute.**

"Anyway, we ditched the baka Ero-sennin and visited the Sandaime…who didn't really tell us anything about the Seal, now that I think about it."

**Ah! You're wight! Mugyuu…**

"But we got to set baka-sennin up to get his ass kicked by the old man. That's awesome."

**Mweanie toad geezer is mwean.**

"So, I come to my favorite place in the world, Ichiraku Ramen, and here I found out Ayame-nee-chan, my friend of who-knows-how-many-years, happens to also be a Kitsune. Really, how disturbingly convenient is that?"

**Nee, onii-chan.**

"I don't even want to know what happened. I mean, old man Teuchi is human, right? So?"

**Onii-chan!**

"What?"

**Just who are you talking to?**

Naruto blinked. His eyes had been looking at nowhere the whole time. He had even let his ramen get cold (oh the tragedy!).

"Oh crap."

Looking around the ramen stand, he was surprised to find out it was empty.

"Huh? When did everyone leave?"

"Around the time you began your little rant." Ayame calmly answered as she replaced Naruto's bowl for a warm, full one. "They were already pretty disgusted by your presence, so it was easy to plant a suggestion in their heads and make them leave."

"You can do that?" Naruto blinked in honest surprise…and a little bit of awe.

"I'm Kitsune. Manipulating others is what I do best."

Naruto gulped and turned to his meal. He wasn't able to taste it, though.

**Ask her which Clan she's from!**

Naruto sighed. It was a valid question, though…kinda.

"Sayuri-chan wants to know which Clan you are from, whatever that means. And where's your pops anyway?"

"Teuchi-san…I mean, 'Father' suddenly…'decided' to take a short break. He's been working a lot lately." Ayame winked. "As for Sayuri-sama's question, my name is unimportant. Here I am Ayame. However, I can tell you my Clan is an ally of Higashiyama. I am a River."

**Ah! Okay!**

"What do you mean a River?"

Ayame offered him an apologetic gesture. "Let's not talk more about this. Not in public like this, I mean. Do you mind if I stop by your place tonight, Naruto-kun?"

"I guess not. Now let me eat before I get a headache."

"Fair enough." Ayame smiled, but it wasn't her usual gentle (human) smile. Her "new" smile seeped amusement and maybe even condescendence. Naruto didn't like this smile.

However, that was second to the most immediate matter of his ramen! Screw Kitsune! Screw Jiraiya! Screw Neji…wait, that's redundant. Whatever.

"I-tadakimaaaa-su!"

**Waai! Food!**

Naruto chomped. Sayuri squealed.

**WAAAAAH! This is soooo GOOD! What is it?**

_It's ramen. And it's your new favorite food!_

**Yay! Yeah, go wamen!**

Naruto ate and ate, flooding little Sayuri with an avalanche of unfamiliar yet very welcome sensations. No having eaten anything in almost thirteen years, her reaction was quite expectable.

**Oh, so good! Onii-chan, it's so good! So thick, and soft and tasty and salty, and such a stwong scent…I need moar! GIMME MOAR, ONII-CHAN!**

Naruto smiled at her enthusiasm. _Good to see you're enjoying it. Want some more?_

**Yes! **The little kitsune girl pleaded almost desperately. **It's gweat! I want moar! Pweaaase! Onii-chan!**

_Well here's some more!_

Naruto filled his mouth with the delicious broth.

**OH! Oh, yes! Ahn! Ah! So much…so salty…so gooood…onii-chan, it's so good…**

Sayuri became an incoherent trail of moans and whimpers, following the rhythm of Naruto's actions.

**Ahn! Ah! Ah! No…ah…so much…it's…ah…haa…haa…it's too much…I can't…ah! Ah! Ah! Aaahn! What…?**

_Had enough?_

**NO! Don't stop! Onii-chan…please…**

_Had absolutely no intention to._

A particularly large portion of noodles was eagerly devoured; saturating Sayuri's atrophied taste receptors.

**AAAAH! Oh-oho-ooh…OOOOHHH! Onii-chan! Onii-chan! It's…! Aaahn!**

Naruto, paying no heed to his tenant's blissful torture, licked his lips at the visage of the grand finale: the bottom of the bowl, where the ingredients were at their highest concentration. The last gulps of the fantastic meal that separated the heavenly ramen from the other, inferior recipes.

It called for him. It asked to be ravished, devoured, eaten to the last molecule. And Naruto was eager to please.

_I'm coming._

**Wha… **Sayuri's voice was an echo of her exhaustion. **Onii-chan…?**

Naruto made his last assault, and Sayuri's world exploded.

**Oooooooh! Ah! Onii-Ah! Ah! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!

* * *

**Naruto voiced his satisfaction with a rather nasty burp. "Ah, that was good, Ayame-chan!"

Ayame, whose smile had switched back from "foxy lady" to "kind ramen girl," quickly bowed to Naruto's praise. "Thank you very much, Naruto-kun. A bowl of steaming beef ramen, comin' right up!"

Naruto grinned viciously at his latest batch of noodly victims.

**Haa…haa…ahh…onii-chan…**

_Ah, Sayuri-chan. So, how was the miso ramen?_

**Onii-chan…I…I wuv yuu…**

Naruto only chuckled. Kami bless his soul.

_Glad to know you liked it._

**It was…onii-chan, it was…haa…only one thing could make it better…**

_Really? What?_

**Meat. I am Kitsune. I eat meat.**

Naruto grinned.

_Really? What an awesome coincidence, then!_

**Huh?**

_I have a steaming bowl of beef ramen right in front me! Ready for round two, Sayuri-chan?_

**What? So soon? No, wait, onii-cha-AAAAAAAAAHHHHH! ONII-CHAAAAAAAN!

* * *

**Twelve bowls of ramen later, Naruto finally called it quits.

"Ah! That was GOOD!" Having no care for manners whatsoever, he wiped the vestiges of broth off his mouth with his sleeve. "Thank you very much, Ayame-nee-chan! Teuchi-san!"

"You're always welcome, my boy." Teuchi replied eagerly, always enjoying the sight of the boy who immensely enjoyed his ramen. Ayame only smiled kindly. Naruto turned inwards to his little prisoner.

_What about you, Sayuri-chan? You satisfied?_

……………

_Huh? Sayuri-chan?_

……………

"Must have fallen asleep or something." He muttered to himself. _Sheesh, she could at least tell me before she does that!_

And so, after leaving the ramen stand, Naruto realized he was free for the first time in three weeks. With his training under Jiraiya's supervision permanently interrupted and Sayuri immersed in blissful catatonia, Naruto, for once, was alone with himself.

_Ugh, what to do, what to do…I have to do something useful! The finals are in ten days!

* * *

So bored…_

Two and a half hours later, Naruto had yet to find something to do.

That's not to say he wasn't doing anything. He was in the middle of a pond, standing on one hand, with leaves stuck with chakra to his toes, his free hand and his forehead.

A bored Naruto comes up with the silliest (yet surprisingly useful) ideas. It worked because he failed miserably at the first try and realized it would be more difficult that he had originally thought. Basically, he was only doing it out of sheer defiance. He would **not **be defeated by his own silly idea!

**Ah…umm…mu-nya…**

_Ah, Sayuri-chan. You're awake._

**Ah, onii-chan…he-hello…**

Naruto held a chuckle at the cute little yawn that filled his mind. It was really weird, hearing someone else's yawn in his head.

_Did you sleep well?_

**Ah…yeah…onii-chan?**

_Huh?_

**That…wamen…it was weally good.**

_Yeah, I know. Ramen's the best._

**WEALLY good. **Sayuri insisted. Naruto nodded, making sure the leaf on his forehead wouldn't detach.

_I know._

**Thank you.**

_Something wrong? _Naruto frowned. _Your voice is kinda weird._

**No-nothing…I just…feel kinda weird. Tired. And wet.**

_Well, it's kinda wet in there, with the pipes and stuff._

**Hmm…**

Naruto finally let the leaves fall and got on his feet.

**What are you doing, onii-chan?**

_Ah, I just wanted to see if I could pull that off. Seems like I got it just fine…after a few hours. Anyway, we still have nothing to do until night, and there's still some time before dinner-_

**Di-dinner? **Sayuri squeaked.

_Yeah. So, anyway, I have nothing to do._

They walked aimlessly around Konoha; Naruto showing Sayuri many different places, like the Academy, and the Hokage Tower (again) and the market and the library he had never gone to. While most people normally took a wide berth around him, the sight of him talking to himself prompted them to outright clear the streets where he walked.

Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino had just departed from the hospital after visiting the third member of their team. While the internal damage had proven to be considerable to the point that she would stay in the health center for another week, the girl was in a surprisingly good mood. Despite her horrible loss, the fact that she had put up a fight and faced the hate of her cousin instead of giving up had helped her lacking confidence. It wasn't much, but it was a good first step.

Kiba felt like an ass for suggesting her to forfeit, and he had apologized. Hinata, being the lovely girl she is, cared little for such a thing. Their partners were proud of her. They really were.

And then, in front of them, there was the catalyst of that small change. As much as they hated to admit it, Naruto had done more for Hinata with a few rounds of yelling that they had done since they became Team 8.

Yet the bastard hadn't shown up to visit Hinata in the past three weeks. Not even **once**.

For that, he deserved an ass-kicking.

"Oi, Naruto!"

Naruto turned around to respond to Kiba's loud call, and then froze.

His body lost all connections to his brain, as it was clutched by a primal instinct. He knew it came from Sayuri. It was projected from her and claimed possession of him; invading him; overwhelming him.

He lost it.

"**DOG! WHAAAAAAAAAA!**"

Kiba and Shino watched in stunned silence how Naruto pointed at the Inuzuka boy, yelled like a loon, made three full turns and ran away like a man possessed. They stayed like that for a whole minute, staring mutely at the disappearing figure and the growing cloud of dust he raised.

"…what the fuck just happened?" Kiba uttered. The puppy perched on his head only whimpered. Shino's eyes looked to his comrade to his right.

"It seems I'm not the only one who thinks you **really** need to take a shower."

"Oh fuck you, Shino."

* * *

"What the fuck was that, Sayuri?" Naruto yelled rater heatedly. Fortunately, his legs had taken him to a rather desolate place near the edges of Konoha.

**It was a DOG! Dogs are EVIL! They must BURN!**

"Who, Akamaru?" Naruto set his hands on his hips and then crossed them on his chest. "He's just a puppy! Wait, 'burn'?"

**And the other one! He was big and diwty and fugly! **It was obvious by her tone that she was on the verge of tears.

Naruto blinked for a few seconds, processing the information with his rather low-spec processor called brain. Finally, he chuckled.

"…you mean Kiba, don't you?"

**Mugyuu…I was scawed!**

"Okay, okay…yosh, yosh, Sayuri-chan, the big ugly…" Naruto struggled not to burst into laughter. "Kiba's not here anymore. I won't let that ugly dog hurt you, okay?"

**Okay…** Sayuri muttered between sobs. **Thank you, Naruto-nii-chan. I wuv yuu.**

"So the great Kyuubi is afraid of dogs." Naruto declared mirthfully as he began the slow walk back to Konoha proper, once he got Sayuri to calm down.

**We don't wike dogs.**

"We? You mean Kitsune?"

**Yup.**

"Why?"

…**they're loud. And annoying. And their tails aren't pweety.**

"Figures."

* * *

In the end, Naruto went straight back to his apartment, promising Sayuri to give her a better tour of Konoha the next day.

**Nee, nee, what's that big white thing, onii-chan?**

_A refrigerator. _Naruto answered flatly as he reached for the cupboard of his measly kitchen.

**What's it for?**

_Umm…keeping things cold, I guess. _Seizing two packages of instant ramen, he closed the door above him.

**Waaa…so you lock yourself in there in summer, huh? Isn't it kinda small, then?**

Naruto frowned for a moment, and then smiled amusedly. He probably actually pondered the idea.

_Uhh, no. It's only for food. To keep it fresh…and stuff._

**Oh…ooohh! That's so cool!**

_Lame pun, Sayuri-chan. _He checked the expiration date of his ramen. All clear.

**Te-he!**

Naruto grabbed a pot and reached for the sink to fill it.

**Oh! Oh! Water! How do you do that?**

"Uhh…it's a sink." Naruto struggled to find an explanation. "It's connected to a pipe, and the pipe goes to…someplace with water, I guess."

**Oh…cool. We should have that at home. Them Yuri-mama wouldn't send me to the well all the time.**

Naruto just had to chuckle at the thought of **Kyuubi** being sent to do chores by her mom.

He closed the faucet when the pot was reasonably full.

**But I always cheated and made water with mah chakwa.**

"Oh…you can do that?" He carefully placed the pot on the stove and moved the lid.

**I'm a Nine-Tails. I can do ANYTHING-Waaa! Fire! Cool! I wike fire. Even if it's scawy.**

"Right. Can you make me a kitsune summoning contract?"

**Mugyuu…you mweanie…kyah!**

"Wha?" Naruto unconsciously assumed a defensive stance, separating his legs and lowering his center of mass. "What is it, Sayuri-chan?"

**Waaa…ah! This…I got it! Waaaaaai!**

Wiggle, wiggle.

"Uhh…what?" Naruto raised an eyebrow.

**Kitsune Summoning Contract! It's here! Yay!**

"Wha?" Relaxing his stance, Naruto made an awkward face. "How…wha…?"

**I was angwy because you made fun of me, and I thought I weaaaally wanted a contract scwoll, and poof! It appeawed! Waaai, waaaaai!**

Wiggle, wiggle.

"Oh…wow…that's…awfully convenient."

**Yaaaay! I'm so gweat! Having nine tails is the best.**

"No, really, that's just so convenient it's not funny. It's like something out of a bad manga. It's almost sad in a way."

**What's manga?**

"Eh?" Naruto blinked. "Uh…sheesh…" He scratched his forehead. "…it's…like a book…like a story…but you tell the story with pictures."

**A picture book?**

"Uh…no. With more pictures. Like, there nothing but pictures, and words here and there."

**Waaa…show me!**

"Huh?"

**Show me manga!**

Naruto sighed. He checked the water in the pot. Not yet. "Uhh…Kitsune Contract, remember?"

**Ah! Wight! Come hear!**

Naruto blinked at the sudden, new dilemma. "Uhh…and how do I do that?"

**Uhh…mugyuu…

* * *

**Ayame placidly walked through the suburbs of Konohagakure, her destination being Uzumaki Naruto's apartment. She hadn't bothered to change her clothes at the ramen stand, only forgoing the head cover.

Kitsune's relationship with humans was very simple. Being superior creatures in almost every way, it was easy for them remain an endless incognita. While their existence was undeniable, especially after Sayuri's little stunt almost thirteen years before, most humans lived their entire lives without ever meeting one. Even those who at some point in their lives crossed paths with a Kitsune rarely found out. The legendary thief, the pretty bar wench, the creepy fortuneteller, the smiling midwife, the fantastic acrobat, the unforgettable one-night stand…a Kitsune could be anywhere, anyone.

Ayame, as a "field agent" and a vassal of the Higashiyama clan, had lived most of her life among humans. She spent more time with humans than with her fellow Kitsune, and she had learned to appreciate the primate race for their own worth. What amazed her the most was their boundless potential; humans with the proper stimulus, are capable of anything.

Ninja and their jutsu are a good example. Kitsune are limited on what they can do with their chakra: illusions, transformation and enchantments are their forte, with a little bit of reinforcement. That's what all Kitsune can do. Specific types of Kitsune can do specific things. Only the god-like nine-tailed Kitsune seem to break their race's limitations and become avatars of immense power. Shinobi can do whatever they want with their chakra. No matter how much she tried, Ayame would never be able to conjure lightning, because she is not a Thunder Kitsune. It's just how it works.

The other thing that simply amazed her about humans was their adaptability. Uzumaki Naruto was a premier example of this.

She was shocked to find out Naruto had contacted Sayuri. She was more shocked at how they seemed to have bonded. She saw no negative feeling in Naruto's eyes. He did not blame Sayuri. If he ever did, he forgave her in the little time they had spent together. While she knew it was hard to hate a cute little thing like the youngest of the Higashiyama Lilies, it didn't change the weight of the horrors Sayuri committed the day she was sealed. Albeit unknowingly, Sayuri killed a lot of people and destroyed many lives that fateful night.

She was sure Naruto hadn't told this to the little Kitsune. While it was commendable of him to protect Sayuri's boundless innocence despite the fact that she's a walking engine of destruction, Ayame knew things couldn't stay like that. Sayuri had to grow, the harsh way; she had to assume responsibility for the immense power she possessed.

There is, after all, a reason Kitsune need at least eight hundred years of experience before gaining the nine tails. Sayuri was something that shouldn't be: the product of impossible luck and Inari-sama being a really, really, **REALLY** bad drunk.

It was with those thoughts in mind that Ayame knocked on the old and dirty door of Naruto's apartment. Moments later she was welcomed by a smiling Naruto.

"Ah, Ayame-nee-chan, you did come." A few steps separated them from the small kitchen-slash-dining area. "Maybe now he'll stop."

"Huh?"

"ORYAAA!"

Ayame watched in muted horror as the real Naruto dashed in front of her from left to right across the room, slamming headfirst on the wall and falling on the floor with a dull thump.

Two shadow clones walked over to the prone form and eyed it carefully.

"He's actually unconscious this time." Clone 1 determined.

"I think something broke there." Clone 2 muttered in outright disgust. "Do you think it worked?"

Clone 1 shrugged. Ayame's brain finally rebooted and she reacted properly.

"What in Inari's name is going on here?" She cried as she kneeled by the fallen blond's right side. The clone that opened the door for her (Clone 3) shrugged and walked closer, too.

"The boss wants to go inside the seal and meet Sayuri-chan again." He explained. "But we have no idea how to do it. So we were thinking…the first time, it happened when baka Ero-sennin pushed us off a cliff."

Clone 2 assumed a serious look, glancing at Ayame to claim her attention and then back to the unconscious Naruto.

"He really thought he was going to die back there, but then it happened. He was in his mind or whatever. So he thought maybe he had to do something similar."

"It was either this or jump off the Hokage Mountain, but I didn't feel like leaving the house again."

"Naruto!"

"Hey." The fully awakened Naruto grinned and let his clones help him get to a seated position.

"Any luck, boss?"

"Nah, just blacked out for a moment. Bring out the kitchen knives."

"Knock it off already, Naruto!"

* * *

**CHAPTER 03 END**


	4. Lily Seed

**Disclaimer: **I don't know Naruto, in case it isn't obvious by now.

* * *

_**Naruto Genkyouien**_

- ナルト- 幻脅威宴

**Chapter Four: Lily Seed

* * *

  
**

"Onii-chan!" Sayuri exclaimed at the visage of Naruto and Ayame entering the large room that included the jail that contained her. With a huge smile and arms wide open, she rushed to embrace her new favorite person in the whole world…

Naruto and Ayame winced when the seal did its job, the completely incoherent buzzing of electricity only adding to the impression of pain.

"Mugyuu…" This was the only sound that came from the twitching nine-tailed Kitsune.

"I'm sure there's something incredibly amusing about that. I just don't see it." Ayame declared.

"Ouch." Naruto was a lot more…concise.

A few minutes later, Sayuri was purring on Naruto's lap.

"How come you can purr? Aren't you a fox?"

"I am a Nine-Tails. I can do **ANYTHING**."

"Uh-huh. Why did Ayame-nee-chan have to bring me here then?"

"Mugyuu…"

Naruto frowned. "You just watched while I cracked my head open, didn't you?"

"Mugyuu…Sayuri's sowwy."

Ayame watched in utter amusement. The girl swallowed each and every single of Naruto's words, even if it was obvious to Ayame that the boy was just playing with the little girl.

_So unlike a Kitsune…and is it just me or Naruto finds some sick pleasure in teasing her?_

Then again, who wouldn't enjoy the power to tease the almighty **Kyuubi**?

"Alright, you two, let's get to business." Ayame clapped to claim their attention.

"Nee, Ayame-onee-chan…"

Ayame blushed at the way the mightiest of Kitsune had addressed her, but managed to keep her overall composure. "Ye-yes, Sayuri-sama?"

"Why are you hiding youh tails?"

"Eh?" Ayame blinked. She hadn't even paid attention to that. However, the way Naruto was suddenly staring at her made her feel a bit self-conscious. "Ah…I…I can't. I can't show them."

"Uh? You can't?" Sayuri's fluffy tails dropped and got wet. Ayame did wonder about all the water.

"I can't. It's…it's a bit complicated. Sorry. But, if you really want to know, I have three. I should get my fourth tail in a few years."

"Okaaay." Sayuri uttered, but by her tone and the look on her face it was obvious she still was curious. Ayame just changed the topic.

"Sayuri-sama? The contract?"

"Ah, right!" Sayuri wagged her tails enthusiastically. "It's wight there behind you." She said, pointing with both finger and tails to some place behind Ayame.

"Um…Sayuri-sama…it's soaking wet."

Naturally, as one would expect from a scroll let to rest on a flooded surface.

"Ah…wight."

Naruto and Ayame suppressed the very strong urge to sigh. And smack the little girl on the head.

* * *

It took some time for him to sign the contract. Ayame and the boy came to find out that Sayuri couldn't stand the sight of blood, not even a prickle.

"Blood is nwasty!" She said.

Hence, the moment Naruto bit his thumb, Sayuri went "kyaa!" and Naruto's regeneration went into overdrive and closed the wound in an instant. This only made things worse, since it meant Naruto had to harm himself over and over to get enough blood to sign the damn scroll.

On a side note, Naruto felt grateful Sayuri wasn't there to watch that time he pierced his hand with a kunai on the way to Wave. That was pretty nasty.

On a second side note, they didn't even try to figure out how the whole "bleeding in Naruto's mind" thing worked. For the sake of their mental health, they chose to just accept it and be happy for it.

On a third note, Naruto wondered how Sayuri hadn't gone into a rampage with all the blood she shed that fateful night thirteen years ago. He guessed it had to do with the fact she was a several-hundred-feet-tall fox at that time, so she probably couldn't see the dark spots on the ground for what they were; namely, human beings crushed to death.

Had Jiraiya bothered to check, he would have been surprised (and terrified) to find out Naruto's name had disappeared from the toad contract.

If you go with Kitsune, you stick with Kitsune.

While the seal pretty much bonded Naruto to the world of the supernatural, as the vessel of one of its most powerful exemplars, it was the act of signing the contract which officially made Kitsune a part of his life.

"I guess I have a reason to be grateful to the baka. At least he taught me the hand seals." Naruto muttered to Ayame on their way to a deserted training area. It would be easy to find one, being the dead of night and all. Leaving the three shadow clones to their own devices in the apartment (no point in dismissing them for no reason; let them hang around if they want to), Naruto was quite surprised Ayame could easily keep up with him at ninja roof-hopping.

"What? I'm Kitsune. I should at least be able to do this, even if I'm not much of a fighter."

"Eeeh…so what do you do?"

Ayame smiled. It was a rather unconvincing one, though. "Most kitsune aren't really fighters, Naruto. Most of the time we just use our powers to stay out of trouble…and stir some trouble for others in the process. Pranking is in our blood…" She sighed. "…you have no idea how I miss that."

"Yeah, I miss pranks a bit, too…but now that I'm a ninja I've got important things to do, yeah!" He moved closer to speak in a lower tone. "But if you ever feel like it, we can still pull a good one on the idiot Sasuke."

In that moment, Ayame's mischievous kitsune smirk became quite appealing to Naruto.

"Sign me up. I might teach you a thing or two, puny human." She teased.

"Bring it on, foxy-nee-chan."

On some faraway rocky formation, Uchiha Sasuke shuddered in his sleep.

* * *

"Kon!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Kon! Kon!"

Ayame stiffened a chuckle. Naruto was twitching.

"Kon!"

Naruto turned to Ayame. "This isn't a Kitsune."

Ayame tilted her head from side to side. "Well…if we go with semantics, it is."

"It's a fox." Naruto countered. Ayame nodded.

"And a rather small kit it is."

"Kon!"

**Waaaaai! So cute!**

"Waaagh, damn it! First tadpoles, now tiny foxes! This jutsu sucks!"

Ayame decided not to comment on the fact that the one that sucked wasn't precisely the jutsu.

"Kon!" The cute little fox stared up at his summoner with big, shiny, eager eyes. His fluffy tail moved like a happy inverted pendulum.

"Well, you summoned him. He's waiting." Ayame stated.

"What?" Naruto grimaced as he looked down at the happy little thing. "Like, an order or something?"

"He seems rather enthusiastic." Ayame commented. Indeed, the little guy seemed to only have eyes for Naruto. "Then again, all youngsters are."

Naruto frowned. "Shouldn't he be, like, worried? I mean, suddenly appearing somewhere…"

"Even if he only has a single tail and lacks, let's say, mine or Sayuri-sama's level of intelligence…" Ayame pondered those words for a second before deciding to just go with them. "…he has an instinctive awareness of what happened. He knows he was summoned; he knows you summoned him."

"Hmm…" Getting on his knees, Naruto reached for the kit with his right hand. The little fox's tails moved even more eagerly as he reached to lick the rapidly closing puncture wound on Naruto's thumb.

"Hey there little guy…" Naruto warmly greeted the newly-arrived. He might have been a summoning failure, but Naruto had nothing against him. Besides, he **was** rather cute and everything…

"Kon!" The brown little thing responded joyfully. Naruto turned to Ayame.

"Does he even understand what I'm saying?"

"I am not familiar with the mechanics of summoning contracts, but from what I know I believe the act of summoning establishes an empathic connection between…" She noticed the drifting look on Naruto's face and her own face went deadpan. "…he understands."

"Ah, okay. Cool." He turned back down. The little fox hadn't even blinked. "You see little guy, I'm trying to see if I can summon a Kitsune…I mean, a big one…like, with more than one tail. I didn't really mean to summon ya, sorry. But you can stay around if you want!"

"Kon!"

* * *

"Kon!"

"Kon!"

"Kon-kon!"

"Kon! Kon kon!"

"Kon!"

"Ko-"

"**SHUT UP!**"

Naruto's words faded in the night breeze. Cute little foxes frolicked all over the place, some enjoying playful scuffles amongst themselves, some chasing the nocturnal insect life. In other words, driving Naruto insane. Sayuri's little enthusiastic giggles in his head didn't help much.

"Agh, I don't get it!" Naruto fell flat on his butt, pouting like a young angry child. A **younger **angry child, to be precise.

**Maybe you're not putting enough chakwa?**

"Oh so that's your brilliant solution: more chakra."

**Well it always works for me!**

"Of course it works; you're the fuckin' Nine-Tails."

**Mugyuu…onii-chan's angwy…**

"Ugh…I'm…not angry at you, Sayuri-chan…ah, mou…damn it!"

Ayame, whose hands idly pampered a pair of small foxes, offered only a compassionate look at the young boy.

"Maybe we should stop trying for today. I for once should be going home as soon as possible."

"Aww crap. We didn't even get to do much tonight, did we?"

"Indeed we didn't, Naruto-kun. Same time tomorrow?" She said as she got on her feet, stretching both arms and legs to restore circulation.

"Alright…just…I think I'll stay here a while longer, okay?" Naruto looked down, feeling like crap after so many continuous failures.

"Fair enough." Ayame shrugged. "Just don't overwork yourself. And you really should dismiss all these children; I'm surprised nobody noticed all the noise. Have a good night, Naruto-kun, Sayuri-sama."

"Un."

**Haaaai!**

With that, Ayame disappeared ninja-(or is it Kitsune?) style. Naruto turned to the hyperactive foxes.

"Alright guys, it was fun and all, but you're all going home now!"

The foxes didn't show any signs of disliking Naruto's command. They all replied with one big "KON!" before disappearing in clouds of smoke that filled the entire area.

"Damn, that was a lot of foxes. Maybe one day I should just let them loose on Konoha and see what happens."

The entire population of Konohagakure (with a few exceptions) cringed in their sleep. Those who were still awake cringed, too.

Naruto, however, seemed to have recovered his usual enthusiasm for this final test of the day.

"Alright, let's do this! I'm gonna pump LOTS of chakra in this one!"

**I can help!**

"No." Naruto's expression became awfully serious for a second. "If I don't get this myself then what's the point?"

**Ehh…I don't get it.**

Naruto sighed. "Nevermind. Anyway, here I go!"

**Ossu!**

Sayuri release her connection to Naruto's vision so as to not see her vessel bite his right thumb and draw blood. Flashing through hand seals his body had memorized from dozens of repetitions, he slammed the hand on the ground.

"_**Kuchiyose no Jutsu**_**!**"

The resulting explosion of white smoke blew Naruto away, forcing him to land flat on his butt. He did feel something soft and furry slapping his face for an instant before the fall.

The first impression Naruto got as the smoke gently faded away was that he had succeeded. He could definitely count TWO bushy, gray silvery fox tails on this one.

Two silvery fox tails attached to the beginning of a small, shapely, clearly female rear.

Naruto's eyes traced the curve of the perfectly-shaped, peach-like buttocks, following the path of her spine up her back. She was standing with her left profile to him, so he was able to switch from the back to the front. His eyes glanced for a second on breasts that were just beginning to develop and then up to her neck and her face.

Her two tails were swinging wildly as if echoing her obvious confusion at the situational alteration. Surprisingly enough, while her tails were storms of activity, her face remained calm and impassive, emotionless in a way that would make Uchiha Sasuke jealous. Two big, crimson eyes just like Sayuri's scanned the area in front of her. When her awareness focused on the human sitting rather pathetically to her left, she turned to look down at him, in the process offering him the full view of her completely nude body.

**Ah! **Sayuri exclaimed.

Naruto saw very short, slightly messy silver hair, kept in an almost boyish style. He saw a pair of rather droopy fox ears, hung low on her head, drastically differing from Sayuri's, which usually remained perky except when she was in a low mood. He saw crimson eyes, looking down at him as if he were the sole thing in their universe: studying him, undressing him, devouring him.

He saw her emotionless, ice-cold gaze, framed by the piercing crimson eyes, a tiny nose and the flat line of her mouth.

He saw all this, but his brain would only register it later. His more pressing matter was registering those parts of her body he knew he wasn't supposed to see.

Two or three seconds later, he settled back on her cold crimson eyes, so as to not be caught staring. Of course, it was ridiculously late for that, but he hadn't gotten a response yet, so he did what he naturally found more appropriate.

Blue eyes met red. She was like a statue of living ice, her white skin glimmering under the moonlight. It was then when he realized she was soaking wet all over her pearly skin. Her tails sprinkled droplets of water as they moved. Later he would find out he had summoned her out of her night bath.

He saw all this, yet she remained unmoving, her eyes fixed on his. In the dark of the night, he couldn't see her cheeks turning just a little bit pink.

After a long minute of silence, the newcomer finally spoke. Like her expression, her voice was flat and emotionless.

"Are you my summoner?"

Naruto only nodded dumbly. The girl stared at him quietly some more, as if slowly digesting this sudden turn of events in her alien Kitsune mind.

"By any chance, there's no psycho with a spear trying to kill you right now, right?"

Naruto blinked. He didn't even want to ask why she would throw him such a question. He just shook his head like an idiot.

"Very well. Who might you be?" She asked.

"Hu…huh?" Sitting like that, with his hands on the ground by his sides, Naruto didn't make for the most impressive of figures. Especially not after that response. The girl, who looked around his age or so, didn't seem to care.

"Well?" While her voice remained flat, Naruto could somehow feel the hidden intent. "Please introduce yourself at once and explain how you came to acquire a contract that allowed you to summon me."

**Saber! I-I mean, Yurimi-nee-chan! Mugyuu, where did that come fwom…?**

Sayuri's words reset Naruto's thought processes and brought back an earlier conversation involving unnatural amounts of yuri.

"You…you're Sayuri's sister!"

At this, Yurimi blinked. The entire clan was aware of the situation of their youngest, trapped as she was within the body of a human child. It had taken a thorough investigation and several favors to figure out what exactly happened that night almost thirteen years before.

"You…are Uzumaki Naruto." It wasn't a question. Naruto slowly got on his feet. He was about an inch shorter than the girl.

"Yeah."

Yurimi closed her eyes. Naruto, in due time, would come to realize this meant she was reevaluating the situation.

"You…are Uzumaki Naruto." She repeated.

"Huh." Naruto nodded dumbly.

They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity to the boy, who was still as lost as anyone can be. When the girl began to eye him all over he really began to worry.

"Uhh…"

Unfortunately (or fortunately, that's up for debate) for him, the limited lighting offered by the moon above did not allow Naruto to notice the adorable pink blush creeping up Yurimi's peach-shaped face.

"You…you are…Naruto…"

"Um, yeah." _Weird girl._

**Hey! Yurimi-nee-chan's not weird! She's nice, and I wuv her! Oneeeeeeee-chan! It's Sayuri! Heeeeear! Waaaaaai!**

Wiggle, wiggle.

_Umm, I'm pretty sure she can't hear you, so could you please stop that?_

Yurimi regained Naruto's attention when she suddenly moved several steps backwards, obviously wishing to put some distance between them. Even the way she crossed her left arm across her chest to grab her right arm showed she was upset by something.

"Umm, excuse me…?"

"Uzumaki Naruto."

"Huh?"

"You are Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto almost rolled his eyes. "Yeah…"

She closed her eyes…and then she smiled. And by smiling, she mesmerized Naruto forever.

Her pearly, moist body glistened under the moonlight, and her silver hair and tails reflected ephemeral flickers of pale light. Like that, under the night sky, in the middle of that forest just outside of Konoha, like something out of an ethereal, evanescent fantasy, she smiled.

Naruto was sure that, in his almost thirteen years of life, he had never seen something so beautiful.

It was almost terrifying.

She opened her eyes again. "Has she claimed you yet?"

"Claim?"

**What's that?**

Yurimi shook her head slowly. "No, of course she hasn't. That was a rather stupid question." Focusing her unrelenting gaze on Naruto, she spoke again.

"My apologies." She uttered, her tone not reflecting her words in the slightest. "Allow me to introduce myself first, Master."

That last word almost kick-started the engine in Naruto's brain. Emphasis on almost.

She continued in the same automaton-like voice that Naruto would (have to) become used to.

"I am your humble, devoted slave from this day onwards."

"Eh?"

"My name is Higashiyama Yurimi, but you may call me 'slave', or any other way you would prefer."

"Eh?"

"I would be particularly pleased to be called 'you sexy thing you'."

"Eh?"

"I have no experience, but by your age I would infer you do not have either. I hope we can learn to enjoy each other together."

"Uh?"

"I do not know if I will find it unpleasant, but if you so desire, I would be more than happy to swallow."

"…eh?"

**CHAPTER 04 END**


	5. Interlude: Unconventional Kitsune

_**Naruto Genkyouien**_

- ナルト- 幻脅威宴

**Interlude: Unconventional Kitsune**

Let us begin with a short introduction to the subtle and ancient Kitsune Art of bathing.

For obvious reasons, the Higashiyama Clan lacks the many comforts of human technology. Fortunately for them, their supernatural powers often compensate for this lacking.

Without ready access to water heating machinery, a Higashiyama who desires to take a long, soothing hot bath would have to spend plenty of time beforehand readying the bathtub by feeding wood to the fire. Even then, they would have to somehow figure out how to keep the fire running during the whole bath time. While the obvious idea would be to ask someone else to do it; in a family of fickle female Kitsune this is not very prone to happening, unless one of the two guardians or one of the more helpful lilies is available.

Fortunately for the lilies, and to Kitsune worldwide, there's an alternate solution.

One of the basic techniques all Kitsune learn almost as soon as they acquire their second tail is the Kitsune Fire. Despite the name, however, this is not real fire, but chakra in its raw form, shaped into the form of flame and converted to thermal energy by the will of the Kitsune. It is not fire, but it behaves like such in all the ways that matter. Actually, it might be even more convenient than real fire, as it can ignite objects or not at the Kitsune's will. The point is that it can be used to warm water, which is exactly what one of Sayuri's sisters is precisely doing.

Higashiyama Yuria greatly enjoyed the little pleasures in life. Needless to say, she immensely enjoyed spending a long time in the bathtub, placidly languishing while she cleaned every inch of her well-shaped body and rinsed every stand of her ebony hair and tails. After this bath she would perform a very important ritual that involved demanding physical work, hence there was no reason to take a bath other than the sheer enjoyment of that act.

Most Kitsune, especially females, possess an almost unhealthy obsession with their bodies, bearing a need to shape themselves into exemplars of beauty. While nature certainly did most of the job for them, as it was extremely rare for a Kitsune to be born "ugly," for most it wasn't enough. While the overall standard of what means to be "beautiful" is practically equal to all, every individual has their own quirks and details that shape their own perception of beauty.

In a Clan exclusively composed of females, this setup was often magnified to annoying proportions.

Looking at the Matriarch and absolute ruler of the Clan, Higashiyama Yuri, it becomes obvious that the basic characteristics of a "pure, true" Higashiyama female implied the concepts "tall" and "voluptuous." Yuri was possessor of a beauty envied by almost all Kitsune and a shapely body that could drive countless men to delirium.

Tall, with huge breasts.

Sure, she also had a magnificent pair of legs, wide hips and a shapely rear with seven perfectly groomed silver tails, but most were too busy admiring her tall posture and her humongous melons.

For obvious reasons, Kitsune within and beyond the Clan looked at Yuri's daughters and disapproved of anything that differed from the standard set by the Matriarch, a standard she inherited from her own grandmother.

Yuri's, firstborn, Himeyuri, passed with flying colors, fully deserving her title of "Princess Lily." She had the height, and she had the bust. While she looked little like her mother, having inherited most traits from her Celestial father, she got the two things she needed from her mother: height and bust. And there was no denying she was beautiful from every other angle.

While Yuri's second daughter, Yurine, didn't grow up as tall as her mother and elder sister, she was deemed "tall enough." It also helped that her tits are huge. Bigger than Himeyuri's, but not as big as her mother's. But, seriously, few females can grow a pair as big as THOSE. She also happened to be utterly adorable, being a ditz, as well as a top-class cook.

Yurine's two daughters, too, had been "approved of" by Kitsune society. While they were still far from achieving their full maturity, they already possessed bodies that would attract stares anywhere and make any human teenage girl boil with envy. The whole sweet/sexy dichotomy they had only added to their overall appeal.

In the same way, Yuri's other daughters fulfilled the requisites. Yurisa and the twins, Yuriko and Yuriko, all were proud owners of tall, voluptuous bodies. While neither of the three had grown as tall as Himeyuri and their mother, the twins were taller than Yurine, and Yurisa was only a fraction of an inch shorter.

For these reasons, Yuri's daughters were very desirable amongst male Kitsune. While their secluded nature, strict social rules and refusal to allow males within their grounds was a bit of a deterrent, the promise of immense pleasure by mating with one of the gorgeous Higashiyama Lilies was reason enough to drive many potential suitors.

After the big shock of the twins outright declaring that they were not interesting in sex with anyone but each other, the obvious reaction of the youngest generation of male Kitsune would be to turn to the next in line. Three-tailed Yuria had already undergone the Kitsune equivalent of puberty and was, in crude words, ripe for the taking.

The males were disappointed.

Yuria is short.

As in, really short.

Awfully short.

More like tiny.

And while her breasts might be large enough to look extremely appealing, any objective eye would realize they do not really compare of the voluptuous yet not overly exaggerated frames of her elders. Yuria's tits are big, but they look bigger than they truly are because she's so damn tiny. In addition, Yuria prefers to keep her bust carefully wrapped in bindings; hence most males who have met the three-tails never became aware of Yuria's most notorious physical feature.

And, while short height was rarely a deterrent for good sex, males found themselves drawn away from the three-tailed lily.

It just felt wrong somehow.

Her apparent lack of talent for Kitsune Arts was no help whatsoever, either.

While Yuria seemingly dismissed every single male she had the chance to meet, there was no hiding the truth.

An undesirable female Kitsune is a shame among Kitsune.

While this could have earned her the scorn of her Clan, or even exile, Higashiyama Yuri once more showed her unconventional ways. She was a Matriarch, but she was above all a mother who deeply cherished her progeny.

For this reason, Yuria believes without a shadow of a doubt that Higashiyama Yuri is the most incredible and wonderful being in existence.

The twins make sharp jabs at her "uselessness" whenever they find a chance, but Yuria can live with that.

Because Yuria **believes**.

She believes that there's a purpose for her. A reason she was brought into this vast world, with all her "defects" and "faults."

She believes that; just like Himeyuri's natural commanding aura, Yurine's charisma and prodigal cooking skills, and Yurimi's uncanny ability to understand and assimilate Kitsune Jutsu; she, too, can do something nobody else can.

She believes she can fly.

She believes she can soar above her talented, beautiful sisters even if she was deprived of those blessings by the ruthless hand of genetics.

She believes in hard work, enthusiasm and determination as the stepping stones to greatness.

She believes in the day in which she'll grow strong enough to defeat her younger sister and show the world that the term "genius" is meaningless.

She believes in the day her mother will look at her with the same proud eyes she looks at her sisters and realize she, Yuria, is also a proud princess of Higashiyama.

She believes in the day she will be acknowledged as a great Kitsune, worthy of praise, respect and admiration.

She believes in the day she will meet a male who **believes **as strongly as she does.

That day, he will look at her, and she will look at him, and they will love each other forever.

In that bathtub, as she sobs in mixed joy and sorrow, Higashiyama Yuria does not realize that she is, in many ways, the most unconventional of Kitsune, even more so than her forgiving, caring mother or her ridiculous youngest sister.

But then again, it is a well known fact that stories are rarely written about ordinary people.


	6. Little Lily Fire

**Disclaimer: **so, once again, I don't own Naruto, or Mahoraba, or School Days, or any other animated series, book, song, and/or game directly or indirectly referenced in this story. I do own a plethora of OCs. Yay!

* * *

_**Naruto Genkyouien**_

- ナルト- 幻脅威宴

**Chapter Five: Little Lily Fire

* * *

  
**

Katsura Kotonoha was, most of time, a quiet, amiable kitsune. Not being prone to making lots of friends, she expressed an undying loyalty to those few she could label as such. She was particularly distant towards the opposite sex, despite (and in spite) of her particularly busty figure; an unusual trait for a kitsune.

Her distance, not her figure.

Ever since she swore her allegiance to Higashiyama-ke, she devoted her entire self to serving the clan, and, for the past fifty-two years, she acted as maid and bodyguard for the second youngest of the Higashiyama sisters, Yurimi.

Yuri knows Kotonoha's entire history, of course, but only Yuri. None of the daughters, not even Yurimi, know the full history of where she came from or what she did before showing up with her mother and sister at the base of Higashiyama and pleading for sanctuary with an offer of allegiance. They only know what they see: a tall, graceful Kitsune, with a pair of breasts to match their mother's, who always carries a sports bag on her left shoulder and was skilled at the martial art of _**Nitouryuu**_; dual-wielding a katana and, of all things, a backsaw. Adding to that the high-speed and healing techniques provided by her River blood; she made perfect bodyguard material.

Then Kotonoha introduced them to the contents of her bag, and they deemed her utterly and thoroughly insane. Not that they would say something like that in front of her. Even if they probably should.

Anyway.

Despite her…issues, Kotonoha earned her place in the Higashiyama Shrine, and is well loved and respected by everyone there. After all, taking her obvious insanity aside, she's actually a very nice woman.

And so, Kotonoha was given the role of guarding and serving a young Yurimi recently-turned two-tails. She was there to witness the earliest stages of her growth, and was among the first to notice Yurimi's substantial talents. She has even considered teaching Yuri's seventh daughter her art of the sword (and backsaw).

She deeply cared for Yurimi, as she had watched over her for over half a century already. She knew Yurimi was a very good girl, who hadn't let her immense talent get over her head. So she preferred to face the world with a stoic face? So she preferred to conceal the depth of her emotions in front of others? No big deal. That wasn't a bad thing in the slightest.

It wasn't like she was devoid of emotion. Yuria-sama was always able to rile her up surprisingly easily.

Yes, Kotonoha cared for Yurimi a lot. It's no surprise then, that she was fairly preoccupied when Yurimi virtually disappeared from the face of the earth that evening. After making sure Yurimi had not eluded her somehow by verifying she was nowhere within the Clan Grounds, Kotonoha promptly reported the situation to the matriarch.

While there was no hiding her preoccupation, the lack of clues forced Yuri to take no other measure but wait and hope for the best. She did assure Kotonoha that, should Yurimi not return by sunrise next morning, all the Clan's resources would be devoted to finding her.

After that, Kotonoha returned to the now empty room. Like all the rooms within the compound, Yurimi's was spacious despite its lack of furniture or adornments. The life of a Higashiyama is comfortable, but not luxurious…at least not in private. Like most Kitsune, the Higashiyamas liked to look good in front of others.

But that doesn't change the fact that Yurimi's room was humble and sparse. The scarcity of items made the room look even bigger, and the only mark; the only signature of its owner was the collection of scrolls resting on a bookshelf by the corner. This bookshelf rested on top of a sturdy desk made of some exotic dark wood. Three drawers on the right side of this desk stored a collection of writing utensils which Kotonoha knew Yurimi kept in a most orderly manner.

But that was unimportant. Without its owner, the room felt cold and lifeless in a way that unsettled the guardian.

She sat down on the tatami mat by the opposite corner, left of the sliding door. Her trusty blue sports bag rested to her left. Crossing her legs, Kotonoha fixed a pair of predatory eyes on the futon in the very center of the room, where Yurimi should be meditating.

Left hand on the sheath of her katana. Right hand on her lap.

Katsura Kotonoha watched the emptiness with the eyes of a samurai.

* * *

Higashiyama Yuria smiled at the nude reflection on her body-size mirror as she worked on her long mane of ebony hair. She had to tie the long locks that fell down her forehead and the sides of her head. She tied two smaller ribbons at the ends, but also wrapped the same white tape on the parts that might be in contact with her face. She didn't tolerate the feel of her hair brushing and slapping her face, but she liked her hair too much to cut it short. She also tied the end above her tailbone with a big white ribbon, to make sure her hair did not bother her three particularly long and fluffy white-tipped black tails.

Making a few twirls to make sure everything was properly tied; Yuria giggled, put on a clean set of panties and moved on to the next phase: breast bindings. It was a ritual she took very seriously, for two reasons. First, she was very proud of her bust and of the unusual contrast it made with her short frame. Second, her breasts are very sensitive, hence the utmost care with which she wrapped them, to minimize the effect of abrupt motions (like fighting) or unexpected contact, rubbing or impact.

When she was done, she shamelessly grabbed the two globes from below and pushed them, testing their firmness and the tightness of the bindings. Satisfied with what she felt (as always), she winked saucily and moved on to the third phase: clothing.

Unlike Yurine, who wore it every few days or so, Yuria had made the shrine maiden garments her very personal signature, wearing them every single day. Her sisters thought her odd because of it, but Yuria just couldn't see the oddity. They lived in a shrine, so shrine maiden clothes made sense, right?

On a side note, Yurisa's only daughter, little Mayuri, seemed to be following Yuria's example.

The point is; Yuria wears the _**miko**_ clothes because she likes them. However, she wished the _**hakama**_ came in colors other than the standard red. It would be awesome if it came in a livelier, cooler color. Like, let's say, orange.

"Alright." She whispered to the Yuria in the mirror when she was done. "Perfect."

With hands on her hips, she examined her reflection. The two Yurias smiled in unison. They were beautiful. They felt beautiful.

"Let's go."

With slow, delicate steps, Yuria exited her bedroom and closed the door behind. After a pause, she took a deep breath…and then exploded in motion.

A few steps took her to the entrance to Yurimi's bedroom, which she opened recklessly to make her move.

"SNEAK ATTACK!" She cried triumphantly. "Prepare yourself, Yurim-EEEEEK!"

Once again, stillness.

"Haa…ha-ha…" Her caramel eyes watched warily the perfect blade that caressed her jugular.

"I must ask you to not enter the room so abruptly, Yuria-sama. I might mistake you for an enemy."

Yuria's eyes followed the blade of the katana to its wielder. "Haa…Kotonoha…yo!" Her voice came out a pitiful squeak.

"Hello to you too, Yuria-sama."

"Um…could you please…?" She didn't dare swallow. She might get cut.

"Of course."

The sigh of relief Yuria released when the katana was sheathed came out sixteen decibels louder than normal. Only when the threat of death-by-yandere was gone did Yuria notice the unusual emptiness of the room.

"Where's Yurimi?"

Kotonoha had never moved her eyes from the center of the room. Not even when she reacted to Yuria's sudden entrance. She didn't do it to respond, either.

"She is…absent."

"Absent?" Yuria wasn't stupid. "Where is she, Kotonoha?"

The bodyguard read the shift in Yuria's tone of voice. It wasn't just an inquiry.

With a sigh, Kotonoha turned to the seventh of the Lilies. Yuria wouldn't be leaving that room anytime soon. She could tell.

* * *

**Idon'tknoooow why you are running-it's juuuuuust myhousethat'sburning,**

**Blazing, scorching, smoldering, glowing, flaming, razing to ashes!**

**Everyoneeeee's just too loud-thehouuuuuse'sgonnafalldown,**

**Dropping, plunging, tumbling, sinking, collapsing to the ground!**

"Ugh…" Naruto groaned as he let his head fall on the dining table, hard.

"What is it, Master?" Yurimi inquired from the seat in front, while sipping her tea. It was fortunate that there were tea leaves in Naruto's cupboard. It was even more fortunate that they were still edible.

"Sayuri's singing…"

"Is it the fire song or the explosion song?" Another sip.

"There is an **explosion** song?"

"Yes."

"Kami save me."

"I never cease to be amazed by Sayuri's knowledge of words to describe acts of blazing destruction." Yurimi commented idly.

**Waaaai, The Expwosion Song! Nee, nee, onii-chan? Wanna hear it? The Expwosion Song? Sayuri made it!**

_No thanks._

**Waaa-mooou, onii-chan! It's The Expwosion Song! It is a gweat song! You must hear it!**

_I insist. No thanks._

**Sayuri sings it whenever something expwodes.**

_And just how often things explode around you?_

**All the time! It's fun! So, The Expwosion Song?**

_No means no, Sayuri._

**Mugyuu…expwosion song…**

Naruto blinked a few times to clear his sight. While Sayuri was a headache inducer all by herself, Naruto had a more pressing matter to deal with at the moment.

Sayuri's sister, Yurimi, calmly drank her tea in front of him, wearing only his trademark orange jacket. Soon after her…introduction, she complained about the cold outdoors. Then Naruto shouted in outrage about her nakedness. Yurimi then explained that he had summoned her out of the bathtub and, while she could use her Kitsune Fire to instantly dry her body, it didn't change the fact that it was cold.

* * *

_Naruto quickly took off his trademark jacket and offered it to the girl._

"_Here. Cover yourself." Naruto offered, suddenly thinking of looking away. A little bit too late for that, boy._

_Yurimi immediately accepted the offer. "You have my gratitude, Master."_

_When Naruto looked forward again, Yurimi was already wearing the garment. She was also rubbing her face and her tails against the fabric._

"_Uhh…what are you doing?"_

"_Memorizing Master's wonderful male scent." Yurimi didn't hesitate to answer. She didn't stop, either. "And marking it with my own."_

_Naruto stood deadpan for a few seconds. "I…really shouldn't have asked that question."_

_**Mou, not fair! I wanna mark onii-chan's clothes, too!**_

_Naruto groaned.

* * *

  
_

They were about to make their way to Naruto's apartment when something amazing happened.

* * *

_Naruto's attempt at leaping to the nearest tree was interrupted by a strange tingling sensation in his head. It felt as if someone had poked his forehead with an ice cube. The ever-attentive Yurimi, despite her ministrations to the orange jacket, didn't fail to notice the sudden change._

"_Anything wrong, Master?"_

"_Nah, it's just…one of my stupid shadow clones slipped and got scalded with boiling water…"_

_A long pause._

"…_and just how do I know that?"_

_Yurimi's eyes narrowed a bit more than the usual. "Shadow clones?"_

_Naruto's eyes sparkled with excitement. Setting aside this new interesting discovery for further evaluation, he addressed Yurimi's question with a wide grin._

"_Yeah, the Shadow Clone Technique is my most AWESOME jutsu!" Making the familiar cross-shaped seal, he smirked. "Check this out."_

"_**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**__!" While he had certainly used a lot of chakra summoning so many foxes plus Yurimi, he still had enough to summon four clones and still feel fairly comfortable. "So? What do you think?" Naruto asked eagerly. "Isn't it cool or what?"_

_Unfortunately (or fortunately), Naruto failed to notice the gleam in Yurimi's eyes._

"…_Master…is a great Master indeed."

* * *

  
_

Naruto was too busy figuring out the meaning of this new development to notice the way Yurimi eyed him since that moment. He eventually came to the conclusion that somehow the memories and experiences of his clones made it to his head when they disappeared. After adding "Find Possible Uses for This" to his To-Do list, they finally made it to Naruto's place, where he was thoroughly unsettled by the inquisitive eyes with which Yurimi examined his residence. It was so unsettling Naruto had to stop her by inviting her to sit down and drink some tea (which he didn't even know he had until after he posed the question).

"So, umm…Yurimi…uh…can I call you Yurimi, anyway?"

"I believe I already said you may call me however you want, Master. I am partial to 'You sexy thing you' or 'My fine piece of tail.'" A sip of tea. "They would certainly boost my ego."

**I don't get it.**

"Uh…no." Naruto boldly stated. "Yurimi."

"Very well." The girl readily acquiesced.

"Right…so…umm…so, you are Sayuri's sister."

"Yes. I am Sayuri's immediately older sister, the seventh of Mother's eight daughters."

**The eight pwetty lily sisters!**

"Damn…" Naruto allowed himself a rather melancholic smile. "That's a big family…"

"Yes, it is." After a particularly long sip, she let the teacup rest on the table to place her hands on her lap. "It is rather complicated at times, we have very many differences and we…argue quite often, but it is a wonderful family."

**I wuv aaaaaaall my nee-chans! And mama! I wuv mama lots!**

"I do hope I can mean something similar to you, Master."

"Huh?"

"Family."

Yurimi's expressionless gaze, Naruto thought, felt strangely placid. It somehow embarrassed him, forcing him to lower his head to avoid her narrow, almost feline, crimson eyes.

**Um! 'coz onii-chan's Sayuri's onii-chan!**

Naruto blushed a bit more. Despite the sheer wrongness of the whole thing, being called family by **Kyuubi **of all beings made his eyes water a little bit.

"I would have to ask you to be patient, though, my Master. While I am all for making a family with you, I do think I need further preparation to face the responsibilities of raising offspring."

"…huh?" **Mugyuu?**

Yurimi stared at her summoner for several long, silent seconds. "…I don't want to have children yet."

**Kits?**

Naruto frowned and blushed a little. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Just to let you know in case you are looking forward to it."

"WHAT?" Naruto exclaimed in utter shock and disbelief, while the reddish tinge on his cheeks extended to cover his whole face. "NO! What makes you think that? I'm only 12!"

Naruto would be the first to admit he would like to have a big family one day, but that was the last thing in his mind at that moment in his life.

"Very well." Yurimi seized her teacup to drink again. "But let me make clear that I am definitely not against partaking in the act of reproduction."

**Uhh…Yurimi-nee-chan spweaks weird.**

The Genin had to close his eyes to fight the rapidly growing headache. This girl made him feel like an idiot every time she opened her mouth. Sayuri sharing his feelings was almost a relief.

"…what?"

While her expression did not change in the slightest, Naruto felt like she was patronizing him.

"…I don't want children, but I'm not against having sex anytime you'd like."

Naruto slammed his face flat on the table before the nosebleed pushed him backwards. "WHAT?"

Yurimi frowned, albeit a little. "I would expect Master to be familiar with the concept…"

"I KNOW what sex is!" The thoroughly embarrassed Naruto spat back.

"Good." Yurimi acknowledged.

**I don't! What's sex, onii-chan?**

"Aaaugh…" Naruto groaned. "Just forget it, Sayuri…"

Yurimi blinked. "Could it be…does Sayuri-nee-sama listen to our conversation, Master?"

"Yeah…" Naruto muttered, his voice slightly muffled by the table. "…wait, 'nee-sama'?"

**Te-he-he…**

"She might be my younger sister, but she **is** a nine-tails,"

**I got nine tails! They're pwetty! **

Wiggle, wiggle.

", and she must be honored and respected as such." The silver-haired Kitsune explained.

"Huh…" Naruto pondered Yurimi's words. The girl seemed to be in reflection.

"I guess it would be inappropriate to follow with our current line of conversation in Sayuri's presence." She paused while she reached a conclusion. "Very well. We can continue determining the terms of our relationship some other time."

"What relationship?"

**Wee-la-tion-shup?**

"Some other time." Yurimi repeated, nodding to herself. "Master, would you happen to know for how long will I remain here?"

Naruto blinked, finally pushing his face off the table. "Huh? Umm, no, not really…" He paused. "But you've already been around longer than anything I've ever summoned."

"Certainly, my stay has been quite prolonged already. It is admirable, Master."

"Well, yeah…" Naruto chuckled embarrassedly. "I've always got a lot of chakra…"

"I see…" Yurimi finished her cup of tea and placed it on the table. "It reminds me of a sister of mine."

"Sayuri?"

"No."

**Nu-uh! Yuria-nee-chan! Her chakwa's HUUUUGE! Well, it was, now I've got more 'coz I'm a nine tails! **

Wiggle, wiggle.

"Uhh, good for you, Sayuri…"

**I'll set the world on fire!**

"Yuria, huh…that's the…" Naruto winced as he counted in his mind, making his characteristic vulpine expression. The sight of it made Yurimi redden a little, even if her expression did not change. "…uhh…sixth one?"

THEN he did realize what Sayuri just said. "Wait, what?"

"Indeed." Yurimi nodded while blissfully unaware of her little sister's unfathomable evil. "My immediately older sister. I see Sayuri-nee-sama has already told you about our family."

**Yup!**

"Yeah, a little…"

Makes you wonder if the "attack" on Konoha was really an accident.

"In any case, I may assume that Master summoned me for a reason."

"Okay-okay-okay…" Naruto stopped the girl before she could say anything else, even raising his right hand to make a stop sign. "Before we say anything else, what's with the whole 'Master' stuff?"

Yurimi, who at this point was already accustomed to answering Naruto's "obvious" questions, replied without hesitating.

"You are my summoner and Master, and this is the role I have accepted. As your summon, I am your aide and companion, but it is my choice to devote my entire self to you."

"Believe me when I tell you I will do my utmost best to assist you and please you in any way you may desire."

**Waaai, Yurimi-nee-chan's the best!**

Naruto frowned, though. "This…is this the power of the contract?"

Yurimi calmly shook her head. "The summoning contract has no power over us. I and every Kitsune you summon from now on decide how much…or how little we want to aid you. I will be your most faithful slave, but I must advise you to be careful when dealing with other Kitsune."

Naruto's look was almost pitiful in his embarrassment. "Can you stop that 'slave' stuff, really…?"

"But…I am Master's slave. Why should I call myself something other than what I am?"

"But you're not!" Naruto insisted, carefully slamming his fists on the table for emphasis. "I don't have slaves! I don't want slaves!"

In a staring contest, Naruto was at an obvious disadvantage. Against a face that remained unchanging no matter the situation, Naruto had to struggle to maintain a firm, steady expression. Eventually, it would be Yurimi who would break the standstill.

"Very well. Please look at me however you may wish, Master. But it won't change the fact that I'm willing to do anything for you."

Naruto groaned. There was something seriously wrong with this girl.

"You don't even know me…"

"That is where you are mistaken."

Naruto stared oddly.

"I know you, Master. I know you very well."

"The Higashiyama Clan has been aware of Sayuri-nee-sama's and your situation for more than eight years. We have two kitsune placed in this village, who send regular reports to Mother."

"I managed to read bits and pieces throughout the years. I know you. Or at least, I know some of you. And I love the you I know. I did not have a detailed description of your physical appearance, but I had a mental image I conjured in my erotic fantasies."

Naruto found himself blushing even when he wanted to look surprised and confused.

"I was surprised and immensely pleased to see that the you in front of me is strikingly similar to the you I masturbated to."

Yurimi's eyes followed Naruto's body as it was blood-propelled backwards to the ground in blissful unconsciousness. She did not seem to mind the spray of blood that showered her face as well as Naruto's jacket.

"Hmm…so it does happen in real life." She commented in a disturbingly scientific tone.

**Onii-chan? You okay? What's 'mastuhbated'? Onii-chaaaan! Nee, why did evwything go black? Onii-chan!

* * *

  
**

Naruto awakened the way all anime characters awaken after being rendered unconscious: with a groan.

"Uhh…ugh…"

**Wah! Onii-chan! Onii-chan's awake! Onii-iiiii-chan!**

Naruto winced. "Sayuri, be a nice girl and be quiet…"

**Munii? Ah, um! Sayuri's a good girl, so she'll stay quiet for onii-chan!**

"Ugh…thank you…" He was surprised and pleased to find out he didn't have to adjust his eyes to the light, as there was not any. He was embraced by the dark comfort of his bedroom…and by a pair of arms.

In the still silence of the late night and the fulfilling warmth of his bed…wait, it wasn't feeling that warm at all. Anyway, Naruto gained full awareness of his situation.

"Yurimi."

"Master. Good to see you are awake."

"Um, yeah. You carried me here."

"I had to use a considerable amount of chakra to strengthen my tails. I am afraid my time with you might be coming to an end."

"Thanks…I guess." Naruto could feel the two tails, one tickling his belly and the second resting on his right leg. "So…why are you naked?"

"I am not accustomed to wearing clothes on my resting place."

"Huh?"

Yet another all-too-familiar pause. "…I sleep in the nude."

"Oh. I guess that's explains it." Naruto stared at the old ceiling. Hum, that crack wasn't there before. "Then, why am **I** naked?"

"After feeling you up-" Yurimi paused. "I mean, feeling your skin, I came to the conclusion that it was abnormally cold. I decided to share my body warmth in the hopes that it would restore you to health."

"Hmm…" Naruto mused. "I actually got that. But, Yurimi…"

"Yes, Master?"

"Would that 'coldness' of mine have anything to do with the half dozen ice cubes I can feel under my back?"

**Heheheh, it tickles! Ah! I mean, quiet. Sayuri's quiet.**

"Only half a dozen? The others must have mel-I mean, I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Where did you get the ice from anyway?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about." The foxgirl repeated.

"Why the hell am I asking this? Just what do you think you are…doing…?"

Fully awake, Naruto was ready to complain about his situation, until he made the mistake of looking at Yurimi. From so close, her nose being no more than four inches from his, the experience was dramatically different. It was then when Naruto finally came to realize that the girl in front of him was not human. She was Kitsune, an existence to which the boundaries of human knowledge, wisdom and beauty are inexistent.

It was like when he first summoned her, but the proximity amplified the experience at least tenfold. Her crimson eyes, fixated on his, were like liquid, bloody moons, glimmering with the light from an unknown star. Her smooth, flawless, milky skin; her silver tails; her body as a whole seemed to be designed to be translucent, to reflect the beauty of the phantasmagoric night and resonate into a single being of ephemeral beauty.

He opened his mouth, to pronounce words that refused to leave his throat. He noticed her blinking, as if the sight of his slightly parted lips had triggered something. And maybe it did.

Naruto's eyes widened in alarm when Yurimi's lips inched closer to his, but there was no resistance. His body, his mind and his heart, it seemed, were eager for whatever she was willing to offer.

**Mu-giii!**

Naruto blinked. Yurimi's eyes closed as she reached contact.

"Umm…Yurimi."

"Yes…?" Her tone was husky, quiet, eager. Erotic.

"…your tail is on fire."

"Hmm?" It took her two whole seconds to compute the sentence, another second to open her eyes and three more seconds to realize that, indeed, one of her tails had spontaneously combusted.

"INARI BLESSED!"

Watching her run like a, well, a fox out of hell, how could Naruto know that it would be one of the very few occasions he would see Yurimi explode in emotion like that? Sure, it was sheer terror, but it was an emotion nonetheless.

The sound of running water told Naruto that Yurimi managed to save her lovely silver tail.

"SAYURI!" Her angry voice roared from behind the door. Respect for the nine-tails be damned. "EXPLAIN YOURSELF!"

**I didn't do it…**

"Right." Naruto rolled his eyes.

**Mugyuu…I'm sowwy! Bu-but! I…I dunno…but I…I WEALLY wanted to set Yurimi-nee-chan on fire.**

Naruto blinked. In the warm (albeit slightly wet) comfort of his bed, the vessel of a pyromaniac reflected on what had just happened.

"I…don't know if I should be thankful or scared out of my wits. I'll go with both."

**Ah! I fohgot! Onii-chan?**

"Hmm?"

**What's mastuhbated mean?**

Naruto blinked. And a second time, for good measure.

"Good night, Sayuri." Rolling on his right side, he wrapped himself on the sheets, but not before reclaiming the t-shirt Yurimi had taken off him in his unconsciousness. He was not up to giving sleeping in the nude a try.

**Eeeeh? Onii-chan? Mouuuu, tell me! Tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell meeeee! Onii-chan! Nee? You there? Tell mweeeee? Pwease? Pwetty pwease? Mu-niii?**

With a tired groan, Naruto acknowledged the beginning of what seemed to be a very long night.

* * *

**CHAPTER 05 END**


	7. Passionate Lilies

_**Naruto Genkyouien**_

- ナルト- 幻脅威宴

**Chapter Six: Passionate Lilies

* * *

  
**

Naruto could not fall asleep. There were several reasons for this. The main reason, as well as the stupidest, being his forgetting to turn off the lights.

The second reason was that Sayuri's nagging to have the definition of "mastuhbated" explained to her had resulted in Naruto becoming the bearer of an insufferable headache. At least the little foxgirl had stopped, but it was obvious she was not happy with the lack of response.

The third reason was the pair of eyes he could feel on his back.

"Yurimi."

"Yes, Master?"

"What exactly are you doing?"

"I…am unsure of what to do. I see that Master has retired for the night. Does that mean I am dismissed?"

Naruto sighed. It was certainly rude to just go to bed like that, wasn't it?

"Well…while the summon ends…just…" He clumsily patted the space behind him. "Get comfortable. And please turn off the lights."

He sighed in relief when his room was cloaked in the comfort of darkness. His relief was short-lived, though, as he soon found himself trapped by a slender arm grabbing hold of his chest and a just-as-slender leg wrapping itself on and around his. A full body was soon fully pressed against his back.

"Yurimi."

"Yes, Master?"

"Just exactly what are you doing?"

"Getting comfortable."

"Should have seen that one coming."

* * *

"Nee, Kotonoha…"

"Yes, Yuria-sama?" The guardian's eyes never left the center of the room, her hands busy cleaning the beautiful and deadly katana.

"You know, you've been here since I was a plain vixen, but I've never really asked you…do you have any hobbies? As in, what do you do in your free time?"

"Hobbies?" The question managed to drive Kotonoha out of her self-induced trance, shifting her face into a rather cute look of wonder. Blinking as she considered the question, she turned to face the third youngest of the lilies. Her experienced hands moved on their own, finishing the delicate and important cleaning procedure. "Well…I like boats."

"Boats?" Yuria raised an eyebrow.

"Boats." Kotonoha repeated. "I think boats are romantic. You see, as soon as I had Makoto-kun all for myself, the first thing we did was to take a boat and get away of everything for a while." She giggled sweetly, like a teenager in love. "It was like a honeymoon!"

Yuria carefully eyed the blue sports bag by the bodyguard's side, rapidly regretting her curiosity. "Uh…huh. Anything else?"

"Well…I like taking long baths. It's not something I can afford to do very often."

"Hmm…" Yuria nodded to herself. She liked long baths too. That was normal. "…yeah, warm baths are nice. You know, if you ever feel like it, just ask me and you can take my tub. I know Yurimi's all stingy and stuff."

Kotonoha blinked. "Oh, I could never-"

"Don't give me that." Yuria interrupted with a dismissing hand gesture. "Don't worry, we're friends…I think…I hope."

Kotonoha giggled. It was a beautiful thing to hear. "Of course, Yuria-sama. You have my gratitude."

"Hmm!" Yuria nodded, satisfied. "Anything else?"

"You mean, more hobbies?" Yuria nodded. "Well…I like leatherworking."

"Leatherworking?"

"Um!" Kotonoha smiled, clearly drawing upon pleasant memories. "The thrill of the hunt for materials, killing in just the right way and properly skinning the body…" She paused. "Oh, and dealing with the rest of the corpse is very important, too! And, well, after that, taking the skin and making something beautiful and useful with it…it's very satisfying."

Yuria blinked. She was starting to feel slightly ill.

"I guess I have to be grateful to Sekai, I'd never would have gotten into it had it not been for her." Kotonoha was in her own world by this point, blissfully unaware of Yuria's ever-growing horror. "She was my first work! And she can't complain…" The swordswoman added with a mock pout. "Because thanks to me she can be close to Makoto-kun, too, see?"

Yuria's face lost any color it might have still had when Kotonoha playfully patted the sports bag that contained Makoto-kun.

"Right, Sekai?"

After giving a condescending look at the bag, Kotonoha turned to Yuria, wearing that placid and wondrous smile that made her voluptuous body even more beautiful. She seemed to be rather unaware of the heavy silence that permeated the room.

Yuria's voice came out weak and strained.

"Umm…I…I think I…I'll keep waiting for Yurimi…but…outside. Yeah. I'll be waiting outside. Outside is good." She pointed at the sliding door.

"Very well." Kotonoha bowed. "Do be mindful of the cold, Yuria-sama."

"Uh…sure. Cold. No problem. Thank you…uh…don't…don't stress yourself, Kotonoha." Yuria was opening the door.

"I won't. I appreciate your concern, Yuria-sama."

"Sure…umm…yeah. See you later…umm…take care."

"Have a good night, Yuria-sama."

The short three-tails closed the door behind her and got away as far as possible. Kotonoha's smile never faltered, and being alone again, she redirected it to her beloved bag and its content.

"She's such a nice girl…Yuri-sama must be proud. Don't you think she's lovely, Makoto-kun?"

Makoto-kun gave no answer.

Fortunately.

* * *

_Sayuri?_

……………

Looking up at the cracked ceiling from his bed, Naruto smiled gently.

"Hmm, she fell asleep, I think. Well, a lot happened today, I guess…huh?"

Naruto should have kept those words to himself. He hadn't finished the first sentence when he found his vision blocked by a beautiful girl.

"Uhh…"

"I believe I just heard Master say Sayuri has fallen asleep."

"Umm…yeah…"

"Very well. We shall now resume our earlier conversation."

"Which o-oh, that one…" Naruto was rapidly gaining a healthy blush. "And just what does you being on top of me have to do with anything?"

"I was hoping we could just skip the words and move on to the heated acts of eroticism."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Why is it that I only get the things I'd rather not understand at all?"

"I like to think it's part of Master's charm."

"Rrrrrrright."

Naruto tried to look away. With Yurimi so close it was getting harder and harder to suppress his rapidly awakening libido. Failing that, he weakly tried to push her away.

"Yurimi, just what are you trying to…?"

"I know it is pretentious and inappropriate of me…" Yurimi explained. "…being only Master's faithful servant…"

"Uhh, no, that's not the reason I had in mind…"

"But I cannot deny myself…and my desire to be close to you."

Whatever Naruto wanted to say refused to come out after that, allowing Yurimi to continue.

"I want to be close to Master, closer than anyone else. I know Master, and I know Master cares very much about the few who care about him."

"I care, Master. And I want to be the most precious of Master's precious people."

If anything, credit must be given. Yurimi had definitely done her homework, knowing exactly the words to use to strike at Naruto's delicate heart. As it was, whatever feeble defenses he might have against such a blunt and honest desire for closeness, for bonding, were crumbling down.

It didn't help that Yurimi's face was gorgeous.

His heart skipped a beat when that gorgeous face leaned closer, two small, delicate hands grasping the sides of his face.

"I like…" Her tone had become softer, huskier, as if sharing a beautiful and dangerous secret. "…I really like Master's hair. And the eyes…Master has very beautiful eyes…"

Children are often complimented on their looks by their parents, most notably the mothers. They're often complimented to exasperation, but the compliments fulfill their job: they feed the child's ego while at the same time make him or her conscious of the importance of an appealing physical appearance.

This was the very first time Naruto ever listened to anyone making a favorable comment regarding his looks.

As ridiculous as it might be, it brought tears to his eyes. It was also embarrassing, and Naruto felt the need to respond to that in any way possible.

"I…huh…I think you're very pretty, too, Yurimi…" His flushed face and his averted eyes were quite endearing. However, he did get a good reaction.

Her lips arched slightly upwards, and a pinkish hue adorned her pearly cheeks, details he failed to notice in the darkness of night.

"Master…"

Naruto stiffened when he felt a cheek pressed against his, and the words whispered in his right ear almost gave him a heart attack.

"Please…" It wasn't a word. It was a moan. Naruto thought he would die of sexy.

"…kiss me."

He would eventually wonder why Sakura never crossed his mind in that moment.

Yurimi raised her head again to face him. Her eyes, crimson moons in the depths of night, dominated him with their impassive yet mesmerizing apollonian gaze. His right hand reached for her right cheek; shaking, hesitating. The girl hummed pleasantly and leaned on the palm, basking in its warmth. Two tails wagged from side to side at a slow, intermittent pace, without any apparent conscious control.

Just as slowly, Naruto moved the hand to the back of her head, getting a feel of her silvery hair. Gulping a bit too loudly, he hesitated again.

"Please…" The Kitsune begged again, and the hushed hunger in her tone broke any further resistance. Only nervousness remained.

This wasn't like being chased by the ANBU or fighting dangerous missing-nin, where he could just charge forward, hope for the best and try to outwit his opponent. Well, he guessed he could charge forward anyway. The matter was that his body just wouldn't move the way he'd want it to. It was as if his joints had been coated in concrete and left to dry.

Still, he moved. And he did things the way he always did them, after all. He got on with it and hoped for the best. Not like he had any pointers on kissing, anyway.

A slight push was all the stimuli Yurimi needed to close the gap between the two.

The first contact was soft, fluttery; an ephemeral caress more than a kiss. In all truth, the foxgirl, with all her impatience and desire, was just as nervous. And just as inexperienced.

To Naruto, it felt like sliding a silk yukata over his lips.

The soft, wraith-like contact did not last more than five seconds. Yurimi pulled away. When those mesmerizing crimson eyes revealed themselves again, Naruto felt his face heating up.

"That…" He muttered rather pathetically. "…my first…"

Yurimi's lips parted no more than two millimeters. This single action somehow made Naruto hungry for more. Then, she spoke.

"That…was my first kiss with a male, too."

Naruto's eyes widened a little. He had expected…

"Your first, too…?" He paused and raised an eyebrow. "Wait, 'with a male'?"

Yurimi looked away.

"Damn that Yurika…"

Naruto blinked. He was smart enough to understand the obvious.

"…wow."

Seriously, what else could he say about something like that?

"Master."

She was looking at him again. After the short interlude, his heart regained a frantic pace. Naruto felt as if she was holding it in her hand.

"Excuse my selfishness, but…may I…may we…?"

She didn't finish her sentence. She just closed her eyes and pressed her lips against his again.

A certain pink-haired Genin did cross his mind this time, and a part of him screamed for him to stop her, to push her away and stop this madness.

_Stop it, Uzumaki Naruto! Push her away and stop this madness!_

Yeah. Something like that.

His lips caught Yurimi's lower lip. His hands reached the lower half of her back and held her close.

Yurimi moaned, stoking the flames of Naruto's hunger with her erotic call.

_Damn you, libido!

* * *

  
_

"Hey, sis, check it out."

While the Higashiyama grounds have eight separate bathrooms, one for each of the lilies, the guilty pleasure of the entire clan is the Matriarch's. Unlike the other eight, which are small and equipped with the absolute minimum, Yuri's bathhouse, for it cannot be called a room, is the epitome of luxury. The greatest example of the Matriarch's opulence is the private hot spring, large enough to house the Matriarch, her daughters, their daughters and leave room for at least thirty more people. Tales abound among Kitsune of legendary orgies taking place in those hot springs, legends Yuri has never voiced her opinion about.

While the term "legendary orgies" might be slightly misleading, it is true that more than one among Higashiyama Yuri's offspring was conceived in that hot spring.

This place was, at the moment, the source of Higashiyama Yurina's bliss.

Yurina was, in lack of better words, the clan's "little sweetheart," as well as one of the far-from-identical twin daughters of Yurine, Yuri's third daughter. With a lovely round face that still carried some baby fat and blond hair inherited from her father and tied into short twin-tails, she had often been told her face was too adorable for such a killer body. She, like her sister, was expected to become quite the voluptuous beauty in a few decades. It is already quite curvaceous, despite her height of only 151 centimeters.

It was said among the clan and those close to the clan that Yurina was blessed with all the good things from her parents and none of the bad. She shared her mother's irresistible loveliness, without any of the hopeless clumsiness. From her father, a Kitsune that could be called a "scholar," Yurina gained great brightness and a passion for reading. Together with Yurimi and Himeyuri's second daughter, Yurie, they made the "Geek Trinity," as labeled by Yuri's identical twin daughters.

Reading would probably be next in the order of the day; a light read before bed. But that would come only after a long, nice soak in her grandmother's wonderful hot spring. She was sighing contently, distantly feeling the adventures of a droplet of sweat trailing down the notorious curve of her cleavage.

"Sis! Rina!"

Droopy red eyes opened to look at her sister. "…what?" She moaned in obvious discomfort. As much as Yurina loved her sister, at the moment she only wanted to be left alone in her bliss. However, Yurina knew her sister, and hence knew the only choice was to pay attention, else she would be bugged to no end.

"Check it out, Rina." Higashiyama Yuriyo called for her twin sister using the familiar nickname (obviously, she is "Riyo").

Unlike Yurina, who was an exaltation of loveliness from the neck up, Yuriyo screamed sexy all over. However, most would agree that her secret lied in her crimson eyes: on how even her most normal of looks felt like a promise of unfathomable pleasures. The power of her alluring eyes was complemented by an attitude that exuded sexuality, from her choice of clothes to her posture and the way she walked, swaying her hips and proudly displaying her small, firm, shapely rear.

Both her looks and the results of her training showed that she would be the clan's finest seductress. Himeyuri voiced it a lot better.

"I pity the male to whom she decides to give herself to."

* * *

Naruto suddenly had to quickly turn his head away to prevent maximizing the embarrassment.

"AT-CHOOOO!"

The exaggeratedly loud sneeze was followed by an awkward silence. Awkward for Naruto, at least.

"Umm…did this kill the mood?" _Please tell me this killed the mood._

"No."

"Damn it."

She kissed him again.

* * *

Yuria, however, had an additional opinion on the matter.

"Those two are way too attached to each other. Whoever takes Yuriyo will have to take Yurina, too. And Yurina might not be a succubus like her sister, but she's still Kitsune. I pity the bastard who ends up with those two. He's gonna need godly stamina to survive the night."

* * *

"ATCHOOOOO!" Naruto sniffled and clumsily wiped his nose with the side of his right hand. He was grasping at straws to deal with his current situation.

"You know, Yurimi, I think the gods are trying to tell us something he-ah-ah-ah-aaaaaahhhh…"

Coherent sentence formation ended when a wandering tongue softly traced a line from his jugular to his right ear.

* * *

"Check it out, Rina!" Yuriyo insisted. Her long ebony hair was attached to her wet body, tracing the curves of her beauty and making for quite the alluring sight.

"What is it, Riyo-chan?" Her sister moaned, wanting nothing but to be left alone.

"Over there."

A lazy eye turned in the direction Yuriyo pointed. The Matriarch herself, Higashiyama Yuri, placidly enjoyed a soak in the hot spring. A wooden tray floated to her right, where a rather plain teacup rested. Her long silver hair floated in uneven trails around and in front of her. But it wasn't her hair that Yuriyo was pointing at.

"Do you see? They float, don't they?"

Yurina blinked.

"They really float." Yuriyo insisted.

Yuri opened an eye to look at the ebony-haired beauty. "I can hear you, you know."

Yuriyo made a mock pout. "Aw, sheesh, grandma. Those breasts are just too cheap."

Yurine's mischievous daughter was the only one who got away with calling the Matriarch like that…or more like the only one who dared.

"I do not see why you complain." Yuri commented idly, glancing at Yuriyo's own bust. "Yours are still growing, and they're already very beautiful."

"Yeah, I know that." Yuriyo rolled her eyes. "They'll probably end up just like mom's." Her bewitching eyes locked on the Matriarch's chest. "But, really, how big are those again? A hundred and nine centimeters? That's monstrous! Only Chiyuri gets close!"

Kotonoha does, too, but she's not Higashiyama.

It was Yuri's turn to make a mock pout.

"I rather resent that."

Her face soon regained her usual soothing expression, though. "Well, I could say it's because I've had plenty of offspring in my life, but…" She glanced at her massive bust. "…they were already like this by the time I got my third tail."

"Hmm…" Yuriyo frowned. "I hope I can be that pretty when I'm a seven-tails."

"My, thank you."

"I hope you actually make it to seven tails."

Yuri and Yuriyo gaped at the twin-tailed Yurina, who had hurriedly covered her mouth the moment those words escaped her throat. Her wide eyes were pools of shock and embarrassment.

"Did you…did you just talk back to me, Rina?"

Yurina hurriedly shook her head, hoping against all hope. Looking at Yuriyo's devilish grin, though, she knew she was doomed.

"Looks like someone is in need of a lesson…"

Yurina shook her head again, only to gasp in mixed surprise and pain when her sister grabbed around her eighty-nine centimeters of bust and squeezed rather uncomfortably.

"Take this, you pretentious bimbo!" Yuriyo taunted, laughing in a rather scary way.

_Yours are just as big! _Yurina's mind screamed as she struggled to get away from her roughly-fondling, maniacally-laughing sibling.

Meanwhile, Yuri stared at the two young girls and their antics, her placid expression unchanging. It only made the contrast between them stronger. Yurina, the Lolita-faced, twin-tailed cutie with a killer body, was passive, calm, meek, submissive and a bit introverted. Yuriyo, the raven-haired succubus with the bewitching eyes, was outgoing, mischievous, conniving and unrestrained. Yet, somehow, they got along just fine with each other: most likely because of Yurina's saintly patience. They were sisters; they loved each other; they were best friends, tightly close. Nothing could get in between them: they shared EVERYTHING.

Yuri sighed.

"It's going to be impossible to find someone for these two…"

* * *

"Ah-aaa-AH-"

Yurimi pinched his nose with her right hand and forced his jaw shut with the other. After a few seconds of tense silence, Naruto relaxed.

"Haa, that was close. Thank you, Yuri-mmmhpgh…"

Her tongue didn't allow him to say anymore.

* * *

Even busy as she was fending off her impetuous sister, Yurina managed to notice a strange trail of large bubbles rising from the bottom of the hot spring and bursting out of the surface.

"What's tha-"

As she spoke, an ominous shadow darkened the waters where the bubbles had emerged from. There was something down there.

"What-wha-Riyo-nee-chan, stop! What's that?"

Knowing her sister plenty enough to pay attention, Yuriyo also noticed the strange shadow in the water. "What the…?"

In a bulging burst of hot water, a black oblong shape emerged from the spring in front of the sisters! An unholy abomination made entirely of long ebony hair!

"Waaagh! It's Cousin It's black cousin! It's come from the ghetto to kill us!"

The Fourth-Wall-Breaking Force is strong in these sisters.

"Kyaaah!"

Whatever it was, they didn't want to stick around to find out. Yuri amusedly watched the two fleeing Kitsune, naked as in the day they gained their second tail…and a lot wetter.

"Well, that was most certainly amusing." She turned to The Thing. "Now, what do we have here?"

"Auuu…" The Thing That Was Hair replied. It was a quiet, pitiful moan.

"Could it be that you were trying to drown yourself, Sayoko-san?"

"Auuu…"

"Do not underestimate a living being's self-preservation ability…and please move apart your hair, I cannot see your face."

Two hands emerged from the mop of wet hair and pulled it open like a curtain, revealing a round face and droopy eyes the color of red wine. This is Kurosaki Sayoko, Higashiyama Yuri's best friend and Higashiyama Sayuri's guardian.

And she's a useless failure of a living being. Like all Kitsune, though, she's blessed with a beautiful human form.

Yuri sighed. She loved Sayoko dearly, but she could certainly do without her silly attempts at taking her own life.

"Please join me for tea, Sayoko-san."

With slumped shoulders and a tired gait, Sayoko (who, curiously enough, prefers to conceal all her tails) sat down in front of the Matriarch.

"How many times do I have to tell you…?" Yuri offered her friend a compassionate, affectionate gaze. "You have nothing to feel guilty of. You did nothing wrong. What happened was not your fault, and neither I nor any of my daughters blame you for it."

Sayoko, her head low, stared mutely at the cup of tea Yuri had served for her. The Matriarch spent the rest of her bath in silence. She had said those same words dozens of times before. What made her think they would have any effect that night anyway?

* * *

Naruto, if asked, would be unable to explain his actions. He would probably say something took over him, as ridiculous as it may sound.

Kissing felt good. No doubt about it. He had heard stuff; he had even pondered kissing Sakura and how it would feel like, but there he was, doing the real thing. And it felt **good**.

Second, kissing with tongue was nowhere near as disgusting as he had thought it might be. Not even close. As far from disgusting as something can be. It is just as not disgusting as Sasuke is not friendly.

Third, he really, really, **really **hoped Sayuri was really sleeping and not just pretending. Otherwise things could get quite uncomfortable.

Of course, all these thoughts were processed and dwelled upon long after the event was over. They are being stated here solely for the purpose of raising the chapter's word count.

At the moment, Naruto is a little too busy exploring the narrowest corners of Yurimi's mouth cavity.

That…is a rather unappealing way to say they are making out.

They reluctantly stopped, Yurimi pulling back to take in some very necessary air. However, her hunger was such that she wouldn't stop offering quick intermittent pecks between breaths, to keep the flame ablaze and the bodies eager. The last of those annoyingly unsatisfying pecks was caught by Naruto's voracious tongue, and the battle was on again. It was a battle in which the two were winners, and they drew it out for as long as their lungs allowed.

That is not to say the rest of their bodies were unoccupied. The foxgirl squirmed in delight on top of the ninja, their sweat mixing in a slick, wet coat that lubricated the relentless friction of Yurimi's skin sliding against Naruto's body and clothes. She would later admit it was a shame that the boy's own chest was covered by a t-shirt. Still, her bare legs rubbed against his in all sorts of delicious ways. Her hands had made a mess of Naruto's hair, to which he paid no heed. His own left hand had seized a handful of silvery hair almost too roughly. It wasn't like he could tell, though, and it wasn't like Yurimi minded anyway. In fact, she had moaned quite loudly in mixed pleasure/pain, reveling in the unknowing possessiveness Naruto was exerting over her.

Yet this moan was second to the one that followed the moment when Naruto's right hand settled on her left butt cheek. It had yet to leave that place, busy as it was caressing, grabbing and squeezing, to the girl's delight.

It was a boost to Yurimi's slightly faltering ego. It was good to know that, beyond her (hopefully not for much longer) lacking in the chest area, her chosen male found her derriere appealing.

Things might have had a better ending if they had been a bit more aware of their surroundings.

"Master…" Yurimi moaned before moving to begin licking the underside of Naruto's chin, gently and slowly leaving a trail of saliva all the way up to his left ear. Naruto had already noticed that Yurimi for some reason just loved licking him. He wondered if it was a Kitsune thing. He didn't take long to find out she greatly enjoys being licked, too.

The passionate lily was greedily sucking, nibbling and licking his earlobe when the bed that carried the two finally gave in and toppled down, all four legs breaking together as if in some sort of morbid complot of the inanimate. The loud bang was enough to disturb even a group of cats dwelling on the nearby rooftop.

"YEOWCH!" Naruto cried when Yurimi in her surprise at the abrupt descent closed her teeth on Naruto's poor ear. The girl immediately moved away and up to a sitting position on Naruto's lap.

"Master! A-Are you well?" Her eyes, unlike the rest of her face, actually showed an unusual gleam of concern.

"Well, NO!"

Yurimi winced a bit at the harsh tone, but let it pass as a consequence of the abrupt interruption. She eyed the edges off the bed. "Just…what happened?"

After making sure that the ear was not a matter of worry (not like such a minor thing could worry the Vessel of Sayuri), he needed a few seconds to realize just why the room suddenly looked slightly bigger.

He groaned.

"Ugh, I should have known…the bed can't handle two people, Yurimi…" He eyed the broken remain of one of the legs. "…more like couldn't."

Yurimi frowned. "I…do not understand. The bed is obviously large enough for two…"

"It's old, okay?" Naruto grumbled, annoyed at the indirect jab at his living conditions. "It's not like I can get something better…"

"I…see." Yurimi's expression, as usual, was a perfect mask of whatever she may be feeling. It seemed only the flames of lust could break that mask of ice. "That is something that must be corrected."

"Really."

"Really." Yurimi spoke as if it had already been done. "But I guess that, for the time being, I should get off this bed."

"Yes, it would be nice."

Yurimi seemed to be in thought as she got off Naruto and the bed altogether. "As for resuming our previous activities, may I suggest the dining room? I could lay on the table and Master may then ravish-"

"Not gonna happen." A surprisingly flushed Naruto was finally coming to terms with what he had just been doing.

"A shame."

* * *

After the shameful escape from the hot spring (it did not take them long to figure out it was just Sayoko), Yurina and Yuriyo returned to their bedroom, not seeing any point in going back. Neither of them had any urgency nor need to sleep, they let the lights on and relaxed for a while until slumber claimed them. Devoid of the comforts of electricity as they were, all the rooms in the Higashiyama grounds used smart positioning of oil lamps to gain lighting at night. Conveniently enough, most of the time they just used Kitsune Fire, effectively minimizing oil costs. The sisters had it especially easy. The lovely Yurina, possessing Celestial blood, had no trouble emitting bright golden light from her tails at will. It was as effective as any light bulb.

"So…going back to our conversation about breasts…"

"Was there a conversation about breasts?" Yurina muttered from the corner of the room she had claimed as her reading spot for the night, her eyes never leaving the pages of her current read. Not like there was anything special to see, just her sister sprawled naked on the sheets of their large shared futon.

Yurina, ever the modest one of the duo, had gone with a sleeveless, short-skirted cerulean and white kimono. However, let it be known that "modesty" is a rather…weak concept among Kitsune: the kimono, besides its already noticeable and glaring discrepancies with the original traditional garment, also possessed a notorious gap in front that revealed quite a bit of cleavage.

"Umm…yeah. So…"

"Is it really necessary to have a conversation about breasts?" Yurina insisted in a bored tone. It was precisely because she was alone with her sister that the blonde beauty could speak with confidence unlike the usual meekness she displays in front of others.

"Oh, but I'm just thinking!" Yuriyo whined right before shamefully cupping her own two breasts. "They are kinda big, right? For our overall size, I mean."

"I would say 'gigantic', but it sounds a bit unsightly."

"Ugh…" Yuriyo squeezed her tits a bit, just for the hell of it. "Really, we need to grow up. Why can't we be tall like grandma?"

"Patience, Riyo-chan." Yurina was still reading. "Mother and all her sisters are very tall and pretty."

"Yuria isn't."

"A sad exception indeed." The flip of a page. "But we have a genetic advantage."

"Yurimi and Sayuri."

"They're both younger than us, sister." Yurina's voice was almost patronizing. "And Yurimi is around our same height already."

"But she's flat."

"That will change in the next fifty years or so."

"Yeah, yeah…"

Yurina appreciated the sudden silence and fully focused on her read, leaving her sister to study her own breasts at her leisure. Her peace wouldn't last long, though.

"Nee, Rina-chan…"

"Hmm?"

"Wanna find a mate?"

"WHAT?" Blushing in record time, Yurina finally put the book at the side, staring at her sister with shocked (and a bit scared) eyes. "Just what made you say that?"

"Well, you know what they say about sex and hormones…"

"Oh…"

Yurina remained mute after that. With a single flowing motion, Yuriyo lifted the upper half of her body. As if possessing a will of its own, two locks of her hair slid over her shoulders, to fall on the front side of her chest following the curve of her bust. Slowly, delicately, she got on all fours, the single tail she showed at the moment swaying hypnotically from side to side, inevitably drawing the eyes of any hypothetical witness to her beautifully shaped rear. She moved a few "steps" forward, closer to her sister, placing one hand in front of the other with painfully slow, feline motions that inevitably pushed her breasts together with each step. Her hips mischievously swayed from side to side, following the compass of a magnificent pair of legs.

Had Yurina not been in a state of mild shock, she would have probably admired (and envied) the short spectacle, mentally praising her sister's unmatched skill at being ridiculously alluring no matter what she did.

She was eroticism in motion.

"Hmm?" The succubus' crimson eyes gleamed in amusement. "Are you actually pondering it, sister dear?"

"Mmm…no…not really…just surprised to see you actually know what hormones are, Riyo-nee-chan."

A moment of silence.

"Ah! Ah-aaahn!" Yurina gasped. "Ne-nee-chan!" She hissed, then, her face taking a strong reddish tone. "You poked me **down there**!" She complained, squeezing her thighs together for protection.

"And I should do it again for your insolence, blondie." She raised a hand, wriggling her fingers menacingly. "Maybe I should check how far inside I can reach with these…"

"Ack!" Yurina squeaked in honest fear. "You wouldn't!"

Yuriyo raised an eyebrow. Yurina paused.

"…you would. But don't!" The naked sister inched closer. "No! Ah! Nee-chan! Have mercy on my virginity!"

"Ugh, gods help us."

A surprised Yuriyo and a frightened Yurina looked at the door, where the shortest of the adult lilies stood, staring disapprovingly.

"You know, if you're gonna go down the same path as my sisters, be more considerate than them and keep it to yourselves, please."

"Ah! Yuria-san! It's-it's not like-"

"Tch. Way to ruin my fun, Yuria. I was this close."

"NEE-CHAN!"

"Whatever." Yuria muttered before closing the door behind her and making herself comfortable by sitting on the large futon.

"So…" Yuriyo turned around, using her arms behind her body to support herself and sitting with her right leg stretched and the left bent making a triangle with the tatami mats. Her alluring face studied her aunt with a playful glance. "What brings you here, Yuria?"

"What?" The short Kitsune shrugged. "Can't this Yuria-sama spend some valuable time with her cute nieces?"

The sisters stared at Yuria for a few long, uncomfortably quiet seconds.

"…I'm bored."

"Fair enough."

"So…" Yuria let herself fall on the futon, settling her head behind her hands. "…what are we talking about?"

"Breasts."

Yuria blinked. "Breasts, huh? Hmm…" A spark. "You know who doesn't have breasts?"

"Yurimi?"

"Yeah."

Yuria and Yuriyo chuckled. Yurina covered her face with her book and rolled her eyes.

"Speaking of Yurimi, why aren't you pestering her tonight?" Yuriyo tilted her head, honestly curious. "You know, with another challenge or something silly like that."

"It's not silly!" Yuria got on her knees, irritated by the words. "I'll beat her one of these days, just you see!"

"Right…" Yuriyo rolled her eyes. "Says the one who wouldn't make a decent illusion if her life depended on it."

"Wha-? Grrr…" Yuria's eyes were aflame with rightful anger. "I-I don't need stupid illusions to beat her! I have my own way!"

"Sure…"

"I can!" Yuria insisted, unwilling to let her determination falter.

"A-Ano…"

The two raven-haired females looked at the single blonde, whose lower half of her face remained hidden under her small leather-bound tome.

"I…I think Yuria-san can defeat Yurimi-san, too…if she really tries hard…really…I think."

Yuria sighed and fell back down on the futon. "See? Why can't you be all nice and cute like your sister, Yuriyo?"'

"Pff!" Again on all fours, Yuriyo moved until she leaned on her right side next to Yuria, resting her head on her right hand. "I'd rather be honest, thank you very much."

"You're never gonna land yourself a male with that attitude." The short foxgirl in shrine maiden robes taunted. Yuriyo simply laughed. To prove a point, she took her left index finger to her mouth, giving it a long, thorough lick, and then poked her left breast with the saliva-coated appendix.

"I beg to differ, **auntie**."

"There's a fine line between being sexy and being a slut, Yuriyo."

"Just as there's a fine line between determination and stupidity, Yuria."

The battle of words gave way to a battle of stares, the three-tails and the two-tails (both carrying only one at the moment, though) challenging each other with their eyes.

"Ano…umm…eek!" Yurina flinched at the stares she got. "Umm…eeeh…Yu-Yuria-san…despite her…um…attitude, Riyo-nee-chan has a lot of respect for herself and her body, so please do not think of her that way." With a bit more confidence, she turned to her sister. "Riyo-chan, I find Yuria-san's perseverance admirable, and I believe we should try to put more effort into our own training, pleasedon'thateme."

Hiding back behind her book, Yurina didn't notice the looks she got from the two brunettes, who then looked at each other.

"And that's why I keep her around." Yuriyo commented with a conciliating smile. "She keeps me in check."

"She deserves better." Yuria retorted. "Much better. But I'll extend an apology. I said a little too much." She sighed. "I'm probably still unsettled by the whole thing with Kotonoha…"

"What happened with Kotonoha?" Ever-curious Yuriyo inquired. Yuria made an odd face, as if the other black-haired girl had said something thoroughly stupid.

"Are you kidding me? She's insane!"

Yuriyo rolled her eyes again. "You just noticed?"

"Wha-NO!" Yuria, too, leaned on a side of her body, her left, to be precise, so as to directly face Yuriyo. "I know she's…well, weird, but I had no idea she was so damn twisted! She's a crazy psycho! **She has a Sekai-bag!**"

"A World Bag? You mean like Dorae…no, wait, I don't want to know."

"Good, because I have no intention to explain it."

* * *

"So there are thirteen types of Kitsune, and thirteen different types of Kitsune Jutsu."

"Yes." Yurimi was teaching the basics of Kitsune culture over tea. "Just like your five largest countries are named after your five branches of elemental ninjutsu."

"Huh?"

Yurimi stared at her crush with cold, piercing eyes. "You…know about elemental ninjutsu…don't you?"

"If I say I don't, will you get mad?" Naruto blushed sheepishly.

Yurimi blinked and dropped her head. "…no…but I'll have to wonder about the quality of your education. Long story short, there are five main types of ninjutsu: Fire, Water, Wind, Earth and Lightning Jutsu. There are also non-elemental techniques that use raw chakra, and there are other kinds of techniques, but that's beyond me. I'm far from an expert in human matters."

"Bu-but!" Naruto had a glimpse of a memory. "What about Haku?" He explained before Yurimi could say anything. "This guy I met in my mission! He could use Ice Jutsu!" He paused to shed a sad smile. "And they were pretty cool…"

Hoping Naruto would one day share the tale of his single C-rank mission, Yurimi focused on the question at hand. "Well…it's not rare for youkai to consort with humans…and it's not rare for their hybrid offspring to possess special, unique abilities."

"Mm-hmm…" Naruto processed this new info. "So you're saying that Haku was a half-youkai?"

"Or at least a descendant of one."

Naruto blinked. "…cool. So, tell me about these Kitsune Jutsu."

"Very well."

"Kitsune by nature prefer to avoid direct combat. Even our best techniques are meant to be used for other purposes. All Kitsune learn the basic Enchantment, Illusion, Enhancement and Transformation techniques as soon as we gain our second tail."

"By Illusion you mean, like, Genjutsu?"

"Yes, they are very similar. However, the best human-made illusions simply cannot compare to the kinds of things older Kitsune can weave. My mother is said to be a Master of both Illusion and Enchantment Techniques. Not that I've ever seen her using them."

"What's an Enchantment?"

"Like I said, most Kitsune avoid fighting, preferring to get what we want through other means. Enchantments are techniques that allow us to manipulate the thoughts and actions of others. Making best friends become enemies, or making anyone fall in love with you with a glance, or even claiming absolute control over someone, turning a person into a living marionette…enchantments are our race's greatest specialty."

"Of course, using them haphazardly is not something most Kitsune would do." Yurimi quickly reassured the blonde. "A Kitsune who has to rely on enchantments to, let's say, make a human she fancies fall for her, is doing nothing but showing herself to be a weak Kitsune. We should be perfectly capable of seducing a potential mate the proper way."

Somehow, this did not make Naruto feel any better. It probably had something to do with the way Yurimi's eyes gleamed as she said those words.

"In any case, these are our basic types of techniques, which help us stay out of direct combat. However, sometimes a fight is simply inevitable, especially when dealing with other youkai. It is then when we must rely on specialized techniques."

"The Lower Tier corresponds to Fire, Earth, River, Wind and Lightning Kitsune. They are called 'Lower Tier' because they are said to be the 'simplest' and 'weakest' types of Kitsune Specialist Techniques. Eight of every ten Kitsune belong to one of these types. This doesn't mean they are really weak, of course. The power to manipulate fire, for example, is definitely something not to be underestimated. Notice that they are almost equivalent to your five Ninjutsu Elements."

"Just to let you know, me and Sayuri-nee-sama's father is a Fire Kitsune, and we are both capable to using Fire Techniques." She made an odd face; half disturbed, half amused. "My little sister is much more adept at those than me, however."

"Somehow I'm not surprised." Naruto muttered. "So Sayuri knows a lot of Fire Jutsu?"

"Not really, she just makes things spontaneously combust at will. She calls it **Fire Release: Burn Everything**."

"Oh."

"Indeed. In any case, the reason we have yet to learn Fire Techniques is twofold: first, Kitsune generally need at least three tails before being able to start learning these specialized techniques. Sayuri was a special exception: her affinity with fire is just **that **high…just like my affinity with Ghost Techniques, it seems. Second, as it is right now there is nobody who can teach us those techniques."

"Wait, wait, wait, what about your pops?"

"Males are not allowed within Higashiyama grounds, Master. It's clan tradition. Besides, Mother and Father are…no longer associated. Mother…has had many mates in her long life."

"'Uh…huh. So Kitsune get the powers from both parents?"

"Only sometimes."

"Okay…so, you said 'Lower Tier'. That means there's a 'Higher Tier', ne?"

"Yes. However, there's also a 'Middle Tier' in between. Mountain, Ocean, Forest, Sound and Ghost Kitsune belong to this Tier. These types are, generally, stronger than Kitsune with powers from the Lower Tier only, but Kitsune with these types are also much rarer. As an example, my clan, Higashiyama, is the largest gathering of Ghost Kitsune in existence."

Naruto made an odd and funny face. "It's hard to imagine Ocean Kitsune. Are they like, blue or something?"

Yurimi blinked. "It's…it's just a name, Master. Ocean Kitsune live on solid ground like all the others. They are fond of coastal areas, yes, but that's only because the proximity to vast bodies of water makes their techniques stronger." She made a pause. There was an odd twitch on her face. "Now that I remember, we got a complaint from a delegation of Oceans soon after Sayuri-nee-sama was sealed."

"How come?"

"Apparently Sayuri-nee-sama beat their tsunami-making-record, or something pointless like that."

Naruto remembered Sayuri's colorful description of the events that led to her sealing. "Uh…huh. I…kinda see where that came from. Hey, now that I think about it, what types are your sisters? I mean, you're half-Fire…"

"Yes, well…Sayuri and I are both half-Fire, half-Ghost. Yuria is half-Mountain. Our eldest sister, Himeyuri-nee-sama, is half-Celestial. The others are pure Ghosts."

"Hmm. So, the Higher Tier, it must be these 'Celestial' you just…"

"Yes. The Higher Tier is composed of Celestial and Void Kitsune. These are the strongest Kitsune, as well as the prime candidates to becoming Kyuubi." Yurimi easily read Naruto's expression and explained. "According to Lord Inari's rule, there can only be two Kyuubi at any given time. One of them is always the leader of the Great Celestial Clan. The other may be from any of the other types, but it's almost always a Void. Sayuri-nee-sama is an exceptional case. With her, there are now three Nine-Tailed Kitsune in the world right now."

"Then how did she…?"

"Didn't she tell you?" Yurimi took a sip. The tea was getting cold. "Sayuri-nee-sama somehow made it to the annual Poker Night with Mother, the other Clan Leaders and Inari-sama himself, and somehow managed to beat them all. In one last ditch attempt at recovering his losses, the drunken Inari-sama proposed one last all-for-nothing, offering an instant promotion to nine-tails. Master can guess what happened."

Naruto nodded. "Yurimi, don't take it badly, but…your God is an idiot."

"I have reached the conclusion that alcohol makes even gods do stupid things."

"Then alcohol is the problem. Say no to alcohol!"

"And drugs." Yurimi stated. "Drugs are bad." Naruto effusively nodded in agreement.

That awkward interlude was followed by a period of silence, only interrupted by the ambient sounds of Konoha's night and Yurimi's quiet, delicate sips.

"Well, now nobody can say this story lacks educational value."

Naruto nodded sagely. "Awesome."

* * *

**CHAPTER 06 END**


	8. Kitsune Days, Morning Chapter

_**Naruto Genkyouien**_

- ナルト- 幻脅威宴

**Chapter Seven: Kitsune Days – Morning Chapter**

**OR**

**A Morning with the Katsura Sisters

* * *

**

The first thing Naruto noticed when he woke up was the change in the bed's elevation. After remembering the events of the previous night, he sighed tiredly and enjoyed a few last minutes of relaxation before he officially began his new day.

Nine days left before the Chuunin Exam Finals.

Yurimi had left soon after her little lecture on Kitsune and their powers, but not before setting a few things clear.

"_My time with you is running short, Master. I would really like to know, then, the reason you actually summoned me."_

He finally had his chance to explain everything: the Chuunin Exams, his incoming duel with Hyuuga Neji, his training with Jiraiya and his fateful meeting with Sayuri.

Of course, by that point Naruto already knew Yurimi couldn't really teach him anything. However, she was at least kind enough to explain why.

"_Do you know about the chakra pathways inside our bodies, Master?"_

"_Uhh…" Naruto experienced a flashback of the preliminaries. "Yeah…I remember…right! During Hinata's and Neji's match! Hum! I know!"_

"_Very well." Yurimi was not one to inquire. "The truth is; our bodies' chakra system is underdeveloped and very inefficient; inferior to humans in every way. Our tails are a different story, however. There are more pathways in a single of our tails than in a human's entire body, and they are extremely well-developed. The only thing better would be if our tails were entirely made of chakra…which is the nine-tails' case, in fact."_

"_Huh?" Naruto made an odd face. "Sayuri's tails looked pretty fluffy to me."_

_Yurimi's eyes narrowed. "Sayuri-nee-sama…has not showed you her true form?"_

_Naruto blinked. It was obvious, after thinking about it. They were Kitsune, hence their real appearance must be that of foxes._

"_Sayuri-nee-sama's…usual appearance is just that, a __**Henge**__." She grabbed her chin with her right hand. "I do understand why she would not want to show you her fox form, though…but it is not something she should hide from you. I believe you must urge her to show you; it is something you should just get over with."_

"_Back on topic. My point was that Kitsune need their tails to use even the simplest Kitsune Jutsu, therefore it would be pointless to try to teach you even the Kitsune Fire."_

Yurimi couldn't have known at the time that she had just given Naruto the solution to the problem, but that will come later, as it involves a particularly trigger-happy loli.

In any case, while Yurimi could not help Naruto, she wasn't ready to give up just yet. If anything, Naruto truly appreciated her desire to aid him. It certainly gave her many points.

"_In addition, as much as it pains me to say it, I do not think it would be appropriate for Master to summon me in the upcoming days, at least during daytime, for reasons I would prefer not to discuss at the moment. Of course, should Master wish for a companion to warm his bed at night, I am always-"_

That was as far as Naruto let her follow that trail of thought. In any case, after the little embarrassing interlude was over, Yurimi proposed something else.

"_I cannot be here to help you, but please feel free to use my bodyguard. She is strong and skilled; she might be able to help you where I can't."_

Katsura Kotonoha.

"_But…Yurimi, how can I summon her if I haven't met her yet? I mean, I can summon you because-"_

"_Think of human skulls and sharp objects. That should do it."_

"_Huh?"_

"_Please trust me on this, Master."_

Naruto did not really want to know what skulls and sharp objects had to do with anything. However, after a day of dealing with three different Kitsune, he was starting to realize that common sense simply did not apply.

At least, unlike yesterday, he had a plan. He would enjoy breakfast and then he would summon this Kotonoha woman.

Pray for him.

A particularly loud yawn drew his attention. Not only because it wasn't him, but because it came from inside his head.

**Aaaaaaahhhh…munya-munyaa…te-he…Sayuri slept weally well this time…**

Naruto chuckled. He didn't need to get into the seal to see little Sayuri rubbing her eyes with the side of her hands in the most adorable manner. For some reason, it lifted his mildly troubled spirits. Sayuri was innocence incarnate.

A lovely, innocent engine of destruction on a continental scale.

_Morning, Sayuri-chan._

**Munya! Who-who is there?**

Naruto blinked. The little girl sounded utterly shocked and even frightened.

_Sa-Sayuri-chan?_

He heard the little foxgirl gasp. **O…Onii-chan?**

_Umm…yeah?_

**You…onii-chan…onii-chan! You're hear! You're hear!**

_Uhh…where else could I possibly be?_

**You're hear! It wasn't a dweam! I weally, weally met Naruto-nii-chan! The stupid old man pushed Naruto-nii-chan, and then Naruto-nii-chan came hear, and then I wanted to help Naruto-nii-chan but he went splat!**

"Oi." Naruto muttered, twitching. Did she really have to mention that?

"Yeah, and then we went to see the old man and sic him against the other old man."

**He's a nice old man. But he's still fugly. And then we had the Wamen! It was Weally good.**

"Yeah."

**WEALLY good.**

"Yeah, ramen is the best." Naruto added.

**It wasn't a dweam…it weally…it weally wasn't…a dweam…I…I have…onii-chan…**

That's when Naruto realized Sayuri was sobbing. That's when Naruto truly understood Sayuri's pain.

Like him, she had been alone for almost thirteen years. While he was trapped in a prison of prejudice and spite, she was in a real prison, confined to the same walls, the same bars. Watching the same sight every single day, with no idea of where she was or when she would be free.

Naruto felt sick inside. He couldn't hate the Fourth (because, really, a BIGASS FOX OF DOOM was tearing his village apart), but it didn't change the fact that Sayuri had undergone an unspeakable torture, especially to a child like her.

"Not anymore."

**Mugyuu? **This meant he took her by surprise.

"You are not alone anymore. I'm here. And I'm getting you out of there. I don't know how, I don't know when, but I'll get you out of there. Dattebayo, dammit."

**Naruto…nii-chan…**

When Sayuri began to openly cry and bawl in unsuppressed relief, Naruto truly wished he could go in there and hold her in his arms. But even he knew that trying to self-inflict unconsciousness was not a good idea.

So he did the only think he could: he waited, muttering comforting words at the little kitsune, the purest of them all.

**Nee, Naruto-nii-chan… **Sayuri spoke after a long period of crying and sobbing.

"Hmm?"

**You never told me what 'mastuhbated' means.**

Nope, Naruto just doesn't get a rest.

"Mugyuu…"

**Ahahaha! So funny!

* * *

**

Higashiyama Yurimi is an early bird. This is a fact, has always been a fact and will always be a fact.

Despite the events of the previous night, which resulted in her late return home, her body reacted to the warmth of the pale sunlight leaking through her thin sliding door. She groggily opened her eyes…to meet another pair of eyes.

"Yo."

"Gyaaah!" Yurimi immediately reacted in the stupidest way possible, attempting to get up and consequently smashing her head on the intruder's. Newton's Third Law ensured that her head immediately bounced back to the futon for a second hit, this time on the back.

"OW! What the hell's wrong with you, Yurimi?"

The silver haired Kitsune glowed with righteous anger. "I'm the one supposed to say that!" She hissed.

The shorter sister rubbed her forehead with her right hand, using the left to support herself. She was wearing a childish smirk. "Sheesh, chill out, Yurimi."

Realizing her sudden and uncharacteristic outburst, the two-tails attempted to soothe her boiling emotions.

She failed.

"Yuuuuuu-riaaaaaa…" Her tone was ominous and threatening.

"Whoa, keep the dark aura down!" Yuria looked at a corner behind her sister. "Kotonoha, say something!"

"You should not stress yourself so early in the morning, Yurimi-sama." The busty brunette said idly, her eyes focused on the cleansing of her blades, an activity she performed (and still does) a little too often.

"Kotonoha!" Yurimi hissed again. "Why did you let her do that?"

"Do what, Yurimi-sama?"

"Get all **close** like that!"

"I saw no threat in that."

"Yup, no threat coming from here." Yuria poked her chest with her right thumb.

"Neither did Makoto-kun."

The two sisters only sweatdropped at that. Yuria followed it with a smirk.

"See, Yurimi? You have nothing to worry about; you have **two** guardians ensuring your safety!"

Yurimi just glared. Yuria's smirk became large enough to force her to close her eyes.

Yurimi glared some more.

"Whatever. Help me get dressed, Kotonoha. I must speak with Mother with due haste. You." A glare. "Out."

"Sheesh…" Yuria looked away and placed her arms behind her head. "…such an unlikeable girl…"

"**Out**."

"Yeah, yeah…" Yuria did take her time walking to the door, much to her sister's growing exasperation. "…but, really, nice to have you back. You got me worried for a second there. Tell me what you were up to when you feel like it, ne?"

With that, she was gone, probably to check on breakfast. Yurimi followed the silhouette behind the door until it disappeared, and then turned to her guardian.

"She found out?"

"Of course she found out." The taller, older Kitsune declared. "She's your best friend."

Yurimi stared mutely at her bodyguard for a few seconds, looking for something that would betray her composed posture. When it became obvious that she truly believed what she had just said, Yurimi only snorted and turned her back to her, walking towards her drawer.

"Hnn."

* * *

**What are you doing, onii-chan?**

It was hard for Naruto not to be infected by Sayuri's joyful attitude. With the definite realization that, indeed, she was not alone anymore, the little nine-tails had become a tiny, fluffy bundle of happiness. While he was still unable to see her, it was obvious in her voice.

Yes, it was hard not to bask in such joy, but, in the face of the current situation, Naruto could only groan.

"Ugh…I should have known…" Naruto mumbled to himself while he eyed the insides of the refrigerator with a tired look.

**Onii-chan?**

"There's nothing, nothing!" Naruto closed the fridge door with a slam. "There's nothing to eat in this house! Nothing!" He was fairly repetitive. "Yurimi even threw away the old milk box! And the old bread! And the old cereal!"

**Why is evwything old?**

"Ugh…I'm hungry…I want my old milk…" Naruto's stomach roared in agreement.

**We always had fwesh milk at home.**

"Thanks for rubbing it in, Sayuri." His stomach struck with a vengeance. "Augh…"

**I always heated it with mah tails.**

"Really."

**And one time I heated it too much and the bowl caught fire. It was funny!**

Naruto idly stared at the cobwebs on the far corner of his living room. "Uh…huh…so…damn do I even have money to…?"

**And then Yurine-nee-chan tried to put it out and her clothes caught fire too!**

"Sayuri, would you mind?"

**Mu-nii?**

Their awkward discussion was interrupted by a succession of knocks on the front door.

**Onii-chan, someone's at the door.**

"Really?" Naruto rolled his eyes. "I hadn't noticed. Thank you, Sayuri."

**Tee-hee! You're welcome!**

Naruto sighed in defeat. "Coming!" He exclaimed to the person behind the door. "Really, who could it be…?"

The first thing his eyes caught after opening the door was a female chest clad in white. Instead of looking up like any normal person would, Naruto found himself looking down, at the delivery box in the female's hands. Only then did he look up, at the smiling face of one Ichiraku Ayame.

"May I come in?" She inquired, lifting the box to Naruto's eye level. "I brought breakfast."

Naruto only stared, unblinking, until his eyes began to water.

"Na…ruto?"

"Angel."

"Eh?"

"You must be an angel, ne?"

"Eh?"

"You're dressed in white and you bring me ramen! You're an angel!" Naruto exclaimed jubilant, falling on his knees and raising his arms in open worship.

**Waaai, wamen! It's WEALLY good.**

"Uhh…" Ayame sweatdropped. "This is an apron…and I make ramen for a living."

Naruto paid no heed to the obvious explanation and fiercely embraced the girl.

"Eh?" Ayame inevitably became red on the face. "Na-Naruto!"

"Would you marry me, Ayame-nee-chan?" Shedding crocodile tears, Naruto looked up at his savior, his chin resting on her belly. "I promise I'll love you until the day I die!"

Embarrassment gave way to amusement, which gave way to the loveliest giggle. Carrying her box with the left hand, Ayame patronizingly patted Naruto's blonde mop of hair.

"Ah, Naruto…you should be careful with the promises you make to a Kitsune like me."

The tips of her fingers traveled down Naruto's left cheek, the soft contact making Naruto shiver for a reason he could not comprehend. When her hand stopped under his chin, forcing him to look at her eyes and the curious gleam within, he gulped.

"I might take you up on them one of these days."

Naruto swallowed.

No less than three minutes later, an eager Naruto watched while Ayame carefully placed a steaming bowl of delicious beef ramen on the table in front of him. After placing the chopsticks on top, Ayame clasped her hands together and sat in front of him.

"Very well. I put a lot of effort in that; I hope you like it."

"Of course! Your ramen's the best in the world! My greatest happiness!"

Ayame's smile became gentle and tender. "Thank you."

"Alright! You ready, Sayuri?"

**Waaaaai!**

Wiggle, wiggle.

Ayame blinked. "Wait, did you say Sayu-"

"Itadakimaaaaaasu!"

"Naruto! Wai-"

Chomp.

**Aah! ****AaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAHN!

* * *

**

"Ah!" Naruto gasped in satisfaction. "Thanks for the meal! Man, that was awesome."

Ayame, who had only stared in muted horror the whole time, wincing every single time the boy filled his mouth with food, finally found the courage to speak again.

"U…Um…Na…Naruto?"

Naruto rudely wiped off his mouth with the top of his hand, smiling in gratitude at one of his favorite persons. "Um?"

"Um…ah…how…how is…Sayuri-sama?" Ayame was almost afraid to ask.

"Eh? Sayuri?"

**Haa…haa…haa…o…onii-chaaaaan…**

"How was it, girl?"

**Haa…haa…it…it was…Sayu…haaaaaa… **Sayuri sighed in blissful exhaustion, caught in enjoying the afterglow.

"Liked it that much, huh?" Naruto grinned. Ayame's face became stone cold.

"Naruto, can we check on Sayuri now?"

Naruto blinked. "You mean go inside there? Sure, I was gonna ask you to do it anyway."

A few seconds later, after holding hands, they abandoned their bodily selves and traveled to Naruto's "innerscape." It remained the same way they both remembered it, but…

"What's that smell?" Naruto wondered, making an odd face. "It's kinda sweet, but…"

"Oh Kami." Ayame facepalmed. "Let's just go."

While the two idly made their way to the seal, Ayame kept her sharp eyes on the floor and the bottom part of the walls.

_Yes, definitely…the water level is lower._

Saving that little piece of info for later, Ayame followed the short boy to the cage where his unwilling prisoner resided.

* * *

The mighty nine-tails laid exhausted inside, her little body curled in fetal position, the mysterious water soaking her tails and her right side, mixing with her gleaming coat of sweat. Her skin had gained a healthy red flush and her pupils lacked luster, her mind lost in limbo.

She was fighting a losing battle, her inert body a stark contrast to the turmoil within her young, inexperienced mind. She was futilely attempting to drown a call that did not obey to rationality, age or power. It was raw, undiluted need. A hunger that demanded to be satiated.

"Oi, Sayuri!"

The reaction was instantaneous. A primal urge beyond the nine-tails' control opened her eyes and imprinted a single command in her mind.

Get him.

She stood with energy she did not have, her gleaming orbs eagerly seeking the source and end of her undecipherable need. His bright, smiling face inflamed her soul and strengthened her strange desire. It pulled her. It called for her. She needed him.

She wanted him.

She ran to claim him.

"ONII-"

Insert sounds of electrocution here.

"Mugyuu…"

"You know, anyone would expect her to figure it out after the other two times, but, nope." Naruto commented in an almost stoically calm manner.

"Ouch." That was Ayame.

"Mugyuu…" Sayuri repeated.

* * *

"Saa, come' ere." Naruto effortlessly picked up the limp Kitsune by the underside of her shoulders, sitting down and carefully placing her on his lap. After the initial stiffening when his hand reached for one of the tails, Sayuri quickly relaxed and immersed herself in the bliss of being petted.

"Haa…munyaa…"

Ayame, her fears and bad feelings soothed down, enjoyed the visage of the mightiest of Kitsune being reduced to a purring, giggling bundle of tails under Naruto's gentle ministrations. His right hand reached for one of her fox ears, eliciting a high-pitched moan when he scratched it.

"Such a good girl, Sayuri…" Naruto stated, chuckling while he messed with her golden hair.

"Mmm…um, Sayuri's a good girl-munyaaaa…" The little terror muttered half-heartedly, her mind lacking focus.

The good thing about petting Sayuri was that she was so into it that it ensured she would not interrupt Naruto's discussion with Ayame. In fact, she probably would not even pay attention to it.

In a few minutes, Naruto explained the sequence of events that followed Ayame's departure the previous night, centered on his summoning of Sayuri's sister, of course. For obvious reasons, he also omitted Yurimi's blatant romantic interest in him. It was not really something he felt comfortable sharing with Ayame just yet.

"Really, she taught you about Kitsune Jutsu? How nice of her."

Ayame had not seen Yurimi since the time before Sayuri's sealing, but she still remembered the short-haired, quiet, emotionless beauty with the dignified posture and a regal air that strongly reminded her of the Matriarch Yuri. The Yurimi Naruto described was surprisingly talkative.

"Well then, tell me what you learned, then. Let's see if this humble Ayame-nee-san here can fill any gaps."

"Eh?" Naruto frowned. "Uh…well…she said Kitsune techniques are Enchantments, Illusions, Enhancements, and Transformations and…uh…" He scratched his head. "…how did she call those ones…oh? Right! Specialist Techniques?"

"Specialized Techniques. Also called Elemental Techniques, even if the thirteen branches aren't really elements…" Ayame mused.

"Right! Right! There are thirteen! The Lower, Middle and High Tiers!"

"Munyuu…too loud…"

The other two shot odd glances at the little girl who was apparently dozing off. Naruto realized she was exhausted, for some reason. Shrugging it off, he refocused on the discussion at hand, bringing the hand he used to scratch himself back down to caress the little foxgirl's hair.

"Yes, yes." Ayame smiled gently. "You have learned well. Do you remember the composition of each tier?"

"Huh?" Naruto frowned. "Sheesh, nee-chan, that's a tough one…uhh…I remember…the Lower Tier were the easy ones…Fire, Earth, Water, Wind and Lightning. Yeah."

"River."

"Huh?"

"It's not 'Water', it's 'River'. I happen to be a River, you know? I should be offended." Ayame scolded with a mock pout that looked awfully cute on her. Naruto suddenly remembered what Ayame had said the time he went to eat ramen right after meeting Sayuri.

"Right…a River, huh? So you use, like, Water Jutsu?"

Ayame nodded and further explained. "Specialist Techniques are labeled as the fifth type of Kitsune Techniques, but they also partially encompass the other four. I mean, there are Water-type Enhancement Techniques as well as Water-type Illusions. The other twelve 'elements' also have their own enchantments, illusions and enhancements. Transformations are universal and unconnected to any element."

"River Techniques, for example, include mostly what you shinobi call _**Suiton Jutsu**_, as well as most supernatural healing techniques and a few enhancements and illusions."

Watching Naruto nod eagerly in understanding, Ayame clasped her hands together. "Very well then! The Middle Tier?"

"Ugh, sheesh…umm…there's Mountain…ah well, there's Ghost, of course…oh, Ocean! No way I can forget that one. Don't remember the others…there are two others, I think?"

"Forest and Sound, yes." Ayame completed. "And the Higher Tier?"

"Celestial and Void. That's easy. And those are the 'elements'."

Ayame nodded, but remained silent, hoping Naruto would get it. Precisely, no more than three seconds after those words came out of his mouth; he frowned, and lowered his head in meditation. A moment later he was counting with his fingers. He was on seven when Sayuri looked up at him. Her pouting face was disturbingly adorable.

"Mou, onii-chan! Moar petting!"

Naruto stopped in mid-count and sighed, returning his hands to their previous duty. "Yeah, yeah…"

"Haaa…" Sayuri sighed contently, relaxing once again under the bliss of Naruto's attentive hands.

It took him a few extra seconds, but Naruto manage to count in his mind.

"Twelve? There's only twelve."

Ayame nodded. "It seems Yurimi-sama failed to mention Time Kitsune. But I guess that's not much of a surprise."

"Time?"

"Time Kitsune are basically a mystery: a combination of rumor and legend. There are records about them and every once in a while someone claims to have seen one, but, if they do really exist, they don't go around announcing it. Since the nature of their powers is unknown and their very existence is an uncertainty, they don't belong to any one of the tiers. Of course, if we assume they can really manipulate time as the rumors say, then they probably belong to a tier all of their own."

"Hmm…mysterious." Naruto uttered. Reviewing everything Yurimi told her during her summons, he recalled something that made him look down at the little one on his lap.

"Nee, Sayuri."

"Hmm?" Sayuri hummed blissfully.

"Can you show me your real form?"

"EEK!"

Naruto blinked when both Sayuri and Ayame shrieked simultaneously, the ramen girl's face becoming a mask of fear and outrage. Sayuri had quickly gotten on her knees, looking up at Naruto with big, sad, weepy eyes.

"O-Onii-chan? Wha…what?"

"She…" Ayame whispered, her eyes the size of ping-pong balls. "She hasn't shown you…oh Kami."

"Um." Naruto nodded, looking down at the little girl, unsettled by her suddenly forlorn expression. "Yurimi mentioned it; she said you should show me your true form, that it's not something you should hide."

Ayame relaxed a bit, but sighed. She could feel the beginning of a headache. "Well, she does make a point…"

"No."

Sayuri interrupted any further thoughts. She had dropped her head, her long mane of golden hair cloaking most of her body, including her face.

"No way." She shook her head. "No way!" She did it more fiercely. "I don't wanna!"

Naruto was positively curious at this point. "Heh? Why not?" He tried to lift her head, but Sayuri stubbornly resisted. Her shoulders were shaking. "It's not embarrassment; you're naked the whole time! Heck, you'll be more covered as a fox!"

Ayame sweatdropped, scratching her right cheek. "Uhh, I don't think that has anything to do with it, Naruto-kun…"

"Then what's the problem? Come on, Sayuri, I really want to see your fox form now. Nee?" Naruto offered a comforting smile which Sayuri did not see, having averted her face.

"Don't wanna." Naruto noticed a tear going down the nine-tails' left cheek.

"Sayuri, what's wrong?"

"…fugly." A mutter.

"Huh?"

"Sayuri's fugly." A sob. "Sayuri's fox form is fugly!"

"Aw, come on!"

"Kyah!"

Naruto had captured Sayuri in an embrace. All nine tails went rigid at the sudden entrapment, her ears also pointing upwards.

"I'll be the judge of that. And why do you think I care, anyway? Sayuri is Sayuri. Cute little Sayuri. My friend. So don't worry, okay?"

The soft-toned words and the soothing effect of the hands caressing her hair and tails worked their marvelous effect on the Kyuubi. The tails descended gently on the flooded surface Sayuri stood on, and her ears moved back down to their relaxed position. She returned the embrace.

Truly, being close to her onii-chan made her feel better than anything else.

"Mugyuu…okay. Bu-but…don't say anything bad, okay?"

"Uh, sure."

"Pwomise."

"I promise."

Letting go of her, Sayuri walked away from Naruto and Ayame, deeper inside the jail, to make some space.

"Uhh…" Ayame was sweating nervously. "…do I really have to stay to watch, too?"

"Ayame-nee-chan!" Naruto yelled at her in outrage. Sayuri puffed her cheeks in anger.

"Okay, okay!" Ayame got on her feet, pointing with a finger on the opposite direction. "I'll just be outside the cage, okay?"

"Coward." Naruto pouted. The apron-clad Kitsune tried to wink saucily, but it was hard to look saucy with such a nervous expression and a tick on the right side of her head.

"More like cautious, Naruto-kun." Before walking away, she approached the Genin to say something aimed only to him. "You might want to embrace yourself, Naruto-kun. It's a rather…impressive experience."

She shuddered. It was not something she was looking forward to. Definitely not.

Naruto also stood up. After making sure Ayame was standing behind him and raising an eyebrow at the frantic hold she had on the nearest of the colossal cage bars, he turned to Sayuri.

"Okay, ready here. Show us, Sayuri."

Sayuri was looking at the floor, her tiny fists clenched at her sides. She was another one who was not looking forward to this.

"Okay…onii-chan."

"Hmm?"

"You pwomised."

And then all hell broke loose.

* * *

"And that ends my report on my summons by Uzumaki Naruto-sama."

Inside Higashiyama Yuri's tea ceremony room, mother and daughter shared a discussion. For once, there was no tea involved. Seating in seiza position in front of each other, the encounter so far had been one-sided, with Yurimi describing the events that occurred during her absence from the shrine grounds. By the door, Kotonoha was also seated; her hands on her lap, clutching her sheathed katana. Her eyes were closed, but nobody would doubt that she was as aware of her surroundings as anyone can be.

While there were many glaring differences between mother and daughter (mainly height, hair length and bust size), there were also enough features to make anyone absolutely certain of the blood bond between the two. While Yurimi had gone for the first article of clothing she could find, a plain gray yukata, Yuri was wearing an elaborate mauve piece adorned with lovely trails of Japanese lilies from the lower rim to the left side of the waist and all over her back. The kimono, like most of her clothes, revealed a considerable portion of cleavage. Then again, in Yuri's case, anything could be taken as "considerable." Her beautiful seven tails crawled around and over the Matriarch, covering her like an additional layer of clothing.

"Hmm…" Unlike Yurimi, who concealed her many emotions behind a perfect mask of stillness, Yuri did it with a placid smile and a gentle voice that made her seem far more approachable than she truly was. "Very well. May I ask questions now?"

"Of course."

"Do you intend to claim him?" Yuri started.

"As soon as I get the chance, yes."

"I see…can he give me plenty of grandbabies?"

Any other woman would have at least twitched. Yurimi remained impassive, choosing to just answer the question.

"Not for a few years, but I can assure you I am looking forward to trying."

"Muuu…" Yuri mock pouted. She clasped her hands, in the process pushing her massive breasts together. "I'm not getting any younger, you know."

"I am fairly certain you will outlive Naruto-sama, Mother. And I would say you have plenty of children and grandchildren already."

"Surely you jest, Yurimi dear. Well then, are you certain my Sayuri is getting along with the human, Uzumaki Naruto-kun?"

"While I could not communicate with Sayuri onee-sama directly, this is what I could ascertain from watching Naruto-sama."

"Do you not fear she might take him? As a Kyuubi, you know that claiming rules do not apply to her." Yuri inquired with a half-smile. Yurimi simply tilted her head.

"Sayuri still ignores what the act of mating even implies. I doubt that would be a concern."

"Hmm…I guess…well then, when is this 'Chuunin Exam' Naruto-kun told you about again?"

* * *

_Dies irae! Dies illa!_

_Solvet saeclum, in favilla!_

_Teste David cum Sybilla!_

"Gah!"

_Quantus tremor est futurus,_

_Quando judex est venturus,_

_Cuncta stricte discussurus!_

The first thing Naruto felt was an overwhelming pressure. An intangible, invincible force that pushed him down on his hands and knees. If he knew his physics, he would have described it as a sudden, million-fold increase in the Earth's gravitational pull.

This theory does not work for the obvious reason of them being inside Naruto's mind, but it makes for a good analog.

"Wha-what…ungh! What the hell is this?"

_Dies irae! Dies illa!_

_Solvet saeclum, in favilla!_

_Teste David cum Sybilla!_

"And what's with the ominous Latin chanting?" Ayame complained.

"The what?"

After the submission, came the oppression.

_Quantus tremor est futurus!_

_Quando judex est venturus!_

_Cuncta stricte discussurus!_

The force suddenly shifted. From a single push downwards, it suddenly changed into an omnidirectional crushing power that threatened to shatter him.

"Oh…agh!"

_Quantus tremor est futurus! (Dies irae! Dies illa!)_

Then there was the chakra.

_Quantus tremor est futurus! (Dies irae! Dies illa!)_

In his position, he could only see them when they were right before him.

_Quantus tremor est futurus, quantus tremor est futurus!_

They crawled, slowly covering everything: disgusting, wormlike tentacles of orange chakra. They crawled around him and latched to his clothes, forcing him to hiss in pain as his skin began to burn at an agonizingly slow pace.

_Quando judex est venturus!_

_Cuncta stricte discussurus!_

With the chakra, came the feeling. It made him want to puke, such a disgusting, vile feeling. It was not killing intent, for that term implies the possibility of fighting back. If it could be described with words, it would be called killing certainty, for it was what it imprinted in Naruto's mind.

_Cuncta stricte! (Cuncta stricte!)_

_Stricte discussurus!_

An unchallenged, definite awareness of the inevitability of death, of how infinitesimally insignificant he was before the source of this fiendish chakra, of how pointless, how worthless his life was before the alien immensity of the entity before him.

_Cuncta stricte! (Cuncta stricte!)_

_Stricte discussurus!_

It would be too flattering to say he would perish for the great being's amusement. He meant absolutely nothing; he was nothing before such an entity. Death, just like life, was meaningless.

To die like this, he might as well have never existed.

"Sayuri-sama, stop it! You're killing him!"

In a split second, the horrible chakra receded and disappeared altogether, taking with it the overwhelming, crushing pressure and the terrifying feeling of inevitable doom.

"ONII-CHAN!"

A pair of tiny feet made tiny splashes on the water. Two tiny arms embraced Naruto's head and pulled it towards a marvelously flat chest. Immediately, he could see the damage on his hands and arms disappearing, the charred tissue replaced by brand new cells. The miraculous restoration was second to the crying voice, though.

"Onii-chan! I'm sowwy! I'm sowwy! Sayuri…Sayuri didn't…Sayuri huuht onii-chan! Sayuri made onii-chan cry! Pwease don't hate me! Pwease don't hate Sayuri! Bweeeeeh!"

The pain and the fear gone, Naruto spread his legs on his sides and sat on the floor, returning the embrace and pulling little Sayuri to his chest, where she cried inconsolably. He could not fail to notice that his clothes, too, had been repaired.

"Ayame-nee-chan?"

"You okay?" The older Kitsune placed a comforting hand on Naruto's right shoulder.

"Wha…what the heck was that?" Naruto's voice came out awfully soft. He was obviously still astounded by the whole experience.

"That was Sayuri-sama's power, Naruto-kun. She has obviously kept that form for almost as long as she's been here. Even before she was here, she had issues controlling her immense power. She released all that chakra just to dispel a simple _**Henge**_."

Naruto shuddered. Was that really the Kyuubi's power? "Bu-but! That can't be Sayuri's chakra! It's so…so…" Naruto bit his lip. Ayame felt pity for him and finished his sentence.

"Vile? Repulsive? Disgusting? Fundamentally evil?"

Naruto didn't respond, but the pained expression on his face told Ayame she had hit the nail.

"That has nothing to do with Sayuri and everything to do with your feeble human self." She explained before being asked to. "Sayuri's chakra is not good or evil. It simply is powerful on a level beyond comprehension. It cannot be matched by anything short of a deity. Simply put, your brain overloads from the stress of being in the presence of such power, automatically assumes it is a grave threat and associates it with negative emotions. You convince yourself that it's evil, but it's not."

"You mean like a Genjutsu?"

"A Genjutsu you inflict upon yourself, I guess." Ayame concluded.

"Damn…" Naruto muttered, looking down at the mop of blonde hair and the cute, white-tipped, golden fox ears. It was hard to believe that such a tiny thing had been the cause of…well, that. "Sayuri."

"Uuuu…mugyuu…" A pair of swollen red eyes, mirrors of doubt and fear, looked up at Naruto's face. "Sowwy…"

Naruto felt pity for the girl. "Nah, no big deal. I just…heh, I guess I just didn't expect that."

"Onii-chan…doesn't hate Sayuri?"

"Of course not."

"Onii-chan, then…onii-chan…wikes Sayuri?"

Naruto chuckled. "I wouldn't hug you like this if I didn't."

Sayuri blinked; the time it took her to understand what she had just been told. She buried her face in Naruto's chest. "Sayuri wikes onii-chan a lot."

"So…" Ayame mused. "…are you going to try again?"

Naruto felt Sayuri tense in his arms.

"Well, I'm still curious. I mean, Yurimi made it look like something important. I…I want to know."

Ayame nodded. "Yurimi-sama posed a good point. Sayuri-sama, I don't think this is something you should hide from Naruto. If…" Ayame measured her words. "If Naruto means anything to you, if he is your friend…" She said no more. She did not know how to finish that sentence.

Silently, Sayuri pushed Naruto away, abandoning the comfort of his embrace. She walked back to where she had moved for her previous attempt.

"Nee, onii-chan…" Her voice came out weak and hesitant.

"What is it?"

"Even if you see this…will you still wike me?"

Naruto's answer never escaped his mouth. It was stopped by Sayuri releasing her chakra one more time, paralyzing their bodies and impeding all motion. It was an impressive power, but the fact that they had yet to fall on their knees showed that Sayuri was controlling it noticeably better.

"Kyah!"

A pulse of chakra blew Naruto and Ayame away.

"She's having trouble getting used to her chakra again!" Ayame hissed.

_Cuncta stricte! (Cuncta stricte!)_

_Stricte discussurus!_

"And there it is again."

"What the heck is that?" Naruto muttered, making an odd face.

"Kai!" Sayuri cried, effectively dispelling her transformation. What followed would remain in Naruto's memory until the end of his days.

Sayuri was replaced by something gigantic and abominable. Composed in its entirety of raw chakra, its orange body bubbled and bloated yet it kept the overall appearance of a fox. The only stable parts of its repulsive body were its claws, deadly and twice as long as Naruto was tall. A pair of huge red eyes adorned by a ring of darkness around them looked down at the two pitiful humanoids. Two rows of gargantuan, saw-like white teeth exposed a most deranged of smiles.

This was the Nine-Tailed Kitsune, in all its horrific magnificence.

Naruto described it the best he could. His face a perfect mask of shocked horror, he pointed at the monstrosity with a shaking finger.

"HOLY FLYING FUCK! YOU'RE AN UGLY-ASS FOX!"

Ayame facepalmed. "Naruto…"

Those gigantic, malicious eyes…began to water.

_**MUGYUU…**_

"HOLY SHIT!" Naruto looked at Ayame behind him, still pointing at the fox. "EVEN ITS VOICE SOUNDS ALL CREEPY AND EVIL!"

"'Its'?" Ayame raised an eyebrow.

_**MUGYUU… **_Giant-fox-of-DOOM-Sayuri repeated. _**ONII-CHAN CALLED ME FUGLY…ONII-CHAN'S A MWEANIE! LIAR! YOU PWOMISED! BWEEEEEEEEH!**_

"Oh Kami, she's crying now." Ayame groaned.

_**BWEEEEEEEH! ONII-CHAN NO BAKA! BAKABAKABAKABAKABAKA!**_

Naruto sweatdropped. "God this is so wrong." He muttered.

Trying his best to keep a straight smile in the face of such horridness, the blonde made an attempt at reconciliation. "Umm, eh, Sayuri, I, I didn't really mean…I mean, I was surprised and everything! You know, umm, I know…yeah! I know you're really really cute…and…umm…stuff…"

_**I SHOULD BURN YOU.**_

The two remaining bipedals froze. "Huh?"

* * *

Higashiyama Yuria lived for training. It was her joy and her purpose.

Her father was a Mountain Kitsune. From him, she inherited her ebony hair, her short stature and her humongous chakra reserves.

Unlike most Kitsune, who rely on swiftness, elegance and precision as the pillars of their martial arts skills, Yuria embraced the philosophy of power. She focused on being able to land a single devastating blow. It was not only a matter of preference. Having absolutely no talent with Enchantments and Illusions, and only average skill with Transformations, she could only focus on enhancing her small body's capabilities.

It was a cold, misty morning at Higashiyama. The shrine, being at the top, was thoroughly covered with a thin fog that fortunately stayed low. Yuria could see the buildings around her, but she was unable to see her own two feet. This was unimportant. She knew the motions by heart.

Huffing and panting, she repeated the sequence for the forty-eighth time that morning. Her labored breath was visible. She put everything she had in every single blow, striking an invisible, inexistent enemy. Sweat jumped off her face with each of her rough, straightforward motions.

"Whoo, you go girl! Kick that stupid fog's ass!"

"Bitch." Yuria muttered in annoyance, before raising her voice to greet the newcomer. "Good morning to you too, Yuri-" She sighed. "I know there's nobody here but family and everything, but…do you really have to walk like that all over the place? It's unsightly."

Toying with the tip of one of her tails with her right index, Higashiyama Yuriyo examined her nude body with a witty grin. "Nope, there's nothing unsightly here."

Yuria sighed. "Just don't mess with my training."

"Right. Training."

Two minutes later, Yuria was at her limit. Yuriyo had chosen to sit down and watch her. While Yuria normally did not mind being watched while she trained (with such a large family, it happened all the time), there was just something about those eyes that simply made her feel uneasy.

Those succubus eyes, which seemed to brim with lust the whole time…

"Damn it, Yuriyo, stop raping me with your eyes!"

The two-tailed beauty's smile could not be more devilish. "It's training, training."

Yuria grimaced. An enchantment. It made her feel pathetic, knowing that she couldn't even resist such a minor technique.

"I wonder…" Yuriyo got on her feet. "It's said it feels different for every person. How did it feel to you, Yuria? Was it minor discomfort?" She walked closer to her aunt. "A feeling of shameless exposure, perhaps? Did you feel naked before my eyes?" She moved behind Yuria. "Did you feel yourself being stripped, perhaps? Gentle hands exploring your beautiful, virginal body…"

Yuria stiffened when she felt Yuriyo's plentiful chest pressed against her back. Her niece's breath on her left ear accelerated her pulse.

"Or maybe it was a bit rougher? Dozens of intrusive hands shamelessly dominating you, touching you where you have let no other touch you?"

Yuriyo grinned at a sudden shift of the folds of Yuria's red hakama. The shorter Kitsune had pushed her legs together.

"Come on…tell me…" Her voice dropped to a captivating whisper. "Show me-UGH!"

With astounding speed that left Yuriyo no room for retaliation or escape, two black tails wrapped around her bare legs, impeding all motion. A third tail closed around her neck, impeding the normal flow of air.

She was faced with a pair of amber eyes; mirrors of cold fury.

"Don't fuck with me, girl."

She might not be able to defeat Yurimi (yet), but she was definitely not letting some pretentious little brat show off at her expense!

"Pooh, you're no fun." Yuriyo's strained voice managed to retort, added to a mock pout. She eyed the tail that threatened to choke her to death. The tip, normally snow white, was stained red.

The grip became noticeably weaker. Yuria had no intention to seriously harm her, after all.

"Hurting yourself to escape my _**Call of Ecstasy**_." Yuriyo concluded. "Impressive."

"_**Extension**_."

Enhancement Techniques are the simplest among Kitsune Techniques. Being a function of nothing but the amount of chakra put into them makes Yuria the indisputable master among the younger Higashiyama Lilies. Only her mother and her two oldest sisters can grow her tails more than Yuria via the Extension Technique. Yuria has the additional advantage of her tails being already noticeably longer than the average, even before enhancements.

Yuriyo found herself caught in some sort of weird furry bondage.

"Kinky…whoa!"

Once again surprising Yuriyo with her outstanding chakra output, Yuria's tails effortlessly lifted her body and carried her while the three-tails abandoned the garden.

"Whe-where are we going?"

"My room." Yuria plainly stated. Her anger seemed to have abated, replaced with the gleaming eyes of a merciless sadist. "In the meantime let me decide on your punishment."

"Pu-punish-"

"Someone has to teach you to respect your elders, girl." Yuria interrupted. "I was thinking of a good spanking, but you seem to be the kind of girl who would enjoy that. I even thought of breaking your hymen, but I realized I'm not that mean…and I suddenly got the feeling you already did that yourself."

"I regret nothing." Like hell Yuriyo was willing to deal with that annoying membrane. She intended her first time to be frenzied, raunchy, and hot as all hell.

"Really? Well, you'll regret messing with my training when I'm done with you. Now, where can I find some long, thick cylindrical objects?"

"Meep."

"A shame I cannot use illusions or enchantments, huh?" Yuria chuckled evilly. "Anyway, I wonder if we have any cucumbers…"

* * *

Ayame let go a breath she did not know she was holding. With her hands on her knees, she was breathing and sweating heavily. She had barely managed to pull Naruto out of the cage before it became a miniature sun.

"Ayame-nee-chan!"

Wide eyes looked at Naruto, whose face also seemed to be overcome by fear.

"We have to go back!" Noticing Ayame's face of disbelief, Naruto insisted. He was clutching his stomach. "We have to go back! You saw it, didn't ya? The seal did something! I heard! She was screaming! The seal did something to her!"

**Uuuu…it huuuuhts… **Naruto closed his eyes, pained by Sayuri's wracking sobs. **Onii-chan…auuu…**

"Ayame-nee-chan!"

The ramen girl sighed in defeat. "Right, right…"

Half a minute later, they were back in the cage. They were surprised to see Sayuri had returned to her little girl form. Ayame (correctly) concluded that, since she had always preferred that form over her…less appealing fox form, it was a natural, almost unconscious, reaction to switch to it.

"Sayuri…" Naruto carefully moved her so that she was facing up. The water around them was unpleasantly hot. From what they could tell, the seal had somehow turned Sayuri's flame against her.

"Sayuri…I'm sorry…"

"It huhts…onii-chan…" Despite her claims, which had to be true, as there was no way Sayuri could fake those tears, Naruto simply could not see any damage on her lithe frame.

"Sayuri-sama is virtually immune to fire, Naruto." Ayame explained, looking down at the little nine-tails from behind Naruto's shoulder. "She wasn't harmed by it…but she still feels pain."

"Onii-chan…hold me…pwease?"

Naruto did not hesitate to do as told, gently scooping up Sayuri's body and holding it close to his. The little Kitsune slowly raised an arm, seemingly to reach his face.

"Onii-chan…"

"Hmm? What is it?" Naruto responded, wearing his gentlest smile.

Sayuri poked his forehead. Her closed-eyes grin both Naruto and Ayame found awfully familiar.

"…burn."

Whoosh.

"Te-he!" Sayuri giggled, effortlessly getting on her feet and prancing away from Naruto.

"Umm…Naruto-kun?" Ayame called.

"Yeah?"

"Umm…well…your head…it's kinda, you know…on fire."

"Yeah, I noticed."

"Aren't you gonna…you know…run in circles and scream in agony?"

"Yeeeeeeaaaah, I was getting to it."

"Oh. Cool."

A pause.

"UWAAAAAAAAH! FIRE! MY HEAD'S ON FIRE! TAKE IT OFF! TAKE IT OFF! TAKE IT OOOOOOOOFF!"

"Um, you mean 'put it out'." Ayame commented. Fortunately for the boy, it was just comedy fire, so it wouldn't kill him. It would still hurt like the real thing, though. "I wouldn't mind a strip tease, though. Who goes first: you, me or should we strip each other?"

"SHUT THE HELL UP AND HELP ME, DAMN IT!"

"Hmph. Now that's just rude." Ayame made a dismissing gesture. "Do a barrel roll or something."

"Wahahahaha-mugyuu! Run, onii-chan, run! Waaaaai!" Wiggle, wiggle. "Burn, burn, BURN! Waaaaai!"

Wiggle, wiggle.

Sayuri's anger is short-lived, but let there be no doubt: it is painful and effective.

On that day, Naruto learned a very valuable lesson of life.

Women, regardless of age, species or capacity for _**moé**_, are evil incarnate.

* * *

"Aren't we going to the bedroom?"

"Later, Kotonoha." Yurimi answered. They had already exited the Matriarch's tea room. As per Yuri's request, they had looked for Himeyuri and informed her that her mother demanded her presence.

After that, they enjoyed a frugal breakfast courtesy of the clan's premier cook, Yurine. They had eaten in the company of Yurisa and her little daughter Mayuri. As usual, no matter what the third lily tried, she just could not get her daughter to say a word or change her facial expression. Unlike Yurimi, who had trained herself to maintain the mask she wore, little Mayuri had donned a mask of utter sadness for no apparent reason.

Yurimi still remembered the time when Mayuri was a little bundle of joy. She was a lot like Sayuri, actually. For almost one year after she gained her second tail and the blessings of superior intelligence and power, little Mayuri was the brightest sun in the Higashiyama Shrine. She learned the language of humans in record time, and her inquisitive enthusiasm was second only to her seemingly boundless energy.

And then, one day, she simply changed. That was thirty-five years ago.

Yurimi might be expressionless, but she is not lacking of emotion. It truly pained her to watch her older sister Yurisa trying to get her single daughter to talk and smile the way she used to.

It was a rather depressing breakfast.

After the meal, Kotonoha had expected to return to the bedroom to begin preparations, but that was obviously not Yurimi's destination. However, she had already inferred their new destination.

Yurimi opened the door leading to Yuria's bedroom.

"Ah…aaaahh…ple-please…ahn! M-Mercy…"

Yurimi and her bodyguard blinked in unison.

"Is that a ladle poking out of her-"

"Yes." Yuria stated. "Yes it is, sister of mine."

Yuriyo was being held in the air by a messy tangle of fur. Her arms and legs spread apart, Yuria's extended three tails crawled and writhed all over her nude body like velvety serpents. The sweaty, flushed two-tails squirmed and moaned, furtively stimulated by the ceaseless friction on her skin, and most particularly her breasts and crotch. She still made weak attempts at releasing herself, but her body was long defeated.

"Ugnh…uh..ah…ungh!"

"Still trying to get out? Pointless." Yuria declared mockingly. She didn't even bother giving her attention to the defeated Yuriyo, busy as she was on her desk writing on a piece of paper. "You'll need to make a DC 45 Escape Artist check to get free, girl."

"So we are sticking to 3.5?"

"Yup."

"I see…" Yurimi muttered. "Then, wouldn't she be able to make a Strength check, too?"

"Well, she **can**, but why even bother?" Yuria shrugged.

"True enough."

"Shu-shut up and-aaahn! Le-let me go! Yuria!" Yuriyo's eyes threatened to pop out of their sockets, as the friction on her sensitive parts suddenly became rougher. "Ah! Ah! O-o-ooOOH KAMI!"

However, as soon as the intensity grew, it decayed again, making the curvaceous two-tails drop her head in defeat.

"Haa…haa..haa…da-damn you, Yuria…"

"It's Mistress Yuria for you, girl."

Yurimi raised an eyebrow. "Mistress Yuria?"

Yuria crossed her arms under her bust.

"Hey, whether it is training to defeat my younger sister, or dominating a pretentious little vixen, this Higashiyama Yuria-sama does not do things half-heartedly."

"Congratulations on embracing your inner dominatrix, Yuria-sama."

"Thank you, Kotonoha. I have found it an extremely satisfying experience. May you should keep closer watch on your protégé."

"I will keep it in mind, thanks."

"Oh, for Kami's sake." Yurimi muttered. She had to admit, however, that the sight of the defeated, exhausted Yuriyo within the tight embrace of Yuria's snake-like tails had a very strange and twisted aesthetic appeal.

Giving up on Yuria releasing her, Yuriyo slowly turned her head to the newcomer.

"Help…please…aaahhh…"

Yurimi blinked. "I do not see reason for your complaint. Your body is obviously enjoying it."

Yuriyo's eyes glowed furiously. "Are you fucking kidding me?" She hissed. "That…that-ahn! That bitch! She's-oh, oohhh…she's…she's kept me like this for-aaahh! So long!" The beautiful succubus writhed in poorly-restrained pleasure. "She won't let me-OH! FUCK!"

Yurimi nodded, her brain easily filling in the blanks in Yuriyo's speech.

"So, you keep denying Yuriyo's divine right as a Kitsune to experience a mind-blowing orgasm?"

"Yes." Yuria answered at the same time she scribbled over her latest sentence and wrote something different.

"Hmm…strange."

"What is it?" The bodyguard inquired.

"I am suddenly experiencing a strange feeling in my chest. Like, it feels unusually warm when I look at Yuria, and I feel like she deserves some praise."

"I believe that is called 'Pride', Yurimi-sama."

"Pride, it is? Very well. I am proud of you, Yuria."

"Don't expect me to thank you for that." Yuria was twitching a bit.

"Guh…" Yuriyo groaned. "Just eat her out already, you damn washboard…"

The other three people in the room actually felt the temperature around Yurimi drop a few degrees.

"Yuriyo-san."

While she was rarely one to feel intimidated by Yurimi, her current situation and the awareness of the fact she had royally screwed up made Yuriyo feel rather apprehensive. "Wha…what?"

"You should think twice what you say to someone you require aid from. Keep it in mind…for a next occasion."

The short-haired two-tails turned to face her older sister.

"Yuria."

"Hmm?"

"This…'domination' thing…I am intrigued and wish to learn more. May I be of assistance?"

"Geh." That was Yuriyo.

Yuria's smile awkwardly reminded Yurimi of her love. It was so Naruto she actually skipped a beat. "Sure. Leave it to Yuria-sensei."

"Geh."

"Kotonoha."

"Yes, Yurimi-sama?"

"Please stand guard outside and ensure our privacy is respected."

"Understood." She was about to do as told and walk outside when Yurimi spoke again.

"Oh, almost forgot. I should let you know: you might be summoned at-"

Poof.

"…any time today."

Yuria blinked. A summon? That was more than unusual. However, she was not one to miss out on an opportunity to tease her rival.

"She's gonna get you for that later, isn't she?"

"Shut up."

"Now that's no way to talk to your sensei. I don't need all three tails to hold Yuriyo, you know."

"Geh." Yuriyo and Yurimi gasped in unison.

* * *

Ayame let go a deep sigh. They were back in Naruto's dining/living room, standing between the dining table and the few pieces of furniture Naruto possessed.

"Haa…we're out." Stretching her limp muscles and enjoying the feel of cracking joints, she shot a glance at the boy she had looked over for many, many years.

That boy was giving her the evil eye.

"What's with the nasty look? It doesn't suit you." After rising and stretching her arms, she crossed them behind her head. "Gimme a smile. I like it."

"…traitor."

"How exactly?"

"You didn't help me at all!" Naruto exploded. "I WAS ON FIRE, for Kami's sake!"

"I helped you."

"You told me to LIE ON THE FLOOR AND ROLL!" Naruto twitched. "And then MY WHOLE BODY CAUGHT FIRE!"

**Tehehe, that was funny! Whooosh!**

"Gotta give credit to the girl; she's sure got style. I mean, locally flammable water? How amazing is that?"

"You're not helping your cause, you know." Naruto pouted, and Ayame suppressed the urge to giggle. Taking advantage of her superior height, Ayame wrapped her arms over Naruto's shoulders and pulled his face to her bosom. The boy froze for an instant at the warm, soft feel of lips on his forehead.

"There. You like me again?"

Naruto sighed on Ayame's white clothes. "…a little."

"Great. Such a good boy; that's why I like you."

"You're so unfair." Naruto mumbled, but not bothering to move away. Ayame chuckled.

"It's your prerogative as a hormonal prepubescent male." She pulled him away to stand by his left side, her right arm slithering behind his head to hold his right shoulder. "And my rightful superiority as a young, mature beauty. Now be a sweetheart and get me something to drink, I'm exhausted."

Moving a few steps back, she leaned on the back of Naruto's old, ugly green sofa, also using her hands for support. Naruto frowned.

"Exhausted?"

"What, you think all those jumps in and out of the seal were easy? Now go!"

"Eeep!" Naruto whimpered when Ayame roughly slapped his left buttock. "Alright, alright, but first…"

Ayame raised an eyebrow when Naruto lowered his center of gravity and bent his torso forwards. "Hmm, nice ass. Thanks for the free view, but what exactly are you doing?"

"A summon. Yurimi's bodyguard." Naruto made the handseals.

"Yuri-you mean Koto-" Ayame's eyes widened in alarm. "Naruto, wait!"

"_**KUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU!**_"

A cloud of smoke of considerable size occupied the space in front of them. While both Naruto and Ayame could feel the new presence in the room, the silence was awfully unsettling.

There was a flicker of light from within. Faster than Naruto could possibly react, the sharp edge of a backsaw emerged from the cloud, eager to sever his head off his shoulders!

"Ah!" **Eeep!**

The blade never reached him. Naruto stared in mute awe at Ayame's right arm, which had stopped the deadly strike. It was encased in some sort of bracer made of what seemed to be ice, except for its unusual metallic sheen.

"_**Suibusou: Ginhyougu.**_" Water Armament – Silver Ice Armor.

"Ara?" A lovely, elegant and feminine voice reached them from within the smoke. "Ko…Kokoro-chan?"

**Ah! Koto-chan!**

"Yes, me." Ayame responded, her face stern and surprisingly serious. "So, would you mind, you know, stopping trying to kill us?"

"Ah! My bad…"

The moment the unconventional weapon pulled back, the ice armor shattered and melted. Ayame fell on her knees, her right hand clutching her chest and her left covering her mouth as she entered an alarming fit of coughing.

"A-Ayame-nee-chan!" Naruto held her from behind, impeding her body from falling face-down on the floor. Leaning over her left shoulder, a worried Naruto could only watch his good friend coughing almost desperately.

"Oh, Kokoro-chan!" A woman emerged from the smoke. She, too, kneeled before the fallen girl. "I made you-"

"Yeah, yeah, you know…" The coughing apparently over, Ayame had dropped her left hand, which she kept clenched. Her tongue swiftly licked a droplet of blood escaping from a corner of her mouth, but not swiftly enough to prevent being noticed. "No big deal…" Her voice sounded raspy and tired. "I kinda expected this to happen."

"Ayame-nee-chan!" Naruto's face was an honest expression of concern. He found it hard to deal with his friend suddenly looking like that after her outright-flirtatious behavior from before. "What's wrong? What happened? Ca-Can I help you?"

Ayame tried to chuckle, but it came out more like a raspy cough. Her right hand traveled from her chest to Naruto's left cheek, and she turned her head to gently kiss the other. Naruto blushed but responded to Ayame's gentle, albeit tired, smile, with one of his own.

She leaned her forehead on Naruto's right shoulder. "Seriously, boy, you…" She chuckled rather bitterly. "…you're giving me so much trouble."

"Huh?"

"Ah, whatever!" Ayame exclaimed, forcefully standing up and taking everyone by surprise. "I need to use the toilet. Be right back."

"Ah, the toilet is-"

"I know where it is." Ayame interrupted before leaving the others' sight.

Naruto groaned and facepalmed. "Ugh, I don't know what's going on anymore…"

"Using any Kitsune Technique in that body…" Kotonoha muttered, her eyes lost where she had last seen Ayame. "…it is extremely harmful to her."

"Huh? Why?"

Kotonoha looked down at the kneeling boy. "I…I am not allowed to answer that question. I take it you are Uzumaki Naruto-sama." She smiled gently. "My apologies for being so rude."

"U-Um…yeah."

Naruto finally got a chance to look more closely at his new summon. While she was not excessively tall, she was taller than most girls he knew that came to mind. She had long black hair that ended in a fine tip right where a voluminous white-tipped black fox tail began. Curiously enough, he could see a katana strapped to her left side, which made him wonder why she would use a backsaw of all things. Such backsaw she held on her back, under her obi. A rather plain leather sports bag hung from her right shoulder. She wore a black kimono with a single large lily under the left knee.

Under that kimono, she had the largest pair of breasts Naruto had ever seen.

"Wow."

**Yup, they're weaaaaally big.**

"Yeah…"

**I want mine to be wike those when I gwow up!**

"Uh…good luck with that…"

Kotonoha's smile became a bit forced. "Umm…my face is up here, Naruto-sama."

While Ayame was away, Naruto invited Kotonoha to take a seat, apologizing for being unable to offer her anything but water. Just like before with Yurimi, Naruto felt a pang in his chest at the way the buxom swordswoman eyed his residence.

"Umm…Kotonoha-san…may I call you Kotonoha-san?" Naruto did not know why, but something urged him to use as much politeness as he could in front of this woman. Maybe it was her elegant poise, or maybe the fact that she almost killed him. He placed a glass of cold water on the table in front of his guest, before claiming the sofa across.

"Of course, Naruto-sama."

"Um, why…why…?"

"Naruto-sama? Well…" Kotonoha seized the glass. "I am Yurimi-sama's maid and bodyguard, and Naruto-sama is the male Yurimi-sama has chosen, therefore it is within my responsibilities to serve you. Please take good care of me."

"Uh? No, no, let's get along well, Kotonoha-san." Naruto bowed rather bashfully. "Umm…well…how many tails…?"

"I gained my fourth tail six years ago." Kotonoha suddenly looked up at the old ceiling. "But, really, Yurimi-sama must have forgotten to mention this. It is obvious to me Yurimi-sama was the one who told Naruto-sama to summon me, but she did not warn me at all. I almost hurt Naruto-sama as a result…"

_Hurt? More like killed. _Naruto grimaced.

"It seems a long talk is due. Yurimi-sama must learn proper behavior, after all."

Something about the way she said it made a shiver go down Naruto's rigid spine.

"Um…Kotonoha-san…"

"Yes?"

"Um…I…well, Ayame-nee-chan…"

"Oh, right, right…" Kotonoha nodded. "She goes by that name here, right? It would be better if she explained things herself. In any case, may I ask the purpose of my summons?"

"Ah, right!" At least this woman was all business.

By the time Ayame re-emerged from the bathroom, Naruto had given the four-tails a brief overview of his predicament.

"A Hyuuga, hmm? That is certainly a problem." Kotonoha muttered, a smile never leaving her face.

"Uh? You know the Hyuugas?"

Kotonoha's smile shifted in a way Naruto couldn't interpret. "Yes, I guess you could say that."

"That's one way to put it, sis." Ayame chuckled, seemingly revitalized after washing her face. Kotonoha greeted her with a gentle smile. Naruto was a bit more effusive.

"Ah, Ayame-nee-chan! Sit here, here! You okay?" Naruto greeted, patting the space to his left on the couch.

"Ah, no big deal. Now…" She glanced between the two people seated. "I guess introductions are in order, hmm?"

"Naruto, this is my older sister, Katsura Kotonoha-chan! She works as a maid-slash-bodyguard at the Higashiyama Shrine, and she's extremely skilled with all sorts of bladed weapons!" She added a few claps for good measure. Kotonoha blushed a bit, but stood up and bowed ceremoniously.

"Most please to make your acquaintance."

"Her seiyuu is Touno Soyogi-san!"

"Huh?"

"That's rather unnecessary…" The addressed female commented.

"Her three measurements are: Hips, 86 centimeters! Waist! 61 centimeters! And an astounding 106 centimeters of bust! I can't even figure out what cup size that is!"

"Ko-Kokoro-chan!" A scandalized Kotonoha unconsciously crossed her arms over her chest. "Too much information! And you're the last person who can say such a thing! Your bust is-"

"AND I'm her little sister, Katsura Kokoro." Ayame elegantly bowed before Naruto.

**Ah! Koko-chan! I wemember Koko-chan! She's nice and funny! We pwayed together sometimes! It was weally fun! Bu-but…mugyuu, I'm confused…**

"But please do call me Ayame, Naruto-kun. I'm used to it."

With that said, Ayame shamelessly sprawled herself on the couch, resting her head on Naruto's lap. Noticing the odd look on his face, the ramen girl winked and blew him a kiss. "Just indulge me, I'm kinda tired here."

Naruto sighed. "Aren't you kinda clingy today, Ayame-nee-chan…? And if you're a Kitsune, what are doing here in Konoha? What about Ichiraku-ojii-san? Who's the real Ayame-nee-chan? Sayuri wants to know, too!"

**Mu-nii?**

Ayame sighed. "Haa, so many questions…okay, pay attention!" Fixing her eyes on his, she explained. "Almost thirteen years ago, Sayuri-sama was sealed inside you. Yuri-sama, the matriarch of the Higashiyama Clan, found out a few days later from her informant in Konoha."

"Wait, wait! You have spies here?"

"Yuri-sama has informants in every major human population centre, namely the ninja villages and the capital cities. Anyway, this informant –whose identity I'm certainly not telling you– was under instructions to keep an eye on any possible change on your situation."

"However, Yuri-sama was not satisfied with this. She wanted a better informant; a Kitsune who could get closer to you and keep a more constant vigilance, as well as acquire better insights on your growth and your behavior. That's when I come in."

"Do you remember the first time you went to Ichiraku's?"

"Hmm!" Naruto nodded happily. "Of course! I went with the old man Hokage! I had the best beef ramen ever!"

"And you were five years old." Naruto nodded. "Then you remember I wasn't there, right? We met a few months later."

Naruto blinked, but slowly nodded. "Ye-yeah…yeah, you're right."

Ayame's expression softened a little. "Naruto, the real Ichiraku Ayame is a very frail, sickly girl. At the time you met Father…Ichiraku-san, she was bedridden and barely able to move. Her body simply seems incapable of working at the minimum power needed to live a normal life. Since the day of her birth, she has gotten weaker and weaker. By the time I arrived to Konoha, the girl was practically at death's door."

Naruto blinked; his eyes unusually wide. "Bu-but…"

"When I noticed your spectacular fascination with ramen, I appeared before the agonizing Ichiraku Ayame and made a deal with her. She accepted and allowed me to possess her."

"Po-possess…?"

"_**Kitsunetsuki**_." Ayame explained. "The Kitsune Possession Technique. It happens to be a fairly advanced enchantment, usually requiring at least four tails, and most Kitsune wouldn't risk trying it before their fifth tail, but it also happens to be my specialty." She smiled sweetly. "The Possession Technique allows me to enter the body of another being and seize control of it. In exchange, I use my powers to keep this body alive, allowing her to live the life she has always desired."

"You see, even if I am the one in control, she is still here." She placed her hands on her chest. "We talk all the time, you know, sorta like Sayuri and you, only, well, the roles are reversed. Through me, she does the things she wants to do and says the things she wants to say."

Naruto got a bit red on the face when Ayame placed a gentle hand on his left cheek. Kotonoha calmly enjoyed her cold water.

"She also has kind of a soft spot for you, Naruto-kun. I think she likes you." Ayame's eyes turned to a side for a moment, and then looked back at Naruto. "Heh, she's all flustered now. She's cute."

**I wike onii-chan too.**

_I know, Sayuri, I like you too._

**Except when you're a mweanie mweanie, but then I burn you and I wike you again!**

_You seriously scare me sometimes._

Ayame's smile suddenly became devilishly mischievous, making Naruto skip a beat and forget all about his tenant. The older girl got on her knees and turned around to lean her face closer to Naruto's. Her pretty face elicited a response from Naruto's awakening libido, hastening his heart rate.

"Hey, wanna take my virginity?" She paused. "Well, it's more like Ayame's virginity, but you get the point. I think she's way overdue…and she's screaming in outrage. She's so shy."

Naruto's face became stone cold. "You're joking right?"

**Nee, nee, onii-chan? What's virgi-**

_Not now, Sayuri._

**Mugyuu…mweanie!**

"Aw, come on! Since it's both Ayame and me here, it's like scoring two girls at once! You lucky stud…" She playfully punched Naruto's left arm.

"Umm…no."

Ayame growled. "Oh, for all the Gods' sake, how stupid can you…"

"Huh?"

"WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO TO GET LAID HERE?" Ayame suddenly exploded.

"Gah! What the heck?"

"SERIOUSLY!" Her eyes ominously reminding him of the crazy examiner lady from the Chuunin Exam, Naruto slowly tried to back away, but to no avail. Two terrifyingly strong hands got a grip of his trademark orange jacket, and he couldn't do anything against the sudden attack, his only response a moan when Ayame literally, roughly and shamelessly, shoved her tongue in his throat.

**Mugiiiii!**

"Oh my." Kotonoha uttered.

* * *

Higashiyama Yurina looked up from her read: Sun Tzu's "The Art of War." Her golden twin tails (the ones made of hair, not the fox ones) jumped with the sudden motion.

"Hmm?"

She was alone in the large room she shared with her fraternal twin Yuriyo, and silence permeated the room. She frowned.

"Hmm…strange, I could swear I heard the voice of a thousand fanboys shouting in triumph just now." She shrugged. "Oh well."

She looked back at her book for an instant, and then looked up again.

"And where's my sister anyway?"

* * *

(Un?)Fortunately for Naruto, Ayame suddenly slumped down his torso and fell face down on her lap. She was unconscious. He looked up at Kotonoha and the hand she had used to karate chop the back of her sister's possessed body's neck.

A second later, Ayame's body spontaneously combusted.

Naruto blinked.

"Now, that was completely unnecessary, Sayuri-sama." Kotonoha chirped, dispelling the flames with a few fancy hand motions.

**Mugyuu…**

Naruto gently moved Ayame off her rather embarrassing position. Kotonoha sighed as she moved to help him. "It must be hard for her…"

"What the heck exactly happened?"

"Well, I suspected since the moment I first saw her…she's in heat."

"Heat?" Naruto was quite freaked out. "You mean, like…?"

"Well, we ARE foxes, after all." Returning to her seat, Kotonoha explained. "When we gain our second tail and become supernatural beings, our biological processes change in their entirety. Female Kitsune are fertile for a very short period of time every year. It does not generally last more than two weeks, but during this time we are particularly…umm…needy."

"I can't believe I'm listening to this."

**Onii-chan, I don't get it. What's she talking about?**

_Uhh…ask your mother about it when you get out okay? I…don't think I can explain this._

**Oh…okay.**

_At least not without losing a piece of my eternal soul._

**Mugyuu?**

"Kokoro-chan has obviously respected the body of the girl she is possessing, especially because she possessed little Ayame-chan when she was young. It would have been deplorable if Kokoro-chan had sated her urges using the body of an innocent twelve-year-old. However, this has resulted in my poor sister not getting any since she arrived to Konohagakure. Seven years without sex must be harsh."

"Uh-huh…" Naruto really, **really **did not want to be part of this conversation. "The why doesn't she just…Kami, I can't believe I'm even thinking this…why doesn't she just, umm…find a mate? Now that she's, um, old enough."

"But she has found and picked a mate. You."

"Can't she get another one?" Naruto whined. Kotonoha's smile faltered for an instant.

"I would advise you to not say such a thing to a female Kitsune, Naruto-sama. Some may take it as a very strong insult."

"Having very long lives, it is not surprising that Kitsune, both male and female, go through many different mates throughout their lives. However, at the same time, Kitsune are extremely loyal. At any given time, a Kitsune will be fiercely devoted to his or her current mate. Even once the relationship is over, any Kitsune can count on a former mate to come to his or her aid in a time of dire need."

"Due to the nature of her mission, you have been the male closest to Kokoro-chan all these years, so it is understandable that she has chosen you to be her mate. It is very likely you have been her chosen mate all these years, but she has restrained herself due to both yours and her host body's ages. Now, well…she seems to be close to her limit."

Naruto looked down at the unconscious girl. Her head rested sideways on her lap. She looked like she was just sleeping peacefully.

"Sheesh, first Yurimi and now this…"

"Your life certainly seems to become more and more interesting by the day, Naruto-sama." She paused. "But, really, both my ward and my sister…it is quite unsettling." She looked down at her bag. "Don't you think so-ah! Oh my! How rude of me!"

"Huh?"

"I forgot to introduce you!" Kotonoha observed in mild alarm. Hurriedly, she unzipped the bag and reached for its contents. "Naruto-sama, this is my sweetheart Makoto-kun. Makoto-kun, say hi to Naruto-sama."

**Waaaaai! Makoto-kun!**

"Haaaaaaai." Clack, clack, clack.

Silence.

Naruto only stared. A lot.

Kotonoha was all smiles, holding "Makoto-kun" between her two hands. As is pushing the point, she moved her right hand up and down.

Clack, clack, clack.

"Umm…Kotonoha-san."

"Yes?"

"It's a skull."

"Makoto-kun."

"A human skull." Naruto deadpanned.

"Makoto-kun." Kotonoha repeated, that disturbing smile unchanging on her lovely face. "He has greeted you, it's common courtesy to respond in kind, Naruto-sama."

"You were the one who said 'haaaaaaai'. You only moved its jaw as if somehow that would make me believe he was talking."

"Makoto-kun said hi." Kotonoha insisted.

"It was obviously you. I saw you saying it!"

"Don't bother, Naruto. Just greet the skull."

"A-Ayame-nee-chan!"

"Ah, Koko-I mean, Ayame-san, you are awake. Look, say hi to Makoto-kun." Clack, clack, clack.

Ayame rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah…so, umm…hey there, Mako-kun, it's been a while. You look as skinny as ever."

"Ah…um…yo! Name's Naruto. Um…nice to meet you?"

"Much better." Satisfied, Kotonoha placed the skull back in its bag. Naruto bent his body to lean his head closer to Ayame.

"What the fuck?" He whispered. Ayame chuckled.

"For the sake of your mental health, don't ask."

"Ayame-san, while you were unconscious I took the liberty to explain your current situation to Naruto."

This elicited a healthy blush from the blonde ninja. Ayame, too, blushed a bit. "Ah, yeah. So…wanna help me with that?"

"Wha-NO! I can't do that! It's just-I just…aw, damn it! It's…it's just weird!"

"Tch." Ayame growled and turned away from Naruto. "Help me here, onee-chan."

"I do not see how I could possibly be…"

"If we seduce him together there's no way in hell he will say no." Ayame suggested, to Naruto's muted horror. Kotonoha blinked.

"That…is certainly true…"

"Eek." That was Naruto, who couldn't avoid shooting a terrified glance at the swordswoman's superlative bosom.

"…but I refuse."

Naruto sighed in relief. Ayame growled again.

"Alright! Let your poor little sister drown to death in her maddening lust! Did you already forget who helped you find the courage to become Makoto's girlfriend?"

"I clearly remember that was Sekai." Kotonoha released a blindingly adorable smile. "And she became a bag."

In the presence of that dazzling smile and that deliriously sweet voice, Naruto discovered true terror. Zabuza who?

Even Ayame, who after so many years was more than used to it, felt a thrilling shiver going down her spine. "Umm…forget I said anything."

"Very well." Kotonoha clasped her hands and got on her feet. "Now, to deal with the matter at hand, Naruto-sama incoming examination, shall we go somewhere else? This is not the most suitable place for physical training."

"Alright!" Naruto more than welcomed the change of topic. Ayame followed Kotonoha's initiative and got on her feet.

"Very well. Shall we go to an unused training area?"

"Coming with us, sister?"

"Sure, why not? As long as I'm back in time for the lunch rush it's alright." Ayame explained. "Besides, I want to spend some more quality time with my good friend Naruto-kun!" She added, immediately locking her right arm around his left and proceeding to affectionately rub her right cheek against his hair.

"Ugh…"

"So you're on the rubbing phase now." Kotonoha stated.

"She has phases?" Naruto moaned.

"Well of course." Kotonoha answered matter-of-factly. "Next comes the dry humping phase. That's a fun one."

"Oh Kami."

"Hey, Naruto…" Ayame moved away, their only contact (much to Naruto's relief) being her right arm on his left shoulder. "I think it would be better if nobody sees us on the way there. We don't want people snooping in your training, right?"

"Hmm." Naruto nodded. "So we hafta evade the ANBU patrols?"

"Yup. It's no problem for us, 'cause we're Kitsune. How about you? You think you can evade the elite, highly-skilled Konoha special operations units?"

Naruto and Ayame stared at each for several seconds of tense silence…

"…pfft. Bwhahahahahahahahahahaha! Haaa…ahahahahahaha!"

…and then exploded in laughter, holding their knees and leaning on each other for support.

"Ahahaha…hahahaha…haaa…the ANBU…good one, Ayame-nee-chan…"

"Thank you. Wanna have sex now?"

"No."

"Damn it."

Kotonoha only tilted her head in confusion. "Ara?"

* * *

"Umm…Ayame-chan?" Jump.

"Hmm? What happened to nee-chan?"

"Uhh…somehow, using nee-chan with a girl who wants to do the nasty with me feels horribly, horribly wrong?" Land. Jump again.

"Hmm…well, we could try roleplaying."

"I don't even want to know what you mean by that." Land again. Jump.

Ayame's lips caressed the back of Naruto's left ear. "If you want me to, I can call you o-ni-i-chan." She whispered.

**No way! She's taking my Twope! I'm the cute 'imouto' character!**

_Huh?_

Land. Jump.

"We can find a new niche for Sayuri-sama. Maybe she can embrace lichdom or something." As if reading Sayuri's thoughts, she added. "A 'Lolich'. Yeah, that sounds kinda cool."

"Sometimes I really don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about." Land. Look around. Kotonoha arrives. Together, they jump again.

"I know, sweetheart, I know. We'll fix that, don't worry. It will take time, though. And sex. Lots of it."

"Does everything with you come to that or what?" Naruto mumbled. He landed and jumped one more time. As easy as breathing.

"For the next fourteen or so days, yes."

"Uh-huh. But I was wondering…why am I carrying you?"

"Well…" Ayame looked around; at the vast cityscape of Konohagakure they intended to leave behind. "I **could** do the Ninja-Roof-Jumping-Thing. I just don't want to."

"Really…"

"Look at it this way: I get to relax here on your back, and you get to feel up my ass. Everybody wins!"

"I liked the old Ayame more." Naruto declared solemnly. The older girl sighed.

"I know, I know, I just can't help it. Damn pheromones or hormones or whatever. The real Ayame isn't really enjoying it either. Female humans are not meant to deal with Kitsune Hormones, you see."

"I can guess…do you have to keep rubbing your body against my back like that?"

"Like I said, can't help it. My body has a third mind of its own."

"Somehow the way you say it is far from convincing."

The roofs were suddenly replaced by tree branches. Naruto and Kotonoha reached the first tree at the same time.

"Dry humping phase." The buxom swordswoman idly commented. Naruto sighed.

"Oh, fuck me."

Ayame's eyes gleamed triumphantly.

"With pleasu-"

"Quiet, you."

"Tch."

Dropping to ground level, the rest of the trip was made at a sedate pace, allowing Naruto to put Ayame down for her to walk like the other two, much to her disappointment. She remained locked to his left arm, though.

Sayuri had remained respectfully silent the whole time. She was a good girl, and good girls stay quiet when the older, superior Kitsune are talking.

She sometimes forgets she's a Nine-Tails.

She did, however, seize the first moment she found to sate her curiosity.

**Nee, onii-chan?**

_Hmm? What is it?_

**You were talking about mating, wight?**

Naruto twitched. _Uhh…yeah…kinda._

**Umm…I've been thinking…**

_Oh Kami, you've been thinking._

…**mating is what you do when you want to have kits, wight?**

_Yeah…_

**Hehe, I knew…but, onii-chan? How do you do mating?**

Naruto facepalmed. "Why me?"

"What is it?"

"Nothing, nothing, Ayame-chan…"

In an outstanding display of maturity from Naruto's part, he spent the rest of their short trip figuring out the extent of Sayuri's sexual education. By the time they arrived to a suitable location (as per Kotonoha's standards), Naruto had a decent summary of Sayuri's understanding of the concept of mating, which can be described as follows:

1. Find mate you like.

2. Take mate home.

3. Lock yourself with mate in bedroom.

4. ???????

5. PROFIT!

When Sayuri realized **something **had to happen inside the bedroom, she did not hesitate to ask Naruto to fill her gap (no innuendo intended). Fortunately for the boy, he had the perfect excuse of his incoming discussion with Kotonoha to put their little conversation on hold. He managed a save this time, but everybody knows that Sayuri does not forget that easily…most of the time.

Unexpectedly, it was only then when Kotonoha requested allowance into the seal, to properly greet Sayuri. Naruto was frowning when he, the bodyguard and the ever-clingy Ayame appeared in the middle of the sewer.

"Was it just me or did that take longer than usual?"

"Well…" Ayame explained. "It's not like we Kitsune have an Enter-A-Human-Existence-And-Make-An-Spiritual-Body-To-Interact-With-Complex-Divine-Seals Jutsu. We can do this by tweaking the Possession Technique a little, but it's still kinda complicated."

"I only recently figured out the Possession Technique myself, Naruto-sama, unlike my sister who somehow managed to learn it with only three tails." Kotonoha added. "If the trip was somehow bothersome to you, you have my most sincere apologies."

"Ah, no!" Naruto waved his hands in front of him. "It wasn't really like that…I just noticed something different, that's all. Let's go!"

"Very well." Kotonoha smiled and nodded. Such a nice kid.

A minute later…

"Koto-chan!" Sayuri giggled in glee and rushed to embrace the swordswoman…

"Sayuri, wai-"

…and suffered the consequence of trying to get past the cell bars. Kotonoha winced at the buzzing electric sounds and the unpleasant smell of smoke.

"Mugyuu…"

"You know, I keep expecting her to learn after several times, but nooooo…"

"That's Sayuri-sama for you, Naruto-sama."

"Mugyuu…"

Once Kotonoha and Sayuri had their proper reunion (lots of hugging and tail wagging involved), Sayuri curled her tiny body on Naruto's lap to be properly pampered.

"Pet. **Now**."

Considering the latest circumstances, Naruto was smart enough to wordlessly comply. Besides, there was some therapeutic power in idly and repeatedly caressing those fluffy tails and that silky blonde hair.

"So…since he's a Hyuuga, he uses _**Jyuuken**_, right? You know about Jyuuken, right, Naruto-sama?" They resumed their earlier conversation.

"Yeah…" Naruto frowned, recalling what he remembered from the prelims. "…attacking inside the body…with chakra…something like that."

If Kotonoha was disappointed with Naruto's answer she didn't show it. "Jyuuken basically aims at directly damaging the opponent's internal organs by shoving pulses of chakra through palm strikes. The more advanced katas involve closing the opponent's _**tenketsu**_, restricting and even nullifying his chakra flow."

"Ah, yeah, yeah! That's what the jerk did to Hinata!" Naruto nodded eagerly, causing Sayuri to pout as he was neglecting her. "Ah! Sorry!"

The little foxgirl purred as Naruto resumed his ministrations on her nine fluffy tails. It had hard to believe that something could feel **that good**. How could she possibly hate her onii-chan if he made her feel like that?

But, if he got all mweanie-mweanie like before again, he was definitely getting burned.

Kotonoha frowned. "He can do it? And he's a boy around your age?" Raising her right hand to place her fingers on her lips, her expression darkened. "He must be awfully talented, then…a young genius, I'd say…"

"What the heck? Did you just purr?"

Sayuri shrugged. "Yup."

"How can you even do that? You're a fox, not a cat!"

"I'm a Nine Tails. I can do **anything**."

"Right, right…"

"And he completely ignores me…" Kotonoha muttered darkly. "Anyway!" She raised her tone to claim her attention. "We're going back outside. I won't be able to help you without at least knowing what you can do, Naruto-sama."

"Ah! Right!"

"Bu-But!"

Naruto, who had tried to get up, was pushed back down by Sayuri's weight.

"What is it, Sayuri-sama?" Kotonoha inquired.

"But…he's petting mah tails…" Sayuri squirmed. "It's weally good…"

Kotonoha chuckled. Naruto groaned. "Sayuri…I really need to train…"

"Mugyuu…awwight. But I want lots of petting later!"

This time Naruto couldn't suppress a chuckle. "Sure, sure…"

* * *

Ayame…well, Kokoro, would be the first to claim that her sister, despite her…mental instability, was a good person. Sure, she had a stormy past, but that was because she got involved in a rather twisted relationship.

Kokoro had always wondered; when Itou Makoto appeared in their lives, she had just recently become a two-tails. Being interested in little but having fun playing games, not unlike little Sayuri, her interactions with Kotonoha's human mate had been reduced to childish activities. She always wondered if Makoto would have tried something with her if he had, well, lived a bit longer. She would not have been surprised: he did score with pretty much every girl he knew, both human and Kitsune.

That was in the past. Unfortunately, his passing left behind a legacy that, apparently, would permeate the lives of those who consorted with him, forever. Kotonoha would never be the same. The human girls; Hikari and Otome; lived short, hollow and unhappy lives, unable to find love again. Kokoro never knew what happened to Taisuke (Kotonoha was frighteningly quiet about that guy), but that rotten man left a cursed legacy of his own. Setsuna became obsessed with a deranged vendetta against Kotonoha for reasons only Setsuna understands.

And poor Sekai, well…she's a bag.

It was a sad, twisted "love" story, and those who survived it became sad, twisted people. But Kokoro still loved her big sister and admired her radiant beauty and mesmerizing poise. Few females could wield a blade the way Katsura Kotonoha does, and even fewer can look so astonishingly haunting while doing so.

Kokoro thinks her sister is a beautiful, wonderful, kind person at heart; a female with a heart just as big as her obscenely large bust. A person who only has the best interest of her precious people at heart.

However, she cannot help but wince every single time her sister's deadly blades cut through hordes and hordes of shadow clones.

Poor Naruto never had a chance.

"Umm…go darling." The younger Katsura in the body of a human girl cheered pathetically.

* * *

Kotonoha would be the first to admit Yurimi's chosen man had many good values. Despite his overall lack of, well, intellect, Naruto was surprisingly attentive. He was also enthusiastic and endearing in his innocence, even if this innocence was in the process of being brutally obliterated, by her sister, of all people. He was also kind and very considerate.

What really sold Naruto to her was that, before they began their spar, he made sure Sayuri was properly "disconnected" from him. He didn't want her to feel his pain, should he get hurt (which, with Kotonoha, is pretty much a given).

Naruto was, if anything, a caring, dedicated onii-chan. The fact that he was so protective of the single being that had made his life such a pain was simply moving. And Kotonoha had also noticed that he had not told her yet about the consequences of her little stunt. It wasn't precisely the best thing to do, but he was doing it for the sake of her purity and innocence.

So, yes, Kotonoha could say Naruto was a good person. A very good one, in fact.

However…

"Gyaagh!" Naruto fell hard on his back when Kotonoha pushed him away with the hilt of her backsaw. The latest horde of shadow clones he had sent after her had just being completely annihilated.

Her smile had disappeared.

"Naruto-sama."

"Eh…?" The boy was still a bit dazed from the beating. His left hand had a strong grip on his right shoulder, the victim of a rather nasty cut.

"I cannot help you."

"Eh?" That certainly cleared his head. "Wha-what?"

"You are completely unskilled."

"Wha…?"

"So far I've only seen you use the Shadow Clone Technique multiple times. While I must admit it is a…fascinating technique…"

"Now **that's** a way to put it." Ayame interrupted, wearing a mischievous smirk. Kotonoha eyed the body possessed by her sister…and sighed.

"Yes. Yes, it is exactly as you say. However, the point is, besides its basic effect, there's not much more to it. Your close-combat lacks any form whatsoever. I would call it brawling, but it is not even that. You are just haphazardly throwing punches and kicks however you can. If years of ninja training have not taught you how to fight, I won't be able to fix it in a few days, Naruto-sama."

"Wha-I know how to fight!" Naruto complained, getting on his feet (wincing a lot in the process) and clenching his right fist menacingly.

"Wrong. You know how to punch. You know how to kick. But from there to knowing how to fight, Naruto-sama has a long ways to go."

She sighed.

"I suspected it since the beginning, but I'm sure now…there really is nothing I can teach you."

"Wha-NO!" Naruto half-demanded, half-pleaded. "I'll show you! _**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**_!"

"Again…" Kotonoha muttered with a bored tone. "But I must admit, making so many clones means Naruto-sama must possess an incredible chakra capacity…" A tiny smile made its way to her face. "…just like Yuria-sama."

Ayame had a tiny smile, too, albeit for a completely different reason. "Those shadow clones…so many kinky ideas…" She suddenly rolled her eyes. "Oh grow up already, Ayame. You're such a prude."

"Here I go, Kotonoha-san!"

"However…" The woman continued, switching the backsaw to her right hand. "…this is pointless."

Assuming a low stance, Kotonoha crossed her right arm over her waist, fiercely gripping her blade by her left side. Ayame's eyes widened in alarm.

"Oh shi-"

"_**Hissatsu! Hamon…**_"

Right as the dozens of shadow clones assaulted her from every direction, Kotonoha cut the air in front of her with a might slash that covered more than 270 degrees.

The last thing the clones experienced was the unusual feeling of ripples in the air, as if they were floating on an upset ocean. Then came the shockwave, and there was nothing.

"Guaagh!" A clump of saliva escaped from Naruto's mouth as he felt as if a hammer had smashed his stomach. Almost immediately, the blunt impact became a horrible stinging pain. The wind shockwave ruined his clothes and tore open his stomach.

"Naruto!" Ayame cried.

Time stood still for a moment. Naruto stared in disbelief at the splotches of blood escaping from the wide wound.

Time began to flow again, and the impact blew Naruto away, sending him flying at least fifty feet away, and probably much more if his back hadn't found a tree to be smashed on.

**ONII-CHAN!**

She didn't feel his pain, but she could see what he saw. And she saw blood.

"He will heal soon enough…with your help, of course, Sayuri-sama." Kotonoha spoke. She was walking towards the groaning, shivering boy crumpled on the ground, having already secured her backsaw under her obi.

**Ah! Wight!**

"Onee-chan!" Ayame roared, stomping her way towards her sister and by extension her fallen (chosen) mate. "You went too far!"

"I was only trying to prove a point."

"But you could have seriously harmed his dick-I mean, his entire self!"

Kotonoha rolled her eyes. Seriously, Kitsune in heat could be so embarrassing.

"Glad to know you care, Ayame-chan…" Naruto mumbled weakly, sarcasm reeking from his wounds. And blood, too.

As Sayuri consciously released her chakra to further accelerate Naruto's healing, Kotonoha spoke some more.

"Do you understand now, Naruto-sama? Even with your many clones, you attack was reckless and open to retaliation. If I had been really serious, I would have cut you in halves."

* * *

Knock, knock. "Anoo..."

"Who is it?" A voice reached from beyond the closed door.

"Ah, Yuria-san…this is Yurina. Umm…I was wondering…is my sister with you?"

"'Hmm…what do you say, minion Yurimi?"

"You are really into this, are you not?"

"Quiet, you. So, should we let her in?"

"I do not see why not."

"Very well! Come in, Yurine-chan!"

"Ah, thank you very-gyaah!"

"Uh…uhh…what'cha looking at…?"

A pause. The young twin-tailed two-tails could only watch in muted shock.

"Umm…is that a…?"

"Yes, it's a ladle."

Yurina sighed. "What did you do this time, Riyo-chan?"

Soaked in four different kinds of her own bodily fluids, Yuriyo did not bother answering that question. Her head hung low, her flushed face cloaked by her long black hair, her tongue loose for everyone to see. She had long given up on shaking or squirming; her movements were reduced to mild shuddering whenever Yuria's extraordinarily long tails caressed a sensitive spot, which, at this point, was pretty much her entire body.

"She messed with the meister." Yuria affirmed proudly.

"The 'meister'?" Yurimi muttered disdainfully, slowly shaking her head.

"I…see." Yurina mused. "Hmm…well, would you mind, umm…letting her go? I mean, it's almost lunchtime…"

Yuria blinked. "It is? Damn, we got carried away, Yurimi."

"I must say, there is an appalling entertainment in making Yuriyo-san squirm."

"Fuck you two…AGH!"

Yuria looked visibly amused at the sight of the two-tailed brunette, so easily defeated.

"Well, she's got spunk, I gotta give her that."

Yurina turned to look at her sister. Her face was a perfect reflection of pity.

"Riyo-chan, while I disagree with Yuria-san's punishment, I must say this is something you inflicted upon yourself. How many times have I told you to keep your manners towards our elders in mind?"

"Ugh…" Yuriyo averted her gaze. She did not want to look at her sister, who in turn bowed before Yuria.

"My deepest apologies, Yuria-san. I must ask you to please release my sister with due haste. I would like to make sure she looks presentable at lunchtime. If you excuse me."

With that said, Yurina departed from the bedroom. It was assumed that she would wait nearby.

"Such a nice girl, that Yurina. She'll grow up into a fine woman, that's for sure."

"'Stop talking like an old woman, Yuria, it's disgusting." Yurimi commented.

"Shush you. So, Yurina has a point, we have to wrap this up. Any ideas? I say we just let her finish."

Yuriyo perked up at the words. "Ye-yes! Pu-please…please…"

"But she looks so exhausted…" Yuria continued. "I'm afraid it might kill her."

The tortured girl only groaned in response.

"I am surprised at the amount of raw evil you seem to be capable of, Yuria."

"I am amazed myself, sis."

* * *

With lunchtime approaching, Ayame suggested visiting Ichiraku's. She had to go back anyway, and Naruto could use a steaming bowl of ramen to fix his sullen mood. Kotonoha was also invited, and it would be probably the last thing she would do before returning to the Higashiyama Shrine.

Naruto was not feeling happy in the slightest. Kotonoha had basically stepped on the very foundation of his ninja career and declared it worthless. She had said he was a failure of a ninja; heck, a failure of a fighter, period. And it was not like he could make her change her mind: she had thoroughly kicked his ass. He knew that did not really mean much –Kotonoha was probably stronger than Kakashi-sensei– but it still was a blow to his formerly unshakable confidence.

What is she was right? What if he was not really as good as he thought?

Naruto made a quick summary of his accomplishments.

He graduated from the Academy. That by itself is not much of a big deal, but the unique circumstances made his graduation special. Nothing bad about that.

_**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**_. Kotonoha did praise him on his signature jutsu. So did Ayame, but somehow Naruto felt her motives were wickedly different. He also remembered his latest discovery concerning his clones' memories. He really needed to work with that to see what to make of it.

He defeated Haku, a strong missing-nin with a powerful bloodline ability. However, he did not really remember exactly how he did it. After Sasuke "died," everything became a red haze that only disappeared when Haku was already pretty much beaten.

So…what else? Kiba? Truth be told, that fart certainly did help a lot. He did kick ass in the Forest of Death. Except for when he got knocked out by that Rain guy while he was peeing. Good thing that he got his payback later. And that creepy Grass nin with all the bigass snakes.

He learned to Tree Walk in Wave, but that was not really a special accomplishment.

There's Water Walking and the Summoning Technique. Those are worth something.

What about Taijutsu, then? He had always been aware his moves were different from everyone else's. He had deemed his Taijutsu "original" and "unique." Kotonoha said it wasn't even Taijutsu.

What was the true extent of his combat skills?

**I have an onii-chan who wuuuuuvs me, who wuuuuuuvs me, who wuuuuuuuvs me!**

_What. The. Fuck._

**I have an onii-chan who wuuuuuvs me, his name is Na-ru-kyun!**

"Like hell that's my name. Seriously, if that was my name I'd kill myself." Naruto muttered darkly, drawing the attention of Kotonoha and the ever-clingy Ayame.

Any other hot-blooded male would already become quite aware of Naruto's current situation, having the ramen girl's fair breasts pressed against his right arm and gorgeous kimono-clad swordswoman elegantly walking to his left, devouring the sights of the village with her big, round eyes.

Everyone around them was most certainly aware of Naruto's enviable entourage. Sure, one is a sex-crazed vixen in heat and the other is a psycho, but they don't need to know that.

'**coz he wuuuuuvs me, 'coz he wuuuuuvs me, 'coz he wuvs me with his tender wuuuuuv!**

"Seriously! Sayuri! Stop it! It's embarrassing!"

'**coz he wuuuuuvs-**

"Sayuri-sama, please stop bothering Naruto-sama."

**Mugyuu…Sayuri wants to sing…**

"Maybe if you didn't sing those weird songs!" Naruto complained. "Mou…I'm gonna need lots of ramen today."

**Waaaai! Wamen!**

"Ramen, hmm?" Kotonoha mumbled. "Interesting. How has it been, 'Ayame-san'?"

Ayame chuckled, leaning even closer to the shorter boy (as well as proving that it was actually possible). "Well, it took some time, but I can fully resist it now. It was kinda troublesome at the beginning, getting all horny in the body of a nine-year-old."

"I…can see how that would be troublesome." Kotonoha murmured.

"This…is one of those things I'd rather not know about, right?"

Kotonoha stopped in her tracks. "…you don't know?" She looked at Ayame. "He doesn't know?"

Ayame, too, had paused, halting Naruto with her. She facepalmed with her free hand, as in, the one that wasn't attached to Naruto. "Oh crap I knew I had forgotten something." She faced her intended mate. "Naruto, I'll be blunt. Ramen makes Kitsune horny."

"…huh?" **Mugyuu?**

"Well, that was certainly blunt." Kotonoha agreed.

"Yeah." Ayame continued. "When most Kitsune taste ramen, we get hot and frisky and eager to do the horizontal mambo as well as 37 other positions. Why ramen? Nobody knows. It's probably just Inari being a crazy fuck. There some rare Kitsune who are not affected by ramen, but in their case there's some other thing whose taste drives them wild."

"Like Yurina-sama." Kotonoha added.

"Most Kitsune can manage to resist the effect before they're three hundred years old, though, so it's only a problem for the young ones. Like Sayuri-sama."

It was those two words which allowed Naruto to figure out the point of this whole discussion. "Huh…oh. Oh **fuck**."

"My words exactly." Ayame mused.

**Munii? What'cha talking about, onii-chan? Sayuri doesn't get it.**

_Which is a very, VERY good thing. _Naruto declared.

He hated every second of it, but it was a feeling he was starting to get used to. He was reaching the conclusion that it was impossible to deal with Kitsune without getting into uncomfortable situations.

_Nee, Sayuri, what do you think about ramen?_

**It's good!**

_Huh…_

**WEALLY good.**

Naruto realized it was the exact response she gave him every single time. Then, he remembered Sayuri's vocal reactions to every single occasion they had ramen.

"Oh…" Blood rushed to his face when he finally understood the significance of every single cry, moan and scream. "I'm so going to hell for this."

Ever perceptive Kotonoha set the point in stone. "Ayame-san, we also have to take into account that not only is Sayuri-sama sensitive to the taste of ramen. Sayuri-sama has not eaten anything at all for the past thirteen years."

Kotonoha's words got Ayame's gears running. "Oh crap! Thirteen years without eaten and then she gets **RAMEN** for the **first** time?" Ayame was blushing too by the end of her sentence. "Holy shit, she must have been, like, in perma-orgasm mode the whole time."

"You're not really helping me here…" Naruto groaned. Ayame had an odd face. It looked almost…angry?

"…lucky bitch."

Naruto and Kotonoha gaped together.

"WHAT? The little brat is getting more than me! With RAMEN! Damn it, Naruto, take me now!"

"No!"

"Don't make me make you!"

Naruto moved a few steps back.

"Ara, ara." Kotonoha was nothing but amused.

* * *

Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino had so far had a rather uneventful month. With one partner under medical care and the other qualified for the finales, Kiba could not take part in any mission, and there was little point in Kurenai training him alone. Of course, his mother Tsume was taking care of that in his Jounin sensei's stead.

Walking by his other male partner's side, Kiba found it hard to believe that Shino was an aspirant Chuunin. Was he doing any training whatsoever?

Following a tradition born of loyalty, the two had bought lunch for their hospitalized partner. She should be allowed to go home any of those days. Not that it would do Hinata any good, if their ever-growing suspicions concerning her relationship with her clan were any true.

It was a long, silent walk at noon, something Kiba found hard to deal with, being unused to keeping his mouth shut. His partner, Akamaru, was sprawled on its usual spot on the Inuzuka's head. It did not seem to mind the silence.

Kiba was about to force himself to say something, anything, when he noticed Shino was not by his side anymore. Looking back, it was not hard to see the boy in shades had stopped on his tracks. Following his light of sight revealed to Kiba a most amazing of sights.

And a very unusual conversation, too.

"So, Ayame-chan…" Naruto looked to the girl stuck like a leech to his right side, wearing a dazzling smile.

"Yes, dear?"

"Don't call me that."

"Sure thing, honeybuns."

"Honeybuns?" Naruto gagged, visibly disgusted by the word. The taller, bustier, outright jaw-dropping kimono-clad, katana-wielding femme walking by Naruto's left side placed a comforting hand on the boy's left shoulder.

"You will have to excuse her. It seems the years she's spent here have utterly obliterated any sense of decency within her."

"Tch. Kotonoha-**san**." Ayame almost literally spat the honorific. "You should limit yourself to staying quiet and keep scaring men away."

The four-tails frowned in an adorable gesture of annoyance. "I do NOT scare men away."

"Sure you do." Ayame nodded fiercely. "The moment you introduce 'Makoto-kun'. Actually, now that I think about it, that pretty much scares everyone."

"Well…" Kotonoha seemed to be actually pondering it. "It would not be appropriate if I allowed males to get too close. Makoto-kun would certainly not like that." She looked down at her trusty Sekai-bag. "Right, dear?"

Ayame and Naruto shuddered together, and for once the young Genin leaned closed to the ramen girl for comfort. Needless to say, she eagerly responded with some more breast-rubbing.

"Seriously." Ayame mused. "I wonder if we should consider it an Aura."

"Aura?" Naruto inquired.

"A passive chakra-based supernatural technique." Ayame explained. "Like the basic Aura of Seduction or Sayuri-sama's Aura of Inherent Combustibility."

**Mugyuu?**

"Aura of what?"

"Inherent Combustibility." Ayame repeated. "It makes everything within Sayuri's line of sight flammable. **Everything**."

"Hu-uh."

**Onii-chan, what does 'fwammable' mean?**

Naruto almost skipped a step. _You like fire so damn much and you don't even know how it works! _He paused. _Whoa…is it just me or that sounded awfully wrong somehow?_

It is definitely odd; Naruto being the responsible one. However, he put away the question to return to his initial inquiry.

"Nee, Ayame-chan."

"Yes, my sexy piece of man-meat?"

"Now that's just wrong." Naruto uttered. Much to his amusement, Kotonoha said the exact same words at the exact same time. His blue eyes meeting her dark ones, they shared a guilty smile soon followed by hearty chuckles, promptly interrupted by Ayame pulling Naruto closer to her and claiming his attention.

"I saw him first!" She growled at her elder sister.

"Oh, please…"

"It really makes me wonder how exactly you intended to 'make me' do…that. To you."

"Hmm…" Ayame thought about it for a while. "Yeah, I guess I can't…" After all, it was inconvenient for her to use Kitsune Jutsu in that form. "…unless I knock you out first!"

"Geh."

"You would render him unconscious and rape him? I feel I don't know you anymore." Kotonoha declared, resulting in Ayame puffing up her cheeks.

"It's not rape!"

The other two stared at the ramen girl as if she had just said the vilest thing. "How exactly would that NOT be rape?" Kotonoha demanded to know.

"Unconscious targets are considered willing targets." Ayame quoted sagely. "It's right there in the Dungeon Master's Guide."

"Huh?"

"Actually, I think it's in the Player's Handbook." Kotonoha countered.

"See? Even better!"

"You are using it in a completely wrong context…unwilling sex is anything but magic."

"Oh, I can make it magic…" Ayame chuckled in glee, utterly disturbing poor Naruto.

**Mugyuu…I'm lost.**

_You're not the only one…but somehow I feel it's not that bad._

Kiba had to shake his head to clear his mind at the bizarreness of the whole thing.

"O-Oi! Naruto!"

Naruto froze on his tracks. He recognized that voice. And by the way his body began to shake, so did Sayuri.

Naruto's fears were confirmed by the clearly apprehensive look on Kotonoha's lovely face.

"Ugh…" She reflexively brought a hand down to reach her backsaw. Ayame sighed.

"Great…"

Naruto could feel his hairs stand on end and his pupils change to dark orange when flooded with blood and _**youkai**_ chakra. He shuddered as the savage, animal urge to flee took over him, the overwhelming feeling of repulsion dangerously close to emptying his stomach.

Satisfied with Naruto's and his companion's undivided attention, Kiba stepped forward, walking across the unpaved street to get some much needed answers.

"Naruto! Just what the hell-"

"**DOG!**" Naruto and Sayuri screamed as one. "**WHAAAAAAAAAAH!**"

"Gyah!" Ayame cried when Naruto, in his urge to run away, roughly pushed past her, sending her down on her butt. Everyone followed the trail of dust left by the orange-clad Genin until he disappeared in the distance.

"Oh, just great." Ayame growled as she got back on her feet, lazily attempting to dust off the dirt off her clothes. "And I was this close to scoring."

Kotonoha raised an eyebrow. "No, you weren't. You were as close to scoring as Sayoko-san is to killing herself."

"Oof, that's harsh, nee-san. Anyway, I hafta go after him. Will you be okay on your own?"

Kotonoha's smile became a bit strained. "I most certainly can handle dogs, Ayame-san." She turned to give an odd glance at Kiba and his animal partner. "Even particularly unsightly ones."

She might as well have shoved her katana down his throat.

"Ugh…"

"Okay. See you at Ichiraku's." Ayame turned to run after Naruto, only to be suddenly stopped by the taller woman.

"Wait."

"What?"

Reaching forward with her right index and thumb, Kotonoha pulled something off Ayame's neck.

"Nothing. You had a bug."

Shino could not be sure, but he felt like her eyes struck him for a split instant. It was enough to make him tense.

"Hmm…" Ayame, who was obviously acquainted with the clans of Konohagakure and their abilities, smiled in acknowledgement. There was, indeed, a tiny black beetle on her elder sister's right hand. "Whoa…you finally got that diploma from the Gasai Yuuno Memorial Academy of Badassery."

"Just go already." Kotonoha deadpanned. "And don't compare me with that nutcase."

Ayame stared at her sister for a few eerily long seconds, her mouth agape. "Did you just…no. Just…no. Forget it. I give up. I'm going now."

A few seconds later, Ayame too was lost in the distance, leaving Kotonoha alone with the two boys from Team Eight. Calmly, she reached with her left hand inside the right sleeve of her kimono, pulling, of course, another beetle.

"I take it these are yours, young man?" She offered the insects to Shino. "It is not a very nice thing to do, I must say."

At Shino's silent command, the two animals flew off the Kitsune's open hand back to their host body.

While the occasional curious eye shot a glance at the scene, mostly attracted by the stunning looks of the elegant woman, they were basically undisturbed.

"Wha…what the hell…?" Kiba muttered. Kotonoha seemed to be more focused in the distant horizon than on the two Genin.

"And now Naruto-sama is gone…this morning has been quite problematic, hasn't it?"

Shino actually blinked at that. Kiba just gaped.

"Na-Na-Naruto-sama? Wha-what the hell?" He pointed at the Kitsune with a trembling hand. "Wha…who are you? What's with you and Naruto?"

"Oh." Kotonoha placed a hand on her chin, looking thoughtful. It was rather cute. "I guess I can be civil to a dog for a change."

"Wha…what's that supposed to mean?"

Ignoring Kiba's outburst, Kotonoha properly bowed before the two Genin.

"I am Naruto-sama's hardworking servant, Katsura Kotonoha. Pleased to make your…no, forget it. Now, if you excuse me."

The boys could do nothing but watch in silence as the woman disappeared in distance, obviously after her two missing companions.

"Kiba…"

"What? I took a shower today, damn it!"

"Maybe, but when was the last time you washed those clothes?"

"Uhh…oh, fuck you, Shino."

"That is unimportant. We must now focus on the really important issue."

"Huh?"

"The females who accompanied Naruto."

"Oh, right! That chick was, like, a total fox! I would, like, so totally hit that!"

"Like the fists of an entire pantheon of angry gods."

Silence.

"Uh…huh. Right." Kiba added. "Weirdo."

"I heard that."

"No you didn't."

More silence.

"…of course I didn't." Shino's facial muscles made the motions equivalent to a roll of eyes. Whether he actually has eyes or not is a mystery for another time. "Now, concerning the ladies, I am certain one of them was from the ramen stand Naruto frequents."

"Yeah, yeah…she's kinda cute, too, ya know, but, really, that other chick was just something out of this world! What was her name again?"

"I did not catch it; for I was too busy staring at her humongous bazoongas."

Kiba chuckled. "You were, weren't you? Yeah, I know the feeling."

Yet even more silence.

Shino slowly looked up at the canine on top of the quasi-canine. "Akamaru, how can you deal with sharing every second of your existence with him?"

"Waaugh?" The puppy tilted its head, reflecting its lack of understanding.

"Figures." Shino "rolled his eyes" again and turned his back to the duo. "Of course I remember her name, Kiba, I'm not you. Now, let's go. As intriguing as this is, we have a previous appointment."

* * *

"Haa…haa…haa…" Such a fast run, without any warning or previous warmup, was enough to leave even Naruto gasping for air after a while. Having found their way to a standard back alley between two large buildings, the boy seized the chance to hold his knees and catch his lost breath.

**Mugyuu…the fugly dogs again!**

Naruto slowly shook his head. "I've just realized…it was actually a good thing we met when we did and not before the Prelims."

**Mu-nii?**

"Nothing…it's nothing…"

He leaned on the wall behind him; a wall corroded by the action of water and age. The stench of forgotten trash permeated the whole place, a meaningless fact before Naruto's uncaring sensitivities.

"Now…now…the dogs are gone, Sayuri, so let's just relax and try to find Ayame-chan and Kotono-"

"Found ya."

"That was fast!"

Standing between Naruto and the comforting light of the world beyond the alley, Ayame faced him wearing a familiarly frightening expression.

"Hmm…" She was talking her time with each step, looking around their current stage with an amused eye. "Not the place I would have picked for my first time, but I won't complain…oh, shut it, Ayame."

Naruto grimaced. "Is there even anything else in your mind right now?"

Ayame grinned, placing her right hand on her hip. They were about six steps away from each other. "Nope. At least, not for the next two weeks or so. It's the driving force of my existence, right above self-preservation."

Naruto groaned. "Just how did you find me so damn easily?"

Ayame chuckled. "I'm a female Kitsune in heat. That's everything you need to know. And now…"

"Whoa!" **Mugya!**

Ayame had closed the distance between them faster that Haku through his mirrors. Naruto found himself pinned to the wall, held by Ayame's taller, warmer body. He almost shrieked like a little girl when he felt a clothed thigh pushing against his crotch, but the one thing that was about to drive him crazy was the tip of her nose and the touch of her lips on the right side of his neck, devouring his natural scent.

"Now…let's do it now…please…"

Naruto shuddered when she deposited a trembling, soft kiss on his neck.

"Uh…umm…what about lunch?"

"Lunch…" Another kiss. "…can wait." Another. "Kotonoha can wait." And another. "The world can wait…"

Pushing her chest against his, Ayame stood taller than him, looking down straight at his blue eyes. The way she licked her lips in barely-contained desire made him feel really uneasy. The whole of her body, except for her arms and her left leg, were pressed against Naruto's smaller but bulkier frame.

"Umm, and what if…?" Naruto tried to avert his eyes, only for her left hand to reach for his chin and force him to meet her gaze. Their noses were almost touching. "…what if…you know…I don't wanna?"

Ayame's smile only got wider. "What if…" Grind. Naruto moaned. "…that does not…" Grind. Moan. "…stop me?"

Her sensuous motions easily rendered Naruto incapable of any form of bodily resistance.

"Let go…" She whispered, never relenting on her eager rubbing, deaf to the shrieking complaints and demands of the real Ayame within the deepest recesses of her mind. She could feel her own body reacting in approval. _See? This is something you want, too._

"I'll put the 'sensual' in 'consensual', my dear…"

"Ugh…"

**Onii-chan…**

Naruto's eyes widened in alarm. How could he have forgotten? _Sayuri!_

**Onii-chan…I dunno…I don't…I don't wike this…I don't wike her…are you ok, onii-chan? Should I burn her?**

_Don't burn anything!_

With renewed enthusiasm, Naruto resumed his defense. Ayame had taken to nuzzling his left cheek and nibbling his ear in the meantime.

"Hmm…Ayame-chan…can I say two things?"

"Sure. I don't mind some dirty talk."

"Not even close."

"Auuu…"

"Ayame-chan – stop licking me! – aren't you worried that Sayuri might…you know? Burn you?"

"Hmm…" Ayame ceased the licking but did not stop the nuzzling. "I would lie if I said I'm not worried, but, as I said before, self-preservation is not my highest priority right now."

"That's harsh." Naruto muttered. "Hmm…and what about Kotonoha-san?"

"What about her?"Ayame stopped for a moment to give a hard stare at her chosen mate. "Don't tell me you fell for her! I don't think I have to explain to you why in so many ways that is a bad idea!"

"Uhh…no." Naruto made an odd face. "But aren't you worried about what she might think?"

"Not in the slightest."

"Not even if she's right behind you?"

Ayame rolled her eyes. "Naruto, that's the oldest trick in the book. She's waiting for us at Ichiraku's. Right now you're all…mine…" She hissed, inching closer and closer to Naruto's lips…until she felt something very sharp and very dangerous caressing her neck.

"I never agreed to that, sister dear."

"Oh…so…so I see…heheh…" Ayame chuckled nervously. "Why do I have this thing on my neck?"

"Naruto-sama does not seem comfortable in his current situation. As Naruto-sama and Yurimi-sama's servant, I saw it prudent to intervene."

"Damn you."

"Now, you don't really mean that, sister dear."

"I have never meant anything nearly as much as I meant that just now."

"You did not mean that either."

Ayame gritted her teeth in an expression that utterly terrified little Naruto. It just did not belong to a human face.

"Let's…let's just go get lunch already…" The ramen girl sighed in defeat. "I think I'm gonna die…"

"It cannot be that bad."

"Shut up." Ayame hissed. "Really, nee-chan, I love you and everything, but, please, shut up."

Naruto, too, sighed, albeit in relief. "Kami, I'm gonna need so much ramen today…"

The two Kitsune looked back at the boy with raised eyebrows.

"Ramen? Do you really intend to…?" Ayame questioned. Naruto easily realized the issue at hand.

_Sayuri, would you, you know, disconnect yourself for a while?_

**Wha? Why? Onii-chan's gonna eat wamen! I want my wamen too! It's WEALLY good!**

Naruto sighed. "She won't disconnect."

"Well…" Ayame continued. Somehow Naruto felt like she was actually enjoying herself. "…then you know what that means."

Naruto blinked. "No. No way."

Ayame nodded. "Yes way."

"No way. I refuse. Not gonna happen."

"Yes it will. You will not-"

"Don't say it!" Naruto cried; his look of apprehension quickly becoming a desperate plea. "If I mean anything to you, you won't say it!"

Kotonoha could only send her deepest condolences through her compassionate gaze. Ayame, on the other side, seemed to have found her perfect revenge.

"Until Sayuri-sama is free from the seal, you will not eat any ramen, Na-ru-to-kun."

* * *

Somewhere within the Nara grazing grounds, a herd of deer idly paced around. Under the warmth of a gentle sun, the embrace of a cool breeze, the bounty of a sea of green grass under their hooves and the careful watch, the beautiful animals enjoyed a simple, enjoyable life.

"**NNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**"

Triggering primal reactions within the wild creatures, the deer raised their heads as one to seek the potential threat. Possessed by a primordial fear, natural mechanisms honed by tens of thousands of years of evolution triggered the animals into action; the elders making a protective perimeter around their young, each and every single one of them ready to run for their lives if necessary. Their eyes were on the ominous sway of the leaves on the trees above, on the flocks of hundreds of birds driven to fly; they, too, terrified beyond belief by the horrible scream that could only represent despair itself.

However, after the scream, there was nothing else. No abominable threat presented itself. There was nothing but silence and peace, far from the incessant activity of the human settlement. Slowly, very slowly, the eldest among the herd settled back into their previous grazing routine, followed by the youngest one by one until everyone was, once again, focusing on nothing else.

Life went on, unabated, for the deer of the Nara grounds.

* * *

**CHAPTER 07 END.**


	9. Kitsune Days, Midday Chapter

_**Naruto Genkyouien**_

- ナルト- 幻脅威宴

**Chapter Eight: Kitsune Days – Midday Chapter**

**OR**

**Sayuri Wikes Pwetty Jutsu!**

**

* * *

**

Naruto felt awfully empty. Like a man who, after weeks of being lost in the desert, having run out of food and water, decides to just give up and wait for the sweet, cold embrace of death, Naruto was slumped down against a tree in yet another random training area of Konohagakure. Only his right leg was stretched and his left arm was resting on his left knee.

There seem to be a lot of those. Training areas, that is.

**Mou…onii-chan…why didn't we have wamen? I thought we would have wamen.**

"Haaa…" Naruto exhaled. "…didn't you like the…" His body shook as if jolted by an electrical spark. It was not electricity, though. It was just despair. "…teriyaki?"

**Um! **Sayuri nodded joyfully. **It was good! But wamen's better!**

"I know…" Naruto buried his face in his hands and sobbed. "I know."

He wondered if Kotonoha had already "disposed of" his kitchen's stock of instant ramen. "Damn those evil and crazy women…they can't watch over me forever!" With a defiant fist to the heavens, Naruto stoked the flames of his determination. "But…"

He sighed. Under the shade of the tree he was sitting against, he could not bask in the soothing, comfortable warmth of the early afternoon.

"What do I do now?" Naruto's face was unusually solemn. He seemed tired. "Kotonoha was a no-no. I only have nine days left before I have to fight that Neji!"

**Fighting is bad. Naruto-nii-chan shouldn't fight. Naruto-nii-chan should be happy and pway with Sayuri!**

"Pray? Ah, you mean, 'play'."

**Hmm! Pway!**

"Uh-huh. Anyway, this is kind of a very, very important thing, Sayuri. I cannot back down from this."

**Muu…okay. I believe onii-chan.**

"Haaa…thanks, I guess." Naruto sighed again. "But what am I supposed to do now? I had this whole month to become stronger, but now I feel like I've only wasted my time! I haven't even learned a single jutsu!"

**Onii-chan can summon Kitsune.**

"Well, yeah, but that wouldn't be fair." He paused. "Not that I really care about fairness, but the whole point of kicking Neji's ass is proving that I'm not a loser! I won't if I make a Kitsune beat him for me!"

**Hmm…I don't get it.**

"Of course you don't." Naruto rolled his eyes.

**But, onii-chan…onii-chan only wants jutsu?**

"Well, of course! I need new, cool stuff to beat that jerk!" He paused. "And what do you mean, 'only'?"

**Waaah! That's easy! Easy-peachy! Sayuri knows jutsu! Sayuri can teach onii-chan jutsu!**

Silence.

"…haa?"

Well, he cannot be blamed for that.

**Um! Jutsu, jutsu! Sayuri will teach onii-chan really nice jutsu! Te-hee!**

Sayuri is not really helping the case much.

"Didn't Kotonoha say you just randomly set people on fire?" He paused. Again. "…and why exactly am I complaining?"

* * *

"What…did…you…just…say…?"

The two boys shuddered together.

"Nee, Shino?"

"Hmm?"

"The room's temperature just dropped, didn't it?"

"Yes, it did. In fact, it's killing my hive."

"Hmm…and it suddenly got kinda dark…"

"It seems there's an unpredicted partial eclipse."

"Haa."

Akamaru whined. The two boys and dog turned back to face the source of the new, unbridled terror that invaded them. Her lunch was left forgotten on a wooden tray in front of her. Her small hands gripped the sheets and threatened to tear them apart. Her short hair fell down her forehead, covering her bloodshot eyes.

"N-nee, Sadako-I mean, Hinata…"

"What…did…you…just…say…?" Hinata repeated; her voice frighteningly low-pitched and guttural. In all honesty, if she had suddenly spun her head 360 degrees, they would not have been surprised in the slightest.

"He said we met with Naruto on the way here. He was accompanied by the waitress from the ramen stand he frequents." Shino detailed.

As if his words somehow carried a mysterious power over her, Hinata suddenly relaxed. The sheets sighed in relief, the planetary bodies returned to their proper positions in the sky and the normal temperature was restored.

"A-Ayame…san?" Leave it to Hinata to know the name of the people in charge of Naruto's favorite place in the whole world.

Shino nodded.

"They seemed rather close. I must say it was surprising."

"Rather close?" Kiba gaped. "The chick was all ove-uagh!"

Kiba bent forward and fell on the clean hospital floor in a fetal position, grunting and groaning after Shino punched him in the gut.

"Ki-Kiba-kun!" Hinata hurriedly looked over the edge of her hospital bed, shooting a concerned glance at her fallen teammate. Akamaru was barking complaints at the bug user.

"Do not mind him." Shino explained. "He does not know what he is saying."

"Ah…oh…" Hinata nodded and eased back on the bed, looking still a bit uncertain. However, Shino's words possessed amazing dialectic powers.

"Fu…fuck…ow!"

Shino eased back the foot with which he kicked Kiba's right side. "Manners in front of the lady, Kiba."

"Hmm…so…Naruto-kun…"

Shino has always been a very perceptive person. "I am sure he has been very involved with his preparation for the finals. Neither Kiba nor I had seen him since the preliminaries until yesterday."

"Umm…um, yes. I guess…" Hinata muttered with a half-smile.

"You should finish your meal." Shino suggested.

"Umm…hai." Hinata nodded bashfully, picking the chopsticks…and dropping them again. "…Shino-kun?"

"Yes?"

"What about the other woman?"

Silence. A crow cawed somewhere outside.

"…excuse me?"

Kiba, still on the floor, snickered. "Hehehehe-ow!"

"Kiba-kun said Naruto-kun was accompanied by two women. Who was the second woman, Shino-kun?"

Shino released an exhalation. It was too quiet to be called a sigh. "I…do not know. It was not someone I can remember having seen before."

Hinata frowned. "Kiba-kun?"

"Believe me, I would remember those-OW! Damn it, Shino!"

"So she's an unknown?" Hinata voiced, her tone obviously one of worry. For a team specialized in recon, an unknown variable was always a worrisome thing. While a part of her –the weak, self-deprecating part of her– wanted to see a tempest in a glass of water, she forced herself to be objective. She would trust in the master of all things objective.

"Shino-kun…what can you tell us…about this woman?"

"She's skilled." Shino stated. "She noticed the insects I had planted on both her and on Ayame-san. I would also suppose that there is a reason she carries a katana with her. The fact that she wears a kimono with the weapon speaks of her skill…or at least of her confidence. What I do not get is the unusual instrument she held under her obi."

"Huh?"

Shino looked down at his male teammate. "…you didn't see the backsaw, did you?"

"I throw your words back at ya: I was too busy staring at her humongous-OW! FUCK YOU, SHINO! FUCK YOU! YOU KICKED MY FUCKIN' SPLEEN! OW! YOU DID IT AGAIN! AKAMARU, ATTACK!"

The little white dog only tilted his head and whined. Shino almost looked smug.

"Unlike you, Akamaru knows prudence. And he does learn from his mistakes." He turned to Hinata. "In any case, this woman is as perceptive as a highly skilled ninja, and it seems she can use bladed weapons. Also, as our partner here has so rudely tried to state, she is considerably beautiful. What I cannot make heads or tails of is her last statement."

"Excuse me?" Hinata inquired.

"She claimed to be 'Naruto's servant'. Whether this is something to be taken literally or it has a hidden meaning, I do not know."

Hinata blinked. "S-s-s-se-se-servant?"

For some reason, her mind conjured images of a tall, beautiful girl clad in a French maid costume feeding Naruto his favorite ramen. Her face went white…well, whiter. Then, as if triggering an inherent defense mechanism, her mind changed the hypothetical woman for Hinata herself.

Less than five seconds later, she was drooling like an imbecile.

"Hinata."

"Ah? Eh! Ah! I-I'm listening! Really! I'm not imagining Naruto-kun bending me on top of a table or anything!" Hinata claimed in response to Shino's call, waving her arms in front of her as fast as she could.

"…right."

* * *

"So…what are we gonna do?" Naruto was standing in the middle of a clearing, ready to try whatever Sayuri wanted to teach him. While he normally would be very excited at the prospect of learning a new technique, it was hard not to be a bit skeptical when his new teacher happened to be Higashiyama Sayuri.

**Umm…well, onii-chan doesn't have tails, so…um! Got it! It's gotta be the Pwetty Beam!**

"…the what?"

**The Pwetty Beam! It's a beam! And it's PWETTY!**

"Umm, yeah, I had kinda figured that out already."

**It's big! And shiny! And it goes whoosh! And then evwything goes white!**

"Uhh…ok. So, how does this work?" _Note to self: come up with new jutsu name as soon as possible._

**Umm…okay…heheh, it's the first time Sayuri teaches! ****I'm Sayuri-sensei! Te-he! **

"Cute. So, what do I do?"

**Um! Well, onii-chan needs chakwa. Like, all over. Sayuri will help! Sayuri will give onii-chan an itty bit of chakwa!**

"Wha-"

With a pulse of chakra that traveled beyond the clearing and into the sea of trees, Naruto found himself enveloped in the fiery coat of nauseous orange chakra. The almost-physical pressure he still remembered from his experience inside the seal came back in full force, as the sheer power of Sayuri's mere existence threatened to push him down on his knees.

"Sayuri, STOP!"

The foxgirl did stop, dispelling the uncomfortable feeling but leaving the awesome cloak of chakra at Naruto's disposal. **Mugyuu?**

"Damn it, you call that an 'itty bit'?"

**Yup.**

Naruto growled. "Damn you and your nine tails."

**They're pwetty!**

Wiggle, wiggle.

"I hope nobody else felt that."

As if on cue, all bird nests in a fifty-meter radius fell off their places, the dead bodies of dozens of tiny winged creatures dragged down with them, their brains fried as if exposed to the world's largest cell phone.

"Uhhh…damn."

**Oh, it happened again.**

"Excuse me?"

**Um! It happened all the time when I got mah nine tails. Yuria-nee-chan told me mah chakwa makes the birdies fall asleep. Isn't that gweat?**

Naruto remained in stunned silence, coping with the painful, uncomfortable coldness in his heart at the raw, unbridled innocence in Sayuri's words.

"That 'Yuria-nee-chan' of yours…she's a really, really nice sister, isn't she?"

**Um! Sayuri wuvs Yuria-nee-chan lots!**

Naruto had to hold back tears. He did not know what saddened him the most: Sayuri's innocence or his sense of detachment when presented with the mass murder of innocent avian wildlife.

It was a good thing, though, that they were pretty far from inhabited Konoha. The pulse didn't travel that far, hence remained undetected. Naruto could, however, still see the face sculpted on the mountain just above the treeline.

"I…see. Okay, so I'll release my chakra, too, all over my body. Right?"

**Yup!**

Taking a deep breath and relaxing both his muscles and posture, Naruto willed his chakra to flow. He had to give some credit to Jiraiya. Somehow that punch in the gut from the day they met had done wonders to his chakra control. Ever since he was taught about the chakra circulatory system during the prelims, he had a better idea of what exactly "chakra flow" meant. He could imagine his chakra flowing just like his blood, reaching every inch of his frame.

**Moar chakwa, onii-chan!**

"Got it, got it." It really humbled him. He knew he had good chakra reserves, but the amount of it he was currently releasing was probably nothing for the little foxgirl sealed in his belly. He opened the gates (not THOSE Gates) a bit further, allowing for a stronger "flow."

"Is this enough…?"

**Hmm…maa, I guess. Could be betteh.**

Naruto muttered curses under his breath. "Sure, keep rubbing it on my face, damn it. So, what now?"

**Now…uh…umm…what now…**

"…you have no idea of what you're doing, have you?"

**Sayuri knows! The Pwetty Beam! Sayuri just… never weally thought about HOW I did it…I just did it.**

"I think I hate you more and more with every passing moment."

**Mugyuu…onii-chan, you mweanie.**

"Joking, joking. You know you're my best friend…as weird as that might be." Naruto chuckled amicably, to which Sayuri replied with a chuckle of her own. "Now, really, try to think a bit more. I can wait."

**Ah! Um! Onii-chan, I wuv yuu! I'll do my best!**

Therefore, Naruto was partial witness to the amazing spectacle of Sayuri doing something she was not really used to doing: thinking hard.

**Uuuuu…munyu-munyuu…munyaaa? Um…munya.**

"Do you really have to make those weird noises?"

**It's paht of my character concept.**

"What?"

Sayuri actually released a condescending sigh. **Silly onii-chan. Let Sayuri think!**

"Okay, okay."

**Hmm…so…like that…and then…mugyuu…thinking is hard.**

"I want to laugh at that sentence, but for some reason I just can't."

**Mugyuu…Sayuri doesn't get it, but onii-chan's being a mweanie.**

"Ah, sorry." Naruto chuckled.

**Maybe I can burn onii-chan's meanness.**

"Please don't."

A few minutes later, Sayuri claimed to have a plan. With her strangely warm chakra cloaking him, Naruto was starting to seriously sweat.

**So…we need to make the pwetty bubbles!**

"Bubbles?"

**Yup. Bubbles.**

"O-kaaaay. So, how do we make these bubbles?"

**Well…you kinda…mugyuu…it's hard to expwain…you, like…let go of your chakwa…and then take it back.**

"Uhh…I don't get it."

**Mugyuu…it's like…you let go…but then you don't. You let go but don't weally let go.**

"Ugh…I think I get what you're trying to say, but…can I do that?"

**If I can do it, then surely onii-chan can too!**

"For some reason that doesn't really make me feel more confident."

**Mugyuu…**

"But let's see if I can work something out!"

**Yay!**

Naruto had loads and loads of chakra running through his body, plus a layer of supremely powerful chakra to the point that it coated his body in orange (which was AWESOME). Sayuri was asking him to release it all to the exterior without losing control over it; hence it wouldn't just disperse and be hopelessly lost. Naruto had absolutely no idea if that was even possible.

"Well, here goes nothing."

With a wordless battle cry, Naruto willed his chakra to **move**. The workings of chakra were beyond him; he only had instinct; feel. He did not know how it was for everyone else; he did not know if it was because of Sayuri, but he had a very strong feel of his chakra. It was the first time he really paid attention to it, but it was almost comforting how it felt almost like water running through and over his body. Yes, the feeling was kind of liquid.

"Hold it. Hold it. Hold it. Hold it." Naruto repeated himself like a mantra, for he was about to betray everything he thought he knew about chakra…which was not really much. "And…go!"

He willed his chakra to leave his body, to expand and disperse like any fluid released from its container. However…

"COME BACK!"

Naruto could not possibly understand what happened. For a moment of perfect stillness, Naruto's last command struggled against the natural order of things. The tendrils of chakra eager to fade into the atmosphere froze like orange jelly icicles as the opposing forces, one physical and the other spiritual, tore them apart from the inside out. The opposing forces, away and towards Naruto's body, finally balanced each other out and canceled, leaving only centrifugal forces. The continuous "mass" of chakra broke apart into dozens of separate constructs that rotated around Naruto like satellites, all of them immediately reshaping itself into the most balanced shape they could conceive.

"Whoa…bubbles."

**Waaaaai! Pwetty bubbles! Shiny!**

Wiggle, wiggle.

It was certainly a beautiful show. The thin chakra structures reacted in strange ways under the sunlight, creating radiant displays of alien color and luster.

"That…that was surprisingly easy." Naruto muttered in disbelief.

**Of course it was easy! It's mah jutsu!**

Sayuri, possessor of far more chakra and far less control than Naruto, explained.

It made sense that the only jutsu she could pull off are those so pathetically easy that even Sayuri can do them. It was the negative consequence of becoming a nine-tails at the age of 101.

It makes one wonder why Sayuri of all people is the only being who has thought of releasing her chakra before shaping just to see what happens. Probably it is just that everybody assumes it would be nothing but a waste.

"That…somehow actually makes sense." Naruto agreed. "So, what now? We shoot these things?"

**Nope! Onii-chan has to gather all the shiny bubbles to make the big shiny ball! That's kinda hard.**

"Uh-huh. So, gather them."

Naruto soon realized why Sayuri said it was "kinda hard." The small chakra bubbles liked being bubbles, apparently. They just did not want to merge. At the same time he willed the smaller objects into the gathering, he had to exert "mental pressure" on the thing so that it would not explode on his face. He had the hunch Sayuri was actually somehow helping him. It was difficult, but far from impossible. He was sweating torrents by the time he was done, though. At some point, the whole thing had become an unnervingly pitch black.

"Well…ha…ha…it's done…huff. Now tell me what to do with it before I lose it."

**Make it tiny!**

"…excuse me?"

**Make it tiny, like the pwetty bubbles!**

"…you're joking right?"

**Nope!**

"…I can't do that!"

**Mugya! Eh? Why not?**

"I can barely keep it like this! No way in hell I can compress that thing-whoa!" Naruto re-focused on the chakra ball, which had been bloating dangerously due to his loss of concentration. "That was close."

**Don't say that, onii-chan! I'm sure onii-chan can do it! I can do it! It doesn't weally have that much chakwa, it should be easy!**

Naruto growled and cursed. "I'm only a human, you know."

**Mou, onii-chan! Just do it!**

"Okay, okay, sheesh…women…" Naruto grumbled before getting to it.

* * *

Yurimi was immersed in a bit of light reading, waiting for the call to lunch –it was a bit delayed, actually– when the sliding door to her bedroom opened, revealing the tall figure of her guardian-slash-maid.

"Thank you for the hard work."

She got nothing in response but a smack on the head.

"That's for not warning me this was going to happen, Yurimi-sama."

The two-tails muttered something inaudible. She couldn't help but take a look at the all too familiar sports bag.

"You really never let go of that thing, do you?"

"Of course not. Makoto-kun and I will be together until the end of our days."

Yurimi made an odd face. _Doesn't she even realize __**his**__ days were over a pretty long time ago?_

"I think Naruto-sama and Makoto-kun will become good friends. It must be uncomfortable for Makoto-kun…being surrounded by nothing but females the whole time. Humans also need same-gendered friends, you know?"

Yurimi rolled her eyes. "Please refrain from trying to get them together. I don't want my Naruto-sama to be scarred for life."

"Yurimi-sama, that's rude. Makoto-kun and Naruto-sama got along just fine."

"They couldn't have gotten along in the slightest. The very act of getting along implies interaction."

"Yurimi-sama gets along with Makoto-kun…" Kotonoha pouted.

"As long as you keep it inside that bag."

"Him, Yurimi-sama. As long as you keep him."

Yurimi stared at her attendant for a long moment.

"…I need some fresh air."

Opening the door, she was stunned by meeting an overly familiar face, her nose not more than an inch from hers.

"YO!"

After the initial shock, the flustered Yurimi quickly escaped three steps away.

"Yu-Yu-Yuria!" She hissed. "Just what are you trying to do?"

"I live to please." The older sister was grinning maliciously. "Yo, Kotonoha."

"Yuria-sama." The taller woman bowed politely. "That's some fantastic tail power there."

"Ahaha, thanks." Yuria grinned widely, scratched the back of her head. That's when Yurimi noticed.

Yurimi was exactly ten centimeters taller than Yuria. There was no way her sister should be able to stand nose to nose with her.

To solve this apparent impossibility, Yuria resorted to standing on her long and surprisingly strong tails. Her feet weren't touching the floor in the slightest.

"That's…a curious trick you got there, sister." Yurimi stated as she, after regaining her composure, walked past her and outside her bedroom as originally intended. Yuria grinned some more and followed Yurimi, using her tails as some sort of pseudopodia.

"Yeah. You may call me Doc Yuria," the three-tails grinned. "Wouldn't want me to smack your face with one of this, huh?"

Yurimi said nothing, but saw the wisdom in her sister's words. Physical attacks with those tails would surely carry a lot of power. Yurimi also knew for a fact that Yuria had been using chakra the whole morning for the "punishment" she inflicted upon Yuriyo.

"So…how was it, Kotonoha?"

Kotonoha, who was following Yurimi and the tail-walker from a distance, smiled gently. "Naruto-sama is a fine young man. Well-mannered…in a curiously rustic way. Very energetic. Very strong. Outstanding reflexes. Outstanding chakra capacity. I am still amazed by that Shadow Clone Technique."

"It is a fascinating technique, that one." Yurimi admitted.

"Indeed."

"Huh? What's that about?" Yuria inquired.

"Naruto-sama has a ninja technique that allows him to create perfect corporeal duplicates of himself. They are extremely fragile, but, besides that, they are identical to the original."

"Oh…" The shortest girl mused. "…cool."

"So?" Yurimi insisted. "Can you get him ready to win his fight?"

"Definitely not."

Yurimi stopped (she wasn't even sure where she was going, anyway). She turned around to look at her guardian. "Explain."

"Yurimi-sama, I cannot correct years of deficient learning in a week. Kitsune Jutsu are out of the question, and so is my Kenjutsu. There is absolutely nothing I can teach that boy, especially not when he is lacking in so many areas."

"As he is right now, he doesn't stand a chance…unless he uses the easy way out."

Noticing the inquiring looks on the two sister's face (Yuria's far more obvious that Yurimi's), Kotonoha sought out a place to sit.

The Higashiyama shrine consisted of a complex of traditional wooden houses separated by zones of pristine greenery. To minimize stepping on the grass and flowers, cobbled stone paths connected the different houses, with the occasional stone bench every here and there. Kotonoha picked one of these. Yurimi claimed the one in front, across the two-feet-wide stone path. Yuria stood behind Yurimi's bench, leaning forward.

"Naruto-sama could easily summon me and ask me to defeat his opponent in his stead. It's a perfectly valid strategy, and it would guarantee his victory. There is no human that can avoid The Bloody Conclusion."

"I…do not think Naruto-sama wants to kill anyone." Yurimi stated. Kotonoha shrugged.

"In any case, summoned Kitsune would allow him to win very easily…but I am sure you know Naruto-sama will never do such a thing."

Yurimi didn't say anything.

"He did not say it himself, but I could tell. This fight is of personal significance to him." She chuckled. "He is in many ways like Yuria-sama. It is quite unsettling, Yurimi-sama."

"Shut up." Yurimi moaned. That was a thought she really wanted to avoid.

"Eh? Me?"

"I do remember the reports my sister sent on his development," Kotonoha explained. "Rock bottom, dead last of his class. Subpar Taijutsu, chakra control and throwing accuracy. The circumstances of his graduation still remain unknown. By all means, he should not have passed the shinobi academy. Quite sad if you ask me."

"Huh." Yuria had never paid attention to those reports. The only thing she had needed to know was that some human boy named Naruto had her little sister inside him, period.

"It is most unfortunate that my sister did not manage to get much on his growth after graduation." Kotonoha continued. "What we know is that he has somehow made it to the final step to rise to the next ninja rank. If I had to guess, I would say it's been a combination of decent teamwork, sheer determination and raw luck. But now he has to face a Hyuuga."

Knowing that neither of the lilies would understand what that meant, she further explained.

"The Hyuuga are the most prominent family in Konohagakure, and the closest thing to nobility Konoha currently has. Their reputation in combat comes from their unique eyes, the _**Byakugan**_, which allow them, among other things, to see in all directions and with very long range, and to see the flow of chakra within living beings. They have developed a very special Taijutsu style, _**Jyuuken**_, which uses their special eyes and their skillful chakra control to restrict the opponent's chakra flow and damage internal organs with even the lightest touch."

"From what I learned from Naruto-sama, I can infer that his opponent is a boy very skilled for his age. A young genius of the Hyuuga Clan, I would say, blessed with enviable talent and a particularly acute pair of _**Byakugan**_."

Yurimi clenched the hem of her yukata. She could feel the oppressive aura her sister released at the sound of **that** word.

"Naruto-sama wants to prove that his hard work and determination can defeat natural talent. He wants to prove that, if he wants to, he can do even what at first glance seems to be impossible. He wants to prove that nobody but himself determines whether he's a winner of a loser. And that's why he won't take the easy way out."

Silence permeated the air around them, charged with an intangible tension. Yurimi clenched her hands, gripping the fabric of her yukata. She was feeling more than a bit uncomfortable by Yuria's presence behind her. It was not the first time Yurimi had felt it, of course, but it was especially unnerving being that close.

"So…you're saying he's got no chance?" Yuria's voice was more a menacing growl. Aimed at Kotonoha, it felt like the swordswoman's life depended on her answer.

Kotonoha, in no way fazed by the younger Kitsune, returned Yuria's glare with her usual calm, collected face. "I said I cannot help him. That will not stop Naruto-sama from trying. He will do his best. We can only hope he finds an answer I could not give him."

The heavy silence persisted only until pierced by an external source.

"Yurimi-chan, Yuria-chan, Kotonoha-san, lunch is ready-hawa!"

Yuria had to sigh at that. "Hello to you too, Yurine."

"Hawawaan…owie." The second oldest of the lilies rubbed her sore head with her left hand; her five caramel tails sprawled all around her on the wooden floor. She was chuckling, taking the fall, like all of her frequent falls, with plenty of humor.

Yurine is unique in that she's the only one in her family whose dark brown fur is of a different color than her natural human hair. She had black hair that flowed freely down her back until the last seven or so centimeters, where the ends were tied into a single, thin tail. Two additional braids went down her front all the way until her waist, tied with white tape around halfway down. She had the traditional carmine eyes of her clan, too. They shone with joyful radiance.

The eyes of a woman with the soul of a child.

"You okay?" Yuria intervened, walking away from Yurimi and towards her elder sister, who had remained seated on the floor, her legs to the sides. She was wearing blue silk pants.

"Hawawa…I'm fine." Yurine smiled. It was a smile laced with sweetness nobody else Yuria knew could hope to match…except maybe her niece Chiyuri. Yurine looked down at her cleavage. "Yurine's breasts softened the fall."

"I can't believe you just said that."

"Te-he!" Yurine lightly tapped her head with her knuckles. She fixed her white kimono shirt, making sure it did not show more cleavage than it was meant to. Satisfied with the result after smoothing a few wrinkles on her pants, she got back on her feet, towering twenty-five centimeters over little Yuria.

"Moooooom!" Another familiar voiced arrived, announcing itself somewhere far behind Yurine's back. "What's taking you so-geh."

Yuria titled her body to the left to look past her sister. "Hello to you too, Yuriyo."

"Stay away from me-eek!"

At a speed that astounded everyone present, one of Yuria's tails grew at least six times its length to tickle the skin under Yuriyo's chin.

"Ah, sorry, sorry. My tails sometimes act as if they had minds of their own. They seem to like you." Yuria smoothly commented while her tail retracted back to its original length.

"Bitch." Yurine's black-haired daughter spat under her breath.

"So..." Yurimi intervened before things went out of hand. "Lunchtime, I presume, Yurine-nee-sama?"

"Hmm! That's just right, Yurimi-chan!" Yurine turned her back to her younger sister to make her way back to the dining room. "Saa, let's go, let's go-hawa!"

Massive wincing ensued. Yuriyo sighed. "Mom…"

Yuria chuckled. "Don't worry, Riyo-chan. Her breasts soften the fall."

"Hawawa…"

* * *

There was silence in the clearing. Naruto had his everything put into keeping the small chakra core stable. He had surprised himself by managing to downsize the original chakra sphere into an object the size of an eyeball. However, he could feel his veins throbbing under his forehead and the sweat trailing down his body. It was very demanding. Easy, but demanding.

"Hey, Sayuri, I've been wondering. This thing, it's black, right?"

**Yup! It's pwetty! Shiny!**

"Exactly! How can a black object be shiny?"

**Mugyuu? Why not? It's shiny.**

"That's the problem! It shouldn't be shiny!"

**But…it is.**

"But it shouldn't! Black objects do not reflect light, they absorb it! Well, unless it's some sort of metalized stuff or something…I think…but this isn't metal! Hell, it isn't even solid! IT ISN'T EVEN MATTER!"

He paused to take in oxygen.

"Even worse! For some reason this thing is all…pushing me down and stuff! Look, even the ground is cracking under my feet! It's like, some sort of, wacky anti-gravity pull!"

He paused again, this time to frown.

"AND SINCE WHEN DO I UNDERSTAND CRAZY-ASS PHYSICS? WHAT THE HELL AM I TALKING ABOUT? **WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?**"

**Onii-chan, the ball.**

"Ah? Ah, fuck!" Naruto hurriedly returned to taking care of the chakra sphere. "Phew…that was close. Good call, Sayuri."

**Onii-chan, you're weally weird sometimes.**

"I know, I don't recognize myself anymore." Naruto rolled his eyes, in yet another out-of-character display of responsible mental development. "And you're the last person I will take that from. So…" He made a gesture with his head, pointing at the sphere. "What now?"

**Eat it.**

Silence. A flock of crows flew somewhere in the distance, cawing in a rather annoying manner.

"What?"

**Eat it. **Sayuri plainly repeated.

More silence.

"…no, I think I wasn't clear enough. What?"

**Eat it!**

"HELL NO!"

**Eeeek! Mugyuu…onii-chan scawed me…what's whong?**

"WHAT'S WRONG?" Naruto cried back in furious exasperation. "You asked me to EAT this thing!"

**Uh-huh. It's the next step.**

"I CAN'T EAT THIS THING, SAYURI!"

**Mu-nii? Why not?**

"**WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL HAPPEN IF I EAT IT?**"

**It gets big inside onii-chan and makes onii-chan big and wound! It will be funny!**

"Funny? LETHAL FUNNY!" Naruto shouted. "IT WOULD KILL ME!"

**No! **Sayuri was shaking her head stubbornly. **It doesn't huht Sayuri. Why would it huht onii-chan?**

Naruto felt a very strong urge to bury his face in his palms. He forced himself to calm down. "I'm NOT eating that thing, Sayuri."

**Eeeeh? Then how is onii-chan gonna make the Pwetty Beam?**

Naruto sweatdropped. "Just…how does that work anyway?"

**Well, I eat it and keep mah mouth weaaaaaally shut. When I open mah mouth, the Pwetty Beam comes out! It's pwetty!**

"You say that word way too much." Naruto muttered in response. However, he got the idea. He could see how and why it would come out as a beam. "It's sorta…like a balloon?"

**Mugyuu?**

He stared at the chakra core. He had to replace his own body (the balloon) with something else to contain the sphere. A shadow clone would not work, for obvious reasons. The other obvious solution was chakra, but he needed a cover strong enough to contain the sphere and its growth.

"Sayuri, I need your chakra."

**Mu-nii? Um, sure!**

Much to Naruto's satisfaction, Sayuri did learn from previous experiences, better controlling her chakra release this time. Happy to know no more wildlife would be accidentally slain that day, Naruto got to work, directing Sayuri's –now his– chakra from his hands towards the tiny sphere floating in front of him. It amazed him how ridiculously easy to control this orange chakra was.

Sayuri's control is simply abysmal.

Naruto nodded in satisfaction when he had a sphere of orange chakra with diameter approximately equal to his own height plus a head. He did not know how big that tiny ball would get before he fired it, after all. It was a surprising display of forethought.

He's been making a lot of surprising displays these past two days.

"Alright, let's hope this thing works."

**Waaaai! Pwetty Beam! Onii-chan, you're weally smart!**

"…whoa. I'm fairly sure that was the very first time somebody said that to me. Let's hope it won't be the last!"

**Waaaaai!**

Wiggle, wiggle.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto focused on his two creations. He could actually hear the drum roll in his mind.

"Release control of the ball, open a hole in the shell. Release ball, open hole. Release. Open. Release. Open. Alright." Naruto slapped his cheeks.

**Ow!**

"Ah, ahaha, sorry." Naruto refocused. "Alright, let's do this! Aaaaaaaaaaaaand…"

**Mugyuu…** Sayuri ignored the bit of pain on her own cheeks and focused on the matter at hand, too. **Nee, nee, onii-chan! What are you gonna hit with the Pwetty Beam? Those fugly faces on the mountain?**

"…GO! Wait, wha-?"

Unfortunately, his mind reacted to both Sayuri's words and his commands, releasing the high-density chakra sphere and opening a hole on the outer orange chakra shell…aimed straight at the Hokage Mountain.

"OH SHI-!"

That was as far as Naruto managed to say before the world became white. He managed to think a lot, though.

**Ah! It came out.**

_I hate you. I hate you so much. So very much. So much my skin hurts. No, wait, that's my skin being __**fuckin' disintegrated!**_

**Mugyuu…

* * *

**

Aburame Shino truly cared for his teammates. However, he was not one to play matchmaker. He did hope Hinata would one day find the guts to speak her mind, but he would not help her. She had asked him to keep tabs on Naruto and this "mysterious woman." He would do it, not for Hinata, but because it was his job: information gathering.

Also, there was just something about that woman that made both him and his hive feel uneasy.

It had nothing to do with her jaw-dropping bust.

Really.

This was one of those times in which he wished his insects could actually speak.

"So…what now?" Kiba, hands behind his head on puppy on top, wondered.

"Yamanaka Flower."

"Huh?" Kiba stared oddly at his partner. "Ino?"

"Yes."

"Why the hell?"

Shino was about to deign himself to answer.

The hive would not let him.

Like an icy arrow to the chest, the entire insect colony cried as one, for they were one.

"DUCK!" Shino yelled. It was the loudest he had ever spoken. It was loud enough to stun his partner…or more like worry him.

"Umm…no, Shino." Kiba pointed at the pet shop they were passing by. "Those are rabbits-"

In the blink of an eye, the white beam of pure, condensed chakra struck the right cheek of the First Hokage.

And the Village Hidden in the Leaves was cloaked in white.

"Aaaaaaaaagh!"

Hundreds of villagers, both civilian and shinobi, cried in unison when they were struck both blind and deaf by the light and subsequent explosion.

About seventeen hundred meters west from the mountain, Naruto was blown backwards by Newton's Third Law, the intense heat released by the now-unstable chakra core searing his skin.

All windows in a six hundred meter radius shattered and rained upon the populace of Konohagakure. The most fragile houses in the vicinity of the mountain collapsed as an aftereffect of the concussive wave generated by the explosion.

The beam easily melted through the solid rock, boring through the Shodai Hokage's face with utmost ease. While the venerable face of the founder of Konoha cracked and fell apart (and upon the hapless village under), the Pwetty Beam followed with its ascending trip by trimming the spiky locks of the Nidaime. The quasi-pyramidal rocks joined the rain of debris caused by the total destruction of the Shodai's face. Fortunately, most of these larger rocks fell on the small forested area behind the administration building. Unfortunately, they fell close enough to scare the shit out of the Third Hokage and his employees, as well as drown them in a cloud of dust.

The next victim was the Sandaime's face. However, the weakened and unstable beam, instead of piercing through like it did with the other two, began to tilt and trace an irregular line on its surface. It managed to break the nose before giving away and ceasing its path of destruction with a mighty explosion that finished the job with the third face. The Yondaime was the only fortunate one, curiously enough.

It took a few seconds for every person to realize it was over. When it happened, there was chaos: a threnody of voices with mixed thoughts and words, all riddled with a single emotion.

Terror.

"AAAAAAAAHHHH!"

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?"

"IT'S THE RUSSIANS! THE RUSSIANS ARE HERE!"

"WHAT THE HELL IS A RUSSIAN?"

"THE UCHIHA HAVE RISEN FROM THEIR GRAVES TO KILL US ALL! AND THEY HAVE LASERS! **ZOMBIE LASER UCHIHAS**!"

"IT'S GODZILLA! **GODZILLA** I TELL YOU!"

"MY EX HAS GONE INSANE! SHE'S GONNA KILL US ALL!"

"FINALLY! MY DARK SEXUAL RITUALS HAVE PAID OFF! GO, AZATOTH, **RAZE THE WORLD TO ASHES! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**"

"HELP ME EIRIIIIIIIIIIIIN!"

Shino and Kiba were slowly getting back on their feet, their honed senses carefully looking for a threat that did not exist.

"KYUUBI HAS RETURNED TO FINISH THE JOB! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!" A man to Shino's left screamed. The bug user almost sighed.

"Do you see a giant fox somewhere around here?"

"Eh?"

The man desperately looked for the gigantic frame of the nine-tailed demon fox as he remembered. The awareness of its absence did not relieve him in the slightest. Shino actually frowned when the man's drooling face became a rictus of abject horror.

"OH MY GOD, KYUUBI IS **INVISIBLE! THERE IS NO HOPE!**"

Shino facepalmed.

"What the fuck was **that**?"

"What makes you think I know?" Shino responded to Kiba's low-voiced question. "Let's go. We have to find Kurenai-sensei. We'll have to help calm the civilian population. It is up to the ANBU to deal with whatever did this."

"Ah, yeah!"

The two made to the rooftops and towards the first place they could think off, the administration building. Their eyes were on the cracking faces and the large chunks of rock raining down upon the village.

* * *

_Ow, ow, pain, agony…_

Naruto was buried face-down in a nearby formation of bush in the forest beyond the clearing where he had been training. Unburying his head from the greenery, his keen eyes easily noticed the disaster he had unleashed upon Konoha via the mountain-tall cloud of dust and debris and the unrecognizable features of the monument.

_HOLY. FLYING. FUCK._

**Buuu… **Sayuri made her voice known again. **See? Not enough chakwa.**

Something within Naruto died a very horrible, violent death. Some would call it his innocence, but it really was not that.

…_what?_

**If I had done it then it wouldn't have come out like that. **Sayuri explained smugly…or as smugly as Sayuri can be. **There would have been a weaaaaally big BOOOOOOM, and that's it.**

…_uh-huh._

**And there would not be a mountain left. Or a village. And the forest would be on fire.**

_THAT'S NOT SOMETHING TO BE PROUD OF!_

**Eeeeek! Mugyuu…**

Naruto suddenly reached a very important conclusion.

The Yondaime had done the entire world a very big favor.

**But onii-chan weally got it! That's good, wight? Onii-chan learned the Pwetty Beam! Nee, onii-chan? The Pwetty Beam? Wasn't it gweat?**

_It wasn't great at all! Look at what it did! Oh God, I hope nobody got hurt…

* * *

_

Ayame idly patted her "father's" shoulder. He was on his knees, his face buried in his hands. He was crying inconsolably.

The girl's face was strangely solemn, as if trying to make something of the bizarre reality she was facing.

Their house; their pride, was in ruins; crushed by the Third Hokage's nose. Curiously enough, the ramen restaurant was mostly intact, it was the rooms beyond which had been reduced to broken debris.

She knew there was something hilarious in watching your home and almost everything that is important to you being crushed by a giant nose, but she guessed chuckling would be a very bad idea.

The customers who had been present when the tragedy occurred stepped closer to comfort the broken man. Meanwhile, a Kitsune's gears were turning fast.

The only reason she did not smile was because it would have been unsightly under the circumstances.

"I can work with this." She muttered only to herself. Within the deep recesses of the twofold mind, much to the true Ayame's fear, one Katsura Kokoro was cackling maniacally.

_Naruto-kun, you've just got yourself a roommate!

* * *

_

**But…it was onii-chan who aimed that way.**

_But I didn't want to!_

**Ah…ah. Umm…woopsies?**

_I hate my life. _Naruto shook his head. _Anyway, I can't use that against Neji!_

**Why not?**

_Are you really asking? _Naruto's mind voice exclaimed. _I don't want to blast away my village in the process! Or Neji!_

**Ah…then why did onii-chan ask Sayuri to teach him jutsu? Sayuri only knows jutsu that make things expwode. Or people. Or set them on fire.**

Naruto twitched. _What do you…?_ He paused. _Okay, I set that one upon myself._

His danger sense warned him of an incoming threat in time for him to hide in the bushes right before a squadron of four ANBU arrived on the scene.

_Oh shit!_

It was not very hard for them to find the place. They only had to follow the direction the white beam came from until they found a smoking crater. While they made an initial examination of the clearing, Naruto's eyes narrowed.

_Alright, they're ANBU. I can get away from these guys, I've done it before._

Two more figures showed up in the clearing, one clearly smaller than the other.

_Aw, I'm so completely and utterly fucked._

**Gyaaaaaaah! DOGS! They must-**

_YOU'RE NOT BURNING ANYONE!_

**Mugyuu…**

Inuzuka Tsume and Kuromaru sniffed the air together, which only led to the two of them frowning pronouncedly….or at least what passes for frowning on a dog.

"Kuromaru…"

"Yes, me too."

"What is it?" A tiger-masked ANBU, apparently the one in charge of the team of four, inquired. The Inuzuka Jounin stared down at her canine partner.

"We have nothing. We have our own scent, and those of you four, as well as the smoke here. We can barely feel anything besides that." Kuromaru explained, looking up at Tsume, who nodded in agreement.

"Either something here is somehow dampening our senses of smell…" Tsume continued. "…or whoever did this managed to eliminate all traces of himself…and everything around us, for that matter."

In the distance, Naruto was worried. _They should have found me by now. What are they talking about?_

What Naruto did not know was that the Pretty Beam destroys everything in its way. Everything means **everything**. That includes any and all volatile odorant molecules in the air. The higher concentration in the firing point further extends this effect for a short period of time after firing.

Talk about a convenient jutsu.

What Naruto did know is that, if he had not been found, then he had a chance. Grinning to himself and praising his intermittently superb stealth skills, Naruto made his way around the perimeter of Konoha.

However, he was not stupid…well, not so stupid so as to not keep in mind that it would be a matter of time before someone showed up before him to ask him question. After all, he was the number one suspect of anything and everything wrong that happened in his village (the Hokage would replace him with Orochimaru, given the current developments, but Naruto does not know that).

He needed an alibi. He called it an excuse, of course, as he does not know the word 'alibi'.

-*KA-WHOOOSH!*

**Waaaaai! I did it!**

Wiggle, wiggle.

…_what the hell was that?_

**Sayuri burned the scene bweakline! Waaaaai!**

_The what? Wait, you know what? Forget it. Let's just go._

-*KA-WHOOSH!*

**Waaai! Again!**

_Whatever you're doing, stop it!

* * *

_

After it became clear that they were dealing with an isolated event instead of a full-scale attack, the shinobi's job became considerably easier. Still, dispelling the atmosphere of fear that permeated the streets of Konoha was not something that could be done in an hour or two, much less half.

"So…what now?" Inuzuka Kiba inquired. They had barely spoken with Kurenai long enough for her to give them the obvious instructions and disappear via _**Shunshin**_.

Shino did not respond, for his eyes were following the incoming path of the two male members of Team 10. He noticed they were coming from the main disaster area; the foot of the Hokage Mountain. He only opened his mouth when Shikamaru and Chouji stopped on the same rooftop as him and his teammate.

"Your orders?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "We were supposed to help clear the debris over there." Shino did not need to inquire to get further explanation. "Nothing much we can do, really. Civilian volunteers directed by the ADC are handling it…and there's a horde of Naruto clones helping. I swear I saw like a hundred."

"Hmm."

"Oi! Guys!"

From the opposite direction came the two currently-healthy females amongst the Rookie Nine. Ignored by her Jounin teacher and forgotten by her teammates, Haruno Sakura found herself with a sudden increase in her free time. Not having anything better to do, she seized the chance to rekindle her old friendship with Yamanaka Ino. The "attack" had caught them by the counter of the Yamanaka Flower shop, putting a loud, messy end to their girl-talk.

"What's up, Shino-kun?" Ino heartily greeted the bug user, her full-toothed smile almost blinding in its radiance.

'_Shino-kun?' _These were the thoughts of everyone present.

"Hnnd." Shino made a wordless noise and pointed behind him at the remains of the Hokage Mountain, with two of its faces utterly destroyed and another getting an army haircut.

"Yeah, we kinda noticed that already." Ino turned to her lazy partner. "Did you meet with Asuma-sensei?"

"Yeah." Shikamaru responded caustically, rolling his eyes. "What took you so long to show up anyway? Sensei wasn't happy."

"Well, what do you think?" Ino stubbornly placed her hands on her hips. "The explosion made the shop a big mess! There was nothing but dirt and broken pottery and flowers spilled everywhere!"

"And then we had to calm down the neighbors." Sakura intervened.

"Yeah, that too. Sheesh, going off with silly crap about Kyuubi's return or something."

"Well…" Chouji made quick work of a potato chip. "…that was no ordinary jutsu, that's for sure."

"I know that, but, really, do you see a bigass fox of DOOM somewhere out here?" Ino insisted.

Kiba chuckled. "Maybe he's invisible." He mouthed so that only Shino noticed.

"Anyway," Shikamaru continued. "Sensei asked us to help clean up the debris, but that job's pretty much taken by Naruto and the ADC."

"Naruto?" Sakura exclaimed. "He is…?" Her surprised expression soon changed to unexplainable anger. "That little…argh!"

"What?" Ino honestly wondered.

"What do you mean 'what'?" Sakura barked back. "I haven't seen the little idiot this entire month! And now he shows up like that!"

Ino frowned. "So…what? I'd say the guy's been busy. He has to fight that Hyuuga Neji, right?"

"And now he's come back from his training to help Konoha." Shino continued. "Which, I may add, is what we should be doing."

"Heeeh…" Kiba grinned. "…that's kinda cool from the idiot, huh."

Akamaru nodded in agreement. Ino turned from Kiba to Chouji, who, she noticed, was about to speak, as he had stopped emptying his current bag of chips.

"Especially since the civilians are blaming him for that…" Munch. "For some reason."

"Wait, what?" Surprisingly enough, this was Ino.

"Yup." Shikamaru nodded. "Pretty nasty words they were throwing at him back there. And rocks, too. Troublesome stuff. I don't think the real Naruto was there, though. Only clones. The ADC got rid of the nastier guys. Naruto's pretty much cleaning the whole damn thing by himself."

Ino gasped in outrage. "Are they stupid? I know Naruto's done his share of pranks, but, really, you'd need some serious firepower to do THAT!" She debated, pointing at the damaged monument.

"So, what did he do?" Kiba asked.

"Ah, you know, the usual." Shikamaru replied. "Forced laughter, stupid grin, back to job. Pretty mature if you ask me."

Realizing she did not have any support in her latest temper tantrum, Sakura wisely chose to shut up. She still was unreasonably angry at Naruto, though.

The following minutes were a discussion of what the rookies should do. Their Jounin teachers were busy meeting with the Hokage and his advisors, discussing the plans for the aftermath of this mysterious event. Aid would have to be provided to those who lost their homes and/or workplaces. Communication would be crucial to calm down the scared citizens and ensure that, no, Invisible Kyuubi had not returned with a vengeance. Plans had to be made to restore the monument. While at first glance it seems a…well, monumental waste of money, the fact remained that the mountain was the symbol of Konohagakure and its banner of strength. The symbolic significance of the destruction of the faces was a blow to the people's morale.

The only thing comparable would be, like, kidnapping all of Konoha's messenger birds and make them crash on the Hokage Tower until it toppled down…or something.

The point is, the attack made Konoha seem vulnerable. It was an insult to its pride and history. Hence, it had to be corrected.

Unfortunately, it was obvious to anyone that the faces could never be restored in time for the Chuunin Finals. The honored dignitaries would be welcomed by two inexistent faces and G.!Nidaime. The exams could not be postponed or canceled, so this would be a blow Konoha would have to face. Sarutobi knew he would be the target of many taunts and sneers very soon.

The most the rookies could do was to deal with any outbursts of civilian unrest and wait for further instructions.

"Hey…did you say the ADC?" Ino suddenly wondered. Shikamaru nodded.

"Well, if they know how to blow shit up, they surely must know how to clean up the mess afterwards."

"Hmm…" Ino nodded, satisfied. "Makes sense. So…if Naruto…the real one, I mean. If Naruto isn't there with them, then where is he?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "Hey, I just said I think he's not there. It's not like I can distinguish the clones from the real one."

"Not even my beetles can." Shino interjected. "It is an impressive technique."

"Hmmm…" Kiba released a naughty grin. "Maybe he's still with the hot chick."

Silence.

Shino slowly, very slowly, clenched and flexed his hands, doing the inhumanly possible not to close them around his teammate's neck. They were supposed to wait until they were alone with Ino!

Sakura blinked. "…what?"

* * *

Naruto nodded to himself as yet another shadow clone dispersed. It was a good idea to send those to help clear up the mess. As expected, more than a few people were blaming the "Demon Brat" for this latest event. It was mildly amusing to know that, for once, they were right.

It had been a devastating sight. He would have to make it up in some way to those that got hurt. It was somehow relieving that there were no casualties reported so far. Lots of property damage, though.

In yet ANOTHER training area, this one as far from "Ground Zero" as topologically possible, Naruto pondered his next move. He had learned a new jutsu which, for very obvious reasons, he could not use. Needless to say, he would save it for whenever he needed to obliterate a few acres of land. Or a REALLY big enemy.

Kotonoha's concluding remarks resounded in his tormented mind.

"_My most profound apologies, Naruto-sama, but, as you are right now, there is nothing I can do for you. Not only are your skills lacking; Yurimi-sama has obviously overestimated my own. Nothing I know I can teach you in time for you to use it at your upcoming fight."_

Naruto admired, and appreciated, Kotonoha's humility and honesty. He really did. But that did not change the fact that it sucked.

**O-Onii-chan! B-Be happy! I…I don't wike it when onii-chan's all sad. It makes Sayuri sad!**

_Sayuri…I have nothing… _Naruto went emo for an instant there. _Kotonoha-san pretty much said I can't beat Neji; she said I suck!_

**Sa-Sayuri doesn't care if onii-chan's bad at fighting; Sayuri still wuvs onii-chan lots!**

Naruto twitched. _Thank you, Sayuri. I feel much better now._

**Weally? Waaaaai!**

_ABSOLUTELY NOT!_

**Hiii! Mugyuu…**

"Haaa…what do I do now?"

He didn't regret leaving Jiraiya. Because, really, the cliff thing was just wrong. But he was simply out of ideas. Who could teach him cool techniques to beat Neji with only eight days left?

"_Our tails are the channels through which we direct out chakra. Without tails, I simply cannot teach you even the simplest energy technique all Kitsune know: the Kitsune Fire. You clearly say you know no other techniques, from which I infer you have to skill with ninja illusory techniques. Without even that, it's pointless to try to teach our Kitsune Illusory Arts. Enchantments are simply out of the question. The only other thing I know is Kenjutsu, and that cannot be taught in a week."_

"Is there…really nothing I can do?"

**Maybe I can turn onii-chan into a Kitsune!**

"Please don't." Naruto immediately responded in a deadpan tone.

**Mugyuu…half-Kitsune?**

"No."

**Mugyururuu…**

"But…there has to be a way…" Naruto returned to his musing. "I must become stronger!"

**Ummm…why not try summoning?**

_Hmm?_

**Yeah! Like, summon Kitsune until we find one that can teach onii-chan cool things!**

Naruto was about to retort, but he found himself making a pause. "That…that's actually a pretty good idea."

No, it is not.

**Waaaaai, Sayuri helped onii-chan! Te-he!**

Wiggle, wiggle.

Of course, they failed to realize that so far Naruto had only summoned "friendly" Kitsune, who were actually on their side. Even then, Naruto still almost got killed.

What if the next Kitsune he summoned was not as nice? What if the next Kitsune could not care less about Naruto? What if he or she tried to manipulate Naruto, like, you know, Kitsune often do?

Then again, it is Naruto. And Sayuri. That does not make things much better. In fact, she probably makes things worse.

"Yosh! Let's do it!"

**Waaaaai! Summon a new fwiend!**

Right.

"_**Kuchiyose no Jutsu!**_"

The cloud of smoke that emerged was surprisingly small. So was the silhouette Naruto managed to see within the smoke. He at least got a gender when the one hidden in smoke spoke. It was a clearly feminine voice. For an instant, he wondered just where all the male Kitsune were.

Then there were her words.

"…_Où est…_?"

"…ha-ah?"

* * *

**CHAPTER 08 END**


	10. Kitsune Days, Afternoon Chapter

_**Naruto Genkyouien**_

- ナルト- 幻脅威宴

**Chapter Nine: Kitsune Days – Afternoon Chapter**

**OR**

**The Legend of Naruto the Pimp

* * *

**

When the smoke dispersed it revealed an unusual sight.

She was in her full human form, her ears and tail(s) being absent. Her shoulder-length hair was adorned by a big red ribbon, and she was wearing a plain white sundress. A pair of big blood red eyes stared at Naruto in plain astonishment.

"…huh? Did you…summon me?"

Naruto blinked. And spoke without thinking.

No surprise there.

"Damn you're tiny."

"_Punition!_"

Next thing he knew, Naruto was being electrocuted.

"Guaaaaaagh!"

**Mugyuuuuuuuu!**

The "tiny" foxgirl rolled her eyes as she moved her hand away from Naruto's body. "Too loud. It's just comedy lightning."

Comedy lightning: defined as electricity used solely for comedic effect and, as such, not lethal or even capable of causing lasting damage.

"Uh-ugh…" On the floor, Naruto twitched. The girl started at the fallen blonde and frowned. _He is familiar…_

"Who are you, and how and why did you summon this Kiyoura Setsuna-sama?" She bent her body forward, leaning her round face awkwardly close to his. "Your answer will decide whether or not I kill you before I leave."

**Eeeek!**

"O-Oi!" Naruto rushed to get on his feet. "What the hell? You can't just threaten me like that, you chibi-"

"_Insolent!_"

PZZZZZZZT!

"Gyaaaah!"

**Mugyuuuuuuu!**

Back to the ground.

"_Pathétique…_so? Your answer?"

"Ugh…damn it…I'm…ugh…Uzumaki…Naruto…"

Setsuna blinked. "Uzumaki Naruto? Then you are…the Nine Tails…"

"Uh?" Naruto blinked groggily. "You know Sayuri?"

**I don't know her! She's a mweanie!**

Setsuna blinked again. "Sayuri? Sayuri…could it be? From the Higashiyama Clan?"

"Yeah…oof! What the hell?"

Naruto's attempt at getting up was completely neutralized when Setsuna sat on his torso.

"Explain. Now."

* * *

"Well then…"

Hands on her hips, Ayame nodded in satisfaction. She had just arrived to her (temporary) new home. After ensuring there was only a single bedroom (and noticing the state of the bed), she moved to the kitchen and made sure Kotonoha had been thorough in her disposal of any and all packages of instant ramen in the place. Naruto had already done enough damage by exposing little Sayuri to the damn thing without previous warning.

She was considering cleaning the place Naruto called home when insistent knocks on the front door interrupted her. They were not precisely unexpected, however.

The ANBU had finally shown up, looking for answers.

Ayame had obviously seen Naruto's (and Sayuri's) latest stunt. That blinding light that cloaked everything in white as it did a fine job of the Hokage Mountain could only be Sayuri's trademark "Pwetty Beam." An extremely toned-down version, of course, but a Pwetty Beam nonetheless.

Kokoro still remembered the first and only time she had witnessed the Pwetty Beam. It had been, in fact, less than two months before Sayuri was sealed.

She still wondered how the humans seemed to remain completely oblivious to the fact that HALF OF A FUCKING ENTIRE MOUNTAIN RANGE WAS MISSING!

She guessed there was some deity-level reality-rewriting involved.

So, yes, she was expecting the ANBU.

_Really, Naruto, couldn't you have aimed, I don't know, ANYWHERE but at Konoha? _Ayame rolled her eyes. _Really, there are, like, two hundred and fifty other degrees to choose from! That's four-thirds-of-pi radians! And that's just in a single plane! I don't want to go into solid angles!_

Taking a deep sigh, she readied herself. _This is gonna hurt a little after we're done, Ayame-chan._

"_**Henge**_!" She whispered.

It was odd, using the Kitsune Transformation Technique to change into a form identical to her Kitsune self. It felt like a waste, but it was not like she could just leave her human body…or use Ayame's identity for something like this.

With her 176 centimeters of height, she was still two and a half shorter than her sister. Needless to say, her ninety-three centimeters of bust did not get even close to Kotonoha's formidable size.

Not that Kokoro wanted to.

Really.

She was more than happy with her excellent body proportions.

Smaller, narrower eyes and finer lips distinguished her face from her sister's, as well as a much shorter mane of black hair, barely reaching past her shoulders. It was the style she had used since her earliest years and she saw no reason to change it. Hell, she still had her two horizontal antennae. Unlike Setsuna's hair, which was "denser" and more rigid, Kokoro's looked far more fluid, just like her sister's.

She looked down at the clothes she had picked for her transformation, as they were crucial for her little plot. T-shirt and white lace panties, nothing more. Not like more was needed. Of course, it was not just any t-shirt. Naruto's black t-shirt, due to his much shorter frame, became rather form-fitting when clad by her more curvaceous body.

"Coming!" Kokoro paused, and then chuckled. "Oh you naughty girl, you!"

The two ANBU behind the door raised an eyebrow together.

Kokoro skillfully opened the door just enough to poke out her head and her left leg, offering an eyeful to the two obviously-male shinobi. Not that gender would have made a difference if she got serious.

"Ano…" She began; her shy, demure tone honed by decades of practice. She could even blush at will. She did not even need to modify her _**Henge **_for that. She could have, of course: only the most skilled humans could hope to detect a well-crafted Kitsune Henge. "…I hope you don't mind that I keep the door like this…I'm…kinda…underdressed right now…"

She lowered her gaze for a few seconds for added effect. Looking back up, she paid more attention to the masks. "Umm…Cat-san and…" Her façade dropped. "What the hell are you?"

"Aardvark."

Kokoro stared. "…aardvark."

"Aardvark." The ANBU repeated. Kokoro could actually feel the poor lad blushing under the scrutiny. She turned to the other one.

"New guy?" She asked, her left index pointing at Aardvark. Cat nodded silently. Kokoro could also feel the smirk under his mask.

Giving utterly ridiculous masks to their new recruits for their first month at the job was an old and well-known ANBU tradition. The division actually had a little competition on who could come up with the most outrageous "rookie mask."

On a side note, the platypus is not permitted.

The little interlude done and over with, Kokoro quickly donned her mask of shyness and alluring cuteness, and the ANBU became suddenly aware that, instead of Naruto, they had been received by an astoundingly gorgeous brunette.

"So…umm…" Kokoro twiddled her indexes together. "You…ANBU-san…you're here to see Naruto-kun?"

"Um, yes." Cat responded for the two. "Please get Naruto-san for us, miss."

"Umm…can…can Naruto-kun take a rain check on that, ANBU-san? He's sleeping right now and I don't really want to wake him up. He's had a rough month…and…" She lowered her head bashfully. "…he worked very hard…" She took her hands to her cheeks to hide the growing blush.

"Uhh…" Somehow the ANBU did not like where this was going. "…sleeping, you say?"

"Hmm!" Kokoro nodded. "For two hours or so already. Not even the big explosion woke him up." She made her cutest puzzled look. "What was that about anyway? I was so surprised!"

"Ah…I see…" The two ANBU shared a glance. Uzumaki Naruto seemed to have an alibi. "And you say you have been with him this whole time, miss?"

Kokoro smiled shyly, but nodded, her head kept low. "Since…last night."

The ANBU went awfully rigid at that. No, it could not be… "I apologize for the rudeness, but it is important for us to know Uzumaki Naruto's latest activities, for the sake of our investigation…"

"Agh!" Kokoro willed her face to become awfully red, her eyes like a scared kitten making the two shinobi feel awful. "Ah…mou…this is so embarrassing…"

An idle finger began to trace random figures on the doorframe. Aardvark gulped when Kokoro pressed her breasts against the wooden frame.

"I…I was…Naruto-kun…" Her voice went quieter with every word.

"Naruto-kun…made me into a woman…" Kokoro buried her face in her hands. "Kyaaa! I said it!" Slam! The door was closed in front of the two blushing ANBU. Her voice could still be heard beyond the door, though.

"I can't believe I said that! It was so perverted, so erotic, so embarrassing! Kyaaah! I'm such a dirty woman!"

The two ANBU shot odd looks at each other through their masks, doing their best to ignore the chorus of squeals from inside the apartment.

"Umm…can we please just get out of here, Cat?"

Cat nodded eagerly. "Uzumaki Naruto has an alibi."

A very lax investigation.

"…the bastard."

* * *

"Hmm…I had heard the rumor that Inari-sama had given nine tails to the youngest girl of Higashiyama, but I thought it was just a stupid joke. To think she's the one sealed inside a Jinchuuriki…this will alter the plans…"

_It also gives validity to Madara's story. There's no way in hell he could have dominated a Kyuubi…unless it was a stupid child._

"Excuse me!"

Setsuna looked down at the prone boy she was sitting on. "Do you mind? I am thinking out loud for no explainable reason."

"YOU'RE SITTING ON ME!"

"And you are awfully comfortable, I must say. Be proud of yourself."

"THE HELL?"

"You are being useful to Setsuna-sama. It is something to be proud of."

"Who the hell do you think you are, you little-"

A spark popped out of Setsuna's left index finger, and Naruto squeaked like a little girl.

"Eeek! You wonderful, beautiful, lovely Kitsune! I'll keep my mouth shut."

"Good. And you shall address me as Kiyoura-sama. Understood?"

"Hai, hai."

PZZZZT! Setsuna poked Naruto's neck and zapped him.

"Uuungh!"

**Mugyuuu!**

"One yes is enough."

"Yes ma'am."

PZZZZT!

"Gaaack!"

**Mugiiiii!**

"I'm a young, blossoming maiden. Don't be rude."

"Ha…hai…Kiyoura-sama."

Setsuna looked around at the forested place they were at. "So this is Konoha…I presume it's a training area of some sort. Am I mistaken, boya?"

"Ye-yeah, it's a training area…the village is that way."

The tiny girl followed Naruto's eye. Of course, she couldn't see anything but the silhouette of a mountain in the distance.

A very damaged mountain.

"Can you explain that? I am quite certain that mountain is not supposed to look like that."

"Ah…" Naruto sweatdropped. "Ahaha, the mountain…I might have…blown it up…just a little?"

Setsuna raised an eyebrow. Naruto was just trying not to look at her milky white thighs on his chest.

"…may I ask why?"

"Umm…ahaha…no reason?"

Setsuna closed her eyes. Naruto's body froze when her lower body shifted a bit. The way some parts of her better unnamed were rubbing against him were making him very uncomfortable.

"That is…" Setsuna actually blushed a little. "That's kinda hot."

Naruto coughed. "Wha-wait." Two blinks. "You get off on random, pointless destruction?"

"Yes. Yes, I do." Setsuna had the decency to avert her eyes from Naruto.

* * *

Kokoro chuckled the whole way to the living room (which wasn't that far anyway), letting herself fall on the sofa face-up.

"Ahahaha, oh wow, that was fun."

It was good to be a Kitsune. Sure, she was getting Naruto in unnecessary trouble, but, really, he deserved it. She had offered herself to him, for Inari's sake!

She did, however, intend to correct that situation in the following days. They were going to live together; SOMETHING **HAD **to happen, right?

RIGHT?

With a long, deep sigh, Kokoro relaxed her body, embracing herself for what was to come: the price of using Kitsune powers in a weak human frame.

"You ready, Ayame-chan?"

After she got a positive response, Kokoro dispelled the transformation. The pain struck almost immediately and Kokoro did not hesitate to flood her human host's body with her healing chakra to at least alleviate the agony for poor Ayame, who obviously had a much lower pain threshold, being a human and all.

She was sure she had not used more than six or seven jutsu in all the years she had possessed Ayame. However, she had already used two in a span of hours. It was a sign that things were changing. Only time would tell if they were changing for the better. However, no matter what happened, a constant remained.

When Kokoro left Ayame's body, the young human girl would die.

It was Kokoro's chakra which kept her alive, after all.

Ayame always insisted saying she had had a very enjoyable life, even if it was through Kokoro's actions using her body. Even if that was true, Kokoro still hoped she could give the ramen girl a little bit of real happiness before the end. It was the least she could do and, truth be told, she had grown fond of the human girl.

She was in the middle of comforting the aching, sobbing Ayame within when an unexpected but familiar presence entered the apartment through the gap of the open window. It's pearly, elongated translucent figure floated like a feather in the air above Ayame.

"Kudagitsune."

The minor fox spirits with long, pipe-like bodies acted as familiars for Kitsune. Lacking great powers, they were, however, blessed with an ethereal form that allowed them to be invisible to anyone but whomever they allowed to see them.

"A message from the Matriarch? Very well, I'm here."

* * *

Naruto took a good look at Setsuna's face. It reminded him of Yurimi in way. But, while Yurimi's face was unchanging because it was expressionless, Setsuna's was because it was fixed in a single emotion.

Boredom.

No matter what she said or did, besides her initial astonishment at being summoned and her latter…umm…'excitement' at his little blunder, Setsuna looked like she just was not interested in anything. Or maybe just annoyed, it was hard to tell.

"This…this could prove useful." Setsuna mused. She had been lost in thought for a minute already.

A rather loud growl caught the two unaware. When Naruto realize it didn't come from his stomach, he shot a grin at the little girl.

"You did not hear that."

"Sure I didn't."

Setsuna's eyes narrowed dangerously. "No, you did not."

Naruto offered a conciliating fox grin. "Right, right, I didn't! Got it."

Setsuna raised an eyebrow, but said nothing more about that. However…

"I was about to have lunch when you summoned me. Do something about it."

"Huh?"

"Feed me."

"Uhh…I…guess I can do that. Now could you please…?"

Setsuna silently got off Naruto, allowing him to get back on his feet. "Alright, to Ichiraku's!" He paused to grimace. He was not supposed to eat ramen, after all. "Augh…"

While he was sure she could follow him if he tried ninja-dashing (she was a Kitsune, after all), he didn't want to bother her unnecessarily.

You don't want to bother someone who can shoot lightning bolts from her fingertips.

Besides, he wasn't in much of a hurry. And he was kind of frustrated.

"Mou…and I wanted someone to help me and teach me cool stuff…" He muttered to himself. "…I summoned her, she should-"

"You, my boy…" Setsuna snorted. "…are a moron."

"Wha-?"

He was used to being called names, but it was still rather out of the blue.

"I have a good pair of ears." Setsuna explained in that bored, low tone of hers. "And even if I couldn't hear, I can read lips, too."

"Mou…that's mean."

"Whatever. In any case, why do you think I should obey you if it's obvious I'm a thousand times stronger than you?"

It took Setsuna almost three seconds to realize Naruto had stopped on his tracks.

"Hey…really…now that you said it…why?"

"Hmm?"

"Why **do **summons listen to summoners anyway? I mean, summons are, like, crazy-ass creatures with awesome powers, right? And they're probably stronger than ninja, huh? At least most Kitsune I know are stronger than ninja. So, why?"

"Hmmm…" Setsuna allowed herself a small smile. "There's hope for you yet. Now, move."

As they resumed their walk, Setsuna answered Naruto's question.

"Summoned creatures are not servants. A summoning contract is a bond that demands from both sides. Just like the summons help the summoner, generally by fighting for him, it is expected of the summoner to do something for the summons should they require it. I help you if you help me, so to speak."

"Hmm! Hmm!" Naruto nodded. He could actually understand this.

"Most contracts start in one of two ways. One possibility might be that the boss summon or a creature close able to make a contract sees a potential for usefulness in a particular human, so they agree on making a contract with this human so that they can, too, gain whatever could be gained from this person. For example, let's say a particular Kitsune clan wants to gain control of a certain city. They could agree to sign a contract with a human to help him become lord of that city, and this would allow the Kitsune to claim it as a supernatural domain. You with me?"

"Uhh…I…think…"

**Uhhh…head huwts…**

Setsuna rolled her eyes. "The other possibility is that a human somehow does a great service to a creature or an entire group of creatures, so they grant him the power to summon them as a means to show gratitude. Of course, even with all the gratitude in the world, they won't just work for free. The same rule of help you-help me still applies."

"Got it. So the thing is, Kitsune help me and in exchange I help them if they need me, right?"

"Right."

"Is it the same with you…" Naruto made an odd face. "…Kiyoura-sama?"

The girl snorted. "Of course. I take it you summoned me for a reason."

"Well, I wanted to summon **a **Kitsune…" Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"So it was completely random…I assume Higashiyama Sayuri gave you the contract?"

**Yup! I'm gweat!**

"Yeah. How did you-"

"Well, she is a Nine Tails. She has the power to do so. And the fact you summoned me shows that her contract is not restricted to her Clan. While Kitsune almost never make contracts with humans, there are well defined rules concerning them."

"Only Clan Leaders can create summoning contracts, and only limited to members of their respective clans and vassal families. The Clan Leader acts as the boss summon for that particular contract."

"Only Kyuubi no Kitsune have the power to create general contracts for any and all Kitsune."

"Clan-less Kitsune cannot make contracts, and are bound by contracts made by Nine-Tailed Kitsune, whether they like it or not."

Naruto blinked. "So that means Sayuri's my boss summon?"

"Yes. Of course, it's not like there's a human with enough chakra to summon a Nine-Tails."

"Huh…" Naruto suddenly smiled. "Thank you! You're a pretty good sensei, Kiyoura-sama!"

Setsuna blinked…and then blushed bright red, quickly turning her head away. "Pfft! What are you saying, idiot."

And that was when the ANBU arrived.

* * *

"And that is basically what we saw and heard." Shino finished his debriefing.

"Don't tell Hinata we told you," Kiba wisely added, as Shino acknowledged by nodding rather eagerly for him.

Chouji had notably dropped the pace at which he normally devoured snacks. Shikamaru looked as bored as ever, but his raised eyebrow showed he was at the very least interested in what had been said. Ino looked as if she had just been told everyday was her birthday.

Sakura? Sakura was giving a stronger significance to her name. Her skin's pink tone was so strong nobody would have been surprised if Chouji had tried to chew her.

"That…that…" She growled. "Naaaruuuuutoooooo!" She yelled at the uncaring sky. "That moron! Wasting his time with…with…with…argh!" Her hands made a mess of her hair. "I can't even say it!"

"Women?" Kiba suggested; his smirk coated with mischievousness.

"Waaaaaaagh!" Sakura's response.

"Hot women-whoa!"

The other rookies watched mutely how Sakura beat the living crap out of the Inuzuka. After a while, they resumed the conversation. Sakura was still pummeling Kiba, though.

"We do know that Naruto and the waitress, Ayame, have been friends for several years already. Their being together is not necessarily of special significance," Shino declared. Not that he actually believed that.

"Not like that will stop her," Ino commented amusedly, pointing at Sakura, who was by now just panting after the carnage. Chouji was offering his most compassionate look at Kiba.

"We do not know a thing about the woman, Kotonoha, other than what I have just told you."

"Then I take it you know what must be done now, Shino-kun," Ino responded teasingly, inching closer to rest her left arm on Shino's shoulder.

Shino nodded and offered the blonde girl a small smile.

Kiba gasped. Sakura was more silent: she just gaped.

"Shika, what's that black thing over there?" Chouji pointed at…something in the air in front of them.

"A tear in the fabric of the universe. Tch, now that's real troublesome."

Shino's face returned to its usual stone-cold demeanor, effectively restoring the tapestry of reality.

"Yes, yes!" Ino was frothing by this point, apparently oblivious to the dangerous unraveling of time-space which had developed in front of them a moment before. "Oh my God this is **HUGE**!"

She jumped over the counter to wrap Shino in a fierce hug, to Sakura's and Kiba's utter horror. Chouji and Shikamaru only blinked. By this point in life they were ready to expect anything from their female teammate.

"Shino-kun, you're the best!"

"Yes, I know."

"Come on, we have to find Naruto-" She paused. "Forehead, you comin' with us…Forehead?"

Sakura was gone, her face frozen in a rictus of horror.

"…Sakura?" Ino insisted.

"Wha…wha…wha…"

"I think she is broken," Shino commented.

"Naaah, you think?" Kiba exclaimed. "You suddenly come in and Ino gets all girly-giddy and huggy and stuff! And you smiled! You **SMILED**, man! Like, seriously creepy! Like, Sasuke in lace-creepy!"

"Oi!" Ino complained. "My Sasuke-kun is very manly."

Kiba's face became deadpan. "Sure." He nodded slowly. "Very manly. I bow before his manliness. My dick shrinks before his manly presence."

"Ugh…" Ino made a disgusted face at Kiba's rude language.

"Wha…wha…" Sakura was still in her own, crumbling world.

Kiba turned back to Shino.

"Really, WHAT THE HELL? You **smile**, and you and Ino act like best girlfriends and shit! And Naruto's got a girl! No, TWO girls! TWO HAWT GURLZ! NARUTO! What's next? Hinata snaps and starts attacking people with sharp, pointy things?"

* * *

"At-choo!"

Sitting on the wooden walkways of the Higashiyama residence, the matriarch, Higashiyama Yuri, turned to look at her companion for the afternoon. Having already sent a Kudagitsune to her informant, Katsura Kokoro, the Matriarch of Higashiyama could only wait.

Over tea, of course.

"A cold, Kotonoha?"

"No…" Yurimi's bodyguard rubbed her nose while she made an odd, yet cute, face. "Not a cold, Yuri-sama. I guess someone must be talking about me…or unknowingly making an indirect reference to future events in which I'm somehow involved, most likely with disastrous but fairly amusing consequences."

Yuri only blinked. Twice.

"Uhh…okay…"

* * *

"Kiba, has anybody told you that you are too loud?" Ino commented, still clinging to Shino's neck.

"Dozens of times," Shino uttered.

"Aaaargh!" Kiba groaned. "It's like I don't know you anymore!"

"You've never made any effort to know me. Ever."

"Uhh…auuu…oh, fuck you, Shino."

"WHAT THE HELL?"

"Oh, welcome back," Ino commented on Sakura's sudden outburst. The pink-haired girl only shot an accusing finger at her blonde friend.

"You. Explain. **Now**."

Ino shrugged. "What's there to explain? Shino-kun here is my informant."

"Haa?"

"He feeds me with juicy gossip. I don't know how he does it, but he knows everything that's going on in Konoha all the time! Everything!"

Sakura mutely shifted her eyes from Ino to Shino.

"I'm awesome like that," the bug manipulator added.

"I can't believe this…" Sakura was shaking her head. "So all this time, your reputation…"

"Yup." Ino nodded. "Shino's the one who gets the scoops. I just make sure the whole village knows by the end of twenty minutes."

"Dude."

Shino turned to his teammate. "What is it?"

"What do you mean 'what'? DUDE!"

The boy in shades managed to somehow understand what Kiba tried to express. "…everyone needs a hobby."

Kiba gaped at Shino for the good part of five seconds…and then sighed. "I give up. I just…I give up. Forget I said anything. Just to let you know: no matter what road in life you decide to take, you can count on your teammate."

Akamaru barked for good measure.

"That's…good to know. I think."

"Okay…" Sakura rubbed the sides of her head. "That's one matter solved. Now, what's this about Naruto?"

Kiba took the initiative. "A **chick**! Naruto! With the **ramen** **chick**! The **cute ramen chick**!"

"And Kotonoha-san," Shino added.

"That goes without saying." Kiba stopped his eyes in mid-roll. He turned to Sakura. "Wasn't he supposed to have a crush on you?"

Suddenly feeling the center of attention, Sakura tried to shrink herself without success, until she realized Kiba was talking about Naruto. "Wha-what? Who cares about that?" She exclaimed, turning away from the others but unable to hide the faint blush or the puffed cheeks.

Shino leaned to whisper. "Is that what they call 'tsundere'?"

Ino nodded, sporting the widest grin.

"…not my thing."

Ino had to close her mouth with her hands to not laugh.

Kiba frowned, suddenly taking a good look at the girl in the red cheongsam. "I never really figured that out. I mean, you really don't have much to show…"

"WHA-"

"…but, now that I think about it, it would explain things. I bet a second staring at Kotonoha's tits made him forget all about ya."

"WHA-? Y-You…" Sakura growled with a feral tone that would have been more suitable in a…well, in an Inuzuka.

Shino, however, nodded in agreement. "Well, they **are **huge."

Shikamaru and Chouji, who were hoping against all hope they could stay away for the madness unfolding in front of them, backed away a few steps, ready to get away at the first chance. They would look for more distressed civilians or Asuma-sensei or whatever.

Ino shot an odd look at her partner in mischief.

"What? They are really huge. Gigantic, even."

"I can't believe it you're saying that." Ino responded, a bit miffed.

"It is unimportant. I am more of an ass person myself."

Everybody gaped.

Ino inched away from Shino, keeping always her back (and her rear) away from his line of sight.

"It is…slightly late for that."

Ino tried not to scream.

She failed.

Her teammates ran away.

* * *

If there is something that must be known about the ANBU, it is the following.

On approximately 98% of the time, they are complete idiots. The remaining 2% they are totally hardcore badasses, but most of the time they're just morons. This 2% corresponds to circumstances in which the wellbeing of Konoha is in jeopardy, like, well, a full-scale war situation. The current situation is more like they THINK Konoha is in danger, but it really isn't, so it doesn't apply.

Therefore, they are idiots.

That probably explains why a second team of investigators appeared before Naruto and Setsuna, unaware that just a few minutes before another couple had cleared Naruto thanks to Kokoro's little stunt.

Or it could just be an unfortunate coincidence. It would not change the fact that they are idiots, though.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

_Ugh…_

"Umm…yo!" Naruto faked a hearty greeting, scratching the back of his head. Setsuna shot a cold stare at the ANBU.

"We need to ask you some questions."

"Uhh…you are…Tiger-san and…Boar-san?" The ANBU nodded. Naruto willed himself to be calmer. They would feel his distress. "This, this is about the mountain, right? Why didn't you ask one of my clones? I have like a hundred helping over there."

The two ANBU shot uneasy glances at each other. They had honestly never thought about it. But, still, they had to find the real one, right? If they were talking Naruto to HQ for interrogation, that is.

"Clones?" Setsuna raised her voice. She could not let these people take Naruto away. "You mean, tangible clones?"

"Um!" Naruto smiled. Not only was he always willing to brag about his trademark jutsu, but the extra seconds allowed the gears in his head to run wild. "Shadow Clones! Remind me to show you sometime."

"Hmm…" Setsuna, a genius among Kitsune, conceived a plan of her own much faster than Naruto could even hope to.

Her face contorting into a mischievous smirk, she locked her left arm around Naruto's right, even placing her right hand on his forearm and leaning against him. Suddenly, so suddenly it almost scared Naruto, her smirk became a soft, warm, affectionate smile.

"Maybe you can show me tonight, o-ni-ii-chan~" she said, poking his forearm with every phoneme.

**Mugiiii!**

_Sayuri, whatever you're thinking, DON'T!_

**Sayuri angwy! Sayuri buuurns!**

While Sayuri channeled The Hulk (if The Hulk could set things on fire at will, which would be utter overkill) and Naruto's mind struggled to keep her down by whispering sweet nothings and empty promises at her, Setsuna faced the two ANBU.

These guys were old enough to recognize innuendo, so they got a bit tense as their warped minds tried to establish the association between Naruto and this unknown loli. They also realized it was nigh impossible to read any emotion from her face other than a clear "why the hell are you wasting my time?"

"We need to discard the possibility of Naruto-san's involvement in the events of earlier today."

"The mountain? Onii-chan was sleeping when that happened. He is a very heavy sleeper; I had to wake him to up to show him. Onii-chan wanted to go but I didn't want him to leave me. He only left me for a minute, I guess that is when he made these clones he mentioned? Right, onii-chan?"

Her voice had been soft and serene the whole time. When she looked at him, Naruto almost fell on his knees to worship his new Goddess of Bullshitting. Another part of him was terrified beyond belief, though.

"Ah! Umm…" _Sayuri! Be quiet, I BEG you! We'll talk when these guys are done! _"Right, right, sleeping, ahahaha…"

"And why would you be sleeping at that time, Naruto-san?" Tiger inquired.

"Huh? Why? Well…" Naruto's eyes wandered for a couple of seconds. "…because I'm really, really, reaaaaaally lazy?"

Silence.

Setsuna suppressed the urge to boil Naruto's internal fluids with lightning.

The two ANBU looked at each other. "Well…" Tiger muttered. "…it does match our profile of him."

Setsuna almost gaped.

Complete idiots.

Setsuna did manage to recover her composure. "Oh, onii-chan, you're so…" Naruto almost flinched at the light slap he got on the arm.

_All cutesy and nice and stuff…damn she's scary!_

**Onii-chan is Sayuri's onii-chan! Mugiiiiii!**

_Oh, come on, you're mad because she's calling me that! It's part of the trick! To make them go away!_

**Mugyuu…I don't care. I don't wike her!**

"Ufufu…" Her low-pitched chuckle seriously freaked Naruto out. "I made onii-chan wake up very early this morning to show me around Konoha. I had not let him sleep at all last night; he was so tired…"

"What were you doing the whole night?" Boar did not hesitate to ask, getting a frightened look (which nobody did see) from Tiger.

"Yeah, what were we doing last night?" Naruto repeated, his face wearing a mask of suspicion.

Setsuna gasped.

_Oh, that's not good._

She dropped her head, her front bangs concealing her big red eyes. An idle finger repeatedly traced a line up and down Naruto's right bicep.

"Uuu, mou! You are really gonna make me say it…"

She looked up.

Naruto found Setsuna's fake embarrassed face the most adorable thing ever conceived by a mortal mind. From someone who has a loli in his belly, that means a lot.

"Mou…onii-chan, you ecchi."

"Geh." That was Naruto. And the two ANBU guys. At the same time.

"Uh…so…he has an alibi…" Boar muttered, uneasy.

"Um…yeah…"

Naruto gasped. He could feel the two shinobi's disapproving, accusing gazes on him.

Setsuna kept doing her best "young, innocent and head-over-heels in love" performance. It was pretty damn good, having being one many years before.

The foxgirl squeezed Naruto's arms gently and pushed herself against his right side. Naruto felt as if he had just been rammed by a very soft wall.

"So, onii-chan's been showing me around Konoha…and his room, too." She dealt the finishing blow, dropping her tone to a shy whisper for the last words.

"Kyaa!" She buried her face in Naruto's chest.

"Ugh…we're done here."

With no other words, Tiger and Boar disappeared from the scene.

After five seconds of silently holding each other, Naruto and Setsuna sighed in unison and let go.

Ka-poosh!

Setsuna's head was on fire.

"…ow."

"Sayuri…"

**Mugyuu…**

…_good job!_

**Wah? Weally? Waaaaaaaai!**

Wiggle, wiggle.

"May I have an explanation for this?" Setsuna firmly asked as she dispelled the flames away. Naruto shrugged and smiled compassionately.

"I think she got jealous of you calling me onii-chan."

"…I see."

Naruto made a dismissing gesture with his left hand. "Don't mind, don't mind. Sayuri does this all the time. She's even set own sister on fire."

**I was angwy. **Sayuri pouted.

"I was surprised she hadn't done it yet, actually." Naruto added, albeit a bit nervously.

_Yeah, Sayuri, why did you wait so long to set her on fire, anyway?_

**She called you onii-chan! Onii-chan is Sayuri's onii-chan! No one else's!**

_Yeah, I know that…but didn't the lightning bolts make you angry? Didn't those bother you?_

**Ah…when Sayuri got the first one Sayuri didn't wike it, so Sayuri shut it off. Sayuri didn't feel the other ones.**

_Then why have you been making those weird noises of yours every time?_

'**coz Sayuri's scawed! 'coz onii-chan…onii-chan doesn't wike those things, ne? Onii-chan is taking them, even if he doesn't wike them; even if they annoy him. Sayuri doesn't wike that!**

Naruto sighed and smiled gently. _Sayuri…_

**Sayuri…Sayuri weally wants to set her on fire, but mama told me it was bad to set other Kitsune on fire. Sayuri's a good girl, so she can't set Setsuna-san on fire. Sayuri was a bad girl when she set Yurimi-nee-chan's tail on fire, but I was…I was so weally, weally angwy! And now…now Sayuri has set Setsuna-san on fire…**

**Onii-chan…**

Naruto almost flinched at Sayuri's pleading tone.

**Is Sayuri a bad girl? Will onii-chan hate Sayuri? Bu-but onii-chan compwimented Sayuri when Sayuri set Setsuna-san on fire…mugyuu…I'm confused…**

Naruto chuckled. _Don't be silly. You didn't hurt her at all, anyway. You…You've been with me since the day I was born, even if we just met yesterday…and I…I don't think…no, I'm sure. Ever since I became friends with Iruka-sensei, nobody has cared for me the way you do._

Naruto had dropped the tone of his mental voice as he said those words.

**Mugyuu?**

_Kami, that doesn't even make me wonder anymore. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that you're my friend! My very precious friend! Even if you're Kitsune; heck, even if you have those fricking nine-tails…_

**They're pwetty.**

_Yes, very much so! _Naruto grinned joyfully. From a distance, Setsuna raised an eyebrow. _Sayuri's very nice and very cute, and I will always be her friend! Believe it!_

**Uhh…don't say that again, onii-chan. It's not cool.**

_Uh? What? You mean 'believe it'? Oh…okay. It's not like I say it all the time, anyway, this isn't the dub…_

Sayuri gasped.

…_wait, what?_

**O-Onii-chan! Onii-chan bwoke the Fourth Wall! Onii-chan's awesome!**

_Wha-what are you talking about? What's a dub anyway?_

**Waaaaaai! **Wiggle, wiggle. **Onii-chan's the best! Onii-chan! Onii-chan, I wuv yuu!**

Naruto sweatdropped. _Ah…uhh…okay…as long as you're happy._

**Onii-chan…onii-chan, you make Sayuri weally, weaaaaally happy.**

Sayuri's voice seemed almost shy at this point. No other female Naruto had ever met, human or Kitsune, could infuse such sweetness in her voice the way this Sayuri did.

'**coz Sayuri's happy with onii-chan, Sayuri wants to be close to onii-chan. Always, always, aaaaaaaalways have fun together, ne?**

Naruto found such openness very touching. Had he ever had somebody so willing to open her soul to him like that? Someone to whom he was so very special?

It was at this moment when Naruto began to take seriously his intention to free her from the seal that contained, at any cost. She deserved to be free. She deserved to live, to grow and to learn how to properly use the power she wielded.

And he wanted, if only once, to feel her in his arms in the real world. To be with his best and closest friend.

**Will you always be my onii-chan?**

Naruto felt a painful shock in his chest. His body went rigid and his eyes watered. Nonetheless, he nodded firmly.

_Yes. Forever and ever._

Sayuri sighed. It was almost symbolic. All her childish doubts and fears were gone and only absolute happiness remained. She closed her eyes and smiled. Tears of joy ran down. She was experiencing an entirely new emotion.

She would later find out it was called ecstasy.

**I wuv yuu, onii-chan.**

Naruto wiped a tear off his right eye.

…_I love you too, Sayuri._

For some reason, Sayuri, for once, did not feel the urge to go "waaaaaaaai!" and wiggle her tails happily. This time, the warmth in her chest was so strong it made her shudder. It was electric; a current that raced from her chest to both her face and her loins. She closed her own arms around her tiny body and enclosed her tails to wrap her in a furry cocoon.

Little innocent Sayuri sunk her blushing face in her legs, rubbed her legs together and basked in the warmth of her happiness.

* * *

"No."

Naruto stopped in the middle of the busy street.

After apologizing to Setsuna for making her wait and explaining to her that he had to speak to Sayuri for a while, they resumed their walk to Konoha with the intention to feed the Kitsune loli.

He occasionally got questions from a strangely curious Setsuna. She asked about particular buildings and about Konoha's reaction to his little mishap. They also finished their earlier conversation about summoning. He learned that, just as the summoned creature has the right to reject the summons, an already summoned creature has the chance to reject the summoner's attempt at dismissal, as long as the summoned has enough chakra to persist. It then becomes a contest of wills.

It was Setsuna's not-very-subtle way to tell him that he was stuck with her until she felt like leaving.

Naruto had, however, stopped in the middle off the street without previous warning, startling little Setsuna.

"No!" Naruto exclaimed again, suddenly walking at an increased pace. Setsuna, wearing her ever-present bored expression, followed him at her own pace.

"No, no, no, no, no, no!" Naruto felt his legs weaken and tremble. The destruction…the emptiness…

"No…"

Naruto fell on his knees.

His bloodshot eyes were fixated on the giant nose of the Third Hokage; the nose which had destroyed the Ichiraku family's small house, as well as the furthermost wall (from where he was standing) of the restaurant booth.

"Naruto…"

The boy looked at the owner of the place he had come to love as a second home; a place where he could share smiles and laughs over bowls and bowls of delicious ramen.

"Old man…Teuchi-san…you okay?"

"Hmm." Teuchi nodded. He was wearing and sad smile. He shot a look at Setsuna, who finally caught up to the devastated boy, but otherwise ignored her. He had plenty other things in his mind, but he could not help to feel a pang of bitterness. Naruto was bringing a friend to his restaurant. It was not something he did often, not even with his ninja friends (especially not with his ninja friends). It was a special event that would not be able to take place.

"Ichiraku's?" Naruto asked weakly. Teuchi shook his head very slowly.

"It's closed."

Naruto's eyes widened considerably. His body went rigid like stone. It was as if he had been stunned by a physical hit.

"!"

**Ah…the wamen place…**

Setsuna was waiting for the starry background, the credits and the Star Wars theme music when she felt a pair of strong hands grabbing her waist.

"Wha-ah!"

Naruto buried her face on the soft fabric of her plain sundress. Setsuna could feel her face heating up, but otherwise her expression did not change.

"Are you crying?"

Naruto hugged tighter. Then he sobbed.

"This can't be happening."

"Oh Kami you are crying."

"It can't be true…it can't be true!" Naruto's muffled voice bounced off Setsuna's belly between sobs. Teuchi patted Naruto's shoulder two times before walking away. As much as he understood Naruto's pain, he had matters to attend to.

**Onii-chan…**

"For Kami's sake, it's just a restaurant."

"IT'S NOT JUST A RESTAURANT!" Naruto yelled, startling everyone in a fifty-meter radius.

**Mugiiii!**

Teuchi turned back to look at the boy with fatherly pride.

"It's…it's…it's a special place! A special, precious, wonderful place!" Naruto insisted. He stared up at Setsuna's bored face, as if challenging to retort, until his eyes watered again and he went back to staining her dress with tears.

**Onii-chan…pwease don't cwy…pwease…it huhts…'coz onii-chan's cwying, it huhts so much…Sayuri huhts…onii-chan…**

Sayuri was pleading between sobs of her own.

Setsuna? Well, she sighed. Clumsily, she dropped a hand on Naruto's mop of hair and patted him awkwardly.

"There, there…" Setsuna muttered matter-of-factly. "Hmm…surprisingly soft…if a bit greasy."

Against all odds, clumsy head-patting achieved the desired effect (which probably has something to do with Naruto's deplorable lack of decent human affection), eventually soothing down the devastated young boy.

"It's gone…" Naruto moaned. "It's really gone…what am I gonna do? Where am I gonna go?"

"Don't exaggerate. It will be rebuilt, eventually."

"But where will I go to until then? Where will I have my delicious ramen?" Naruto frantically insisted.

Setsuna twitched.

"…ramen?"

"…eh?"

Naruto did not like the dark aura that seemed to seep out of Setsuna's tiny body.

"Did you intend to feed me…ramen?"

"…what? What's wrong…?"

Naruto could swear the world around them began to distort and darken in aberrant ways.

"Is this your game, boya?" A cold, deathly mist seeped out of Setsuna's mouth. Her eyes had long ago being concealed under her loose forehead locks. "Feed me ramen and take advantage of me in my weakness?"

"Wha-?" Naruto finally figured out that Setsuna, as most Kitsune, was susceptible to his favorite meal. "Wha-? No! I mean, it's a ramen stand, but they can make other-"

"When did you intend to make me do your bidding?" Setsuna's shoulders were shaking. She was deaf to Naruto's explanation. "Before or after you had your way with my body?"

"WHAT? NO!" Naruto jumped to his feet. "KAMI, NO! KAMI! DAMN! I MEAN, JUST…" He extended his open left palm at Setsuna, in a displaying gesture. "…JUST NO! REALLY! UGH! I MEAN, YOU'RE JUST SO…FUCKING…**TINY**!"

With that, the evil aura and the spatial distortions were gone. All signs of Setsuna's impending fury had disappeared…save for a twitching vein on her forehead.

The lesson here is, well, this guy, Naruto?

Not very smart.

"…_vous mourrez_."

A few seconds later, Naruto was a smoking pile on the ground. Conveniently enough, nobody saw. Naruto stood up in single, fluid motion, his face a rictus of anger.

"That's it; I won't take this crap any-hiiiiiiiiii!"

A few more seconds later, Naruto was a twitching, smoking pile on the ground.

"Too loud. _Silence_."

This time struggling a bit, Naruto got back on his feet.

"Y-You…you little bi-iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!"

"Hmm…" Setsuna mused, dispassionately looking down at the groaning, twitching, smoking pile on the ground. "…not even Madara gets shocked this often. Maybe if I shock him some more I'll find out whether it was my shocks that turned Madara into a bumbling idiot. Then again, this boy's already a bumbling idiot…"

"U-Ugh…"

**Onii-chan, you okay?**

_Uuuuu…what do YOU think?_

**Muuu…no?**

Naruto would have rolled his eyes…if his brain did not hurt so much. _Good girl._

**Te-he! Onii-chan pwaised me!**

"Let's go." Setsuna walked away. "I can handle a day without lunch. We have places to go."

"Really…" Naruto murmured weakly, but got back up and walked after her.

* * *

"Well, here we are. Dunno why you want to see a stupid wall, but here it is."

As per Setsuna's request, Naruto had guided her to a deserted area by the colossal wall that protected Konoha from external attack. The little girl discarded her stay thoughts and placed the palm of her right hand on the surface. In the meantime, Setsuna had clearly explained to Naruto the alibi she had imprinted in the ANBU's minds, so that he would keep it in mind in case anybody asked him.

"Hmm…interesting." Lowering her hand, she turned to Naruto. "How far are the watch posts from each other?"

Naruto shrugged. "No idea."

Setsuna sighed. "Of course you don't know." Naruto gasped when she made the all-too familiar hand sign. "_**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**_."

"You know the drill," Setsuna told her clone, who nodded before disappearing ninja-style. Then she turned to the pointing, gaping Naruto. "What now?"

"You-you know _**Kage Bunshin**_?"

Setsuna rolled her eyes. "Yes, the fact that I **used it just now** certainly proves that I do, in fact, know _**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**_." Aware that her sarcasm-laden answer did not satisfy the boy (he hadn't even stopped pointing at her), she expanded her answer.

"I have learned a few human Ninjutsu. I must admit that one was the most difficult technique I've learned. Most Kitsune would never be able to pull it off."

It was, then, her turn to be curious.

"…which is why I was surprised when you claimed to know it. How come you even know of it, boya?"

Naruto felt as if someone had just hit him in the gut. "It's…it's the only decent thing I know…" Kotonoha's harsh lesson came to mind. Setsuna, if she noticed the sudden change in Naruto's attitude, simply didn't care in the slightest.

"Do you know the three basic E-ranks? _**Henge**_, _**Bunshin**_ and _**Kawarimi**_?"

"My _**Bunshin**_ sucks. The other two I can do fine," Naruto admitted. Setsuna shrugged and turned back to the wall. She was looking up, as if trying to get an estimate of its height.

"Then why do you complain, boya? With those basics and _**Kage Bunshin**_ you have more than enough to become the strongest shinobi…if you are able to exploit those techniques to their full potential, of course."

"Then again, you're a moron, so I guess that possibility is simply beyond your grasp."

"Oi!" Naruto was too depressed to complain any further. "Mugyuu…"

"…mugyuu?"

"Forget it."

* * *

In the vast garden of the Higashiyama Shrine, Yurina and Yuriyo trained for a change.

It was a rather simple training. Yuriyo said the name of an object and Yurina crafted an illusion of that object only Yuriyo could see.

"Ooh, that was a nice white tiger. Now, umm…let's see…a cherry tree. In full bloom, of course!"

"Hai, onee-chan."

Five seconds later, Yuriyo smiled in marvel.

"Ah, now this is pretty…but it did take you a while, didn't it?"

"Bu-but…" Yurina pouted. "It's a bit difficult, with all the leaves and the flowers…"

"Hum…I guess. I'd probably take longer," Yuriyo joked, but nodded in acknowledgement. "Alright, now…umm…The World!"

Yurina looked oddly at her sister, but got to work.

While Yurina tried to make an illusion of a Stand, Yuri and Kotonoha received had their cups of tea refilled by the ever-attentive Yurine.

"Thank you very much, Yurine-sama." Kotonoha inclined her head in gratitude.

"Hawaa…don't mention it."

"Thank you, my dear," Yuri also thanked her daughter, raising a hand to gently pat her head.

"Hawawa…" Yurine murmured blissfully, her five tails wiggling in response.

"Whooo, awesome!" Yuriyo exclaimed excitedly before crossing her arms and making a stern face. "_ZA WARUDO_! _Toki wo tomare_…"

Yurina could only sweatdrop while her sister made numerous knife-throwing motions.

"Now that I think about it, your daughter was acting a bit strange at lunch, wasn't she, Yurine?"

"Hawa?" Yurine tilted her head. "My daughter?"

"Yuriyo-chan." The silver-haired matriarch specified. "She was unusually…surmise?"

Two pillars to the left, Yurimi's sneeze interrupted her reading session.

"Would you happen to know anything, Kotonoha?" Yuri inquired from the swordswoman.

"Well, from what I could get…" Kotonoha nodded to Yurine as the second lily sat to her right. "…it seems that Yuriyo-sama affronted Yuria-sama in some way, so Yuria-sama decided to punish her."

Yurine puffed her cheeks cutely. "Mou, that girl! And I keep telling her to be more respectful! Sorry, mama."

"Maa, it's okay, it's okay, it's the sort of girl she is." Yuri dismissed her daughter's concern. In the distance, Yuriyo was struggling: Yurina had challenged her to make an illusion of Exodia, The Forbidden One. "So…what sort of punishment are we talking about here?"

"The sexual sort."

"Oh." Yuri smiled at the sight of Yurine's face gaining a healthy shade of red. "Oh, look at you. You're a five-tails and you're blushing like that."

"Hawawa…bu-but, it's my daughter…she hasn't even mated yet…"

"Well, you got a point there…" Yuri acknowledged.

At this point the sisters had switched to target practice. It was Yuriyo's turn to try her luck with her Kitsune Fire. The target? Yurina's own Kitsune Fire.

"So, are you and your daughters ready to go?"

"Hawa? Ah, um! Yes, mama." Yurine nodded eagerly. "Well, the girls are not really taking much…I think Yurina-chan is taking more books than anything else. Yuriyo-chan, other than a few pieces of underwear, is not taking much of anything else."

"Remind her that we'll be sleeping outdoors. Her usual nightwear might not be appropriate."

Yuriyo knew she was sexy and liked to feel sexy. Her sleeping attire usually consisted of either her bathrobe or very, very erotic lingerie.

"She'll probably switch to fox form." Yurine explained; words her mother acknowledged with a curt nod. "What about Yurimi-chan?"

"Yurimi-sama was been ready for this trip before Yuri-sama even announced it."

Yuri giggled quietly, demurely covering her lips with the ample sleeve of her yukata. "Maa, I guess."

"Oi! Yuriyo!"

The beautiful two-tails stiffened, resulting in a fireball almost exploding on her face had it not been for her sister's quick reflexes dispelling it in time. Yuria had shown up, walking leisurely with her hands on the back of her head.

"Riyo, I'm feeling kinda lazy today, do you think you can make my luggage for me?" Yuria struck, ignoring the mild disapproving looks she got from the three elder Kitsune seated to her left.

"Mou, Yuria-chan, that's not nice…"

"Sa, don't worry, Yurine, I already made my luggage, anyway," Yuria admitted in a lower tone.

"Not my place to intrude, but don't you think you have bothered Yuriyo-sama enough, Yuria-sama?" Kotonoha questioned.

"Yeah, I know, but it's still amusing."

While Yuria conversed with her sister and her other sister's guardian, Yuri had her eyes on the scene in front of her, some meters away. Yurina was looking worriedly at her fraternal twin.

"Riyo-chan…"

The brunette was shaking, gritting her teeth and clenching her fists for all their worth. When a low snarl escaped her lips, Yurina's look became anguished.

"Riyo-chan, ple-please calm-ah!"

Yuri's eyes narrowed when Yurina moved to her sister's side, obviously to cover her from sight. But the matriarch had seen.

_As I thought, she already…_

"Riyo-nee-chan, calm down! The black…"

Yuriyo looked at her left arm; at the blackness that was taking over her skin. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and tried to ease her stormy emotions.

Yurina silently watched the darkness claim her arm past her sister's elbow and move further down. It also peaked out of Yuriyo's clothes to go up her neck towards her head and the opposite arm…until it stopped.

"Riyo-nee-chan…"

"There." Yuriyo let go a deep sigh. "Better."

Indeed, the blackness rapidly receded until it disappeared under her wine-colored "kunoichi garb" (which wasn't such, as it was made of silk). Yuriyo smiled and nodded to herself.

"See? That's why I always keep you close, sis."

"Riyo-nee-chan…let's rest for now, ne?"

"Sure."

Yurina wrapped her right arm around her sister's left and pulled her towards the others. Yuriyo dared shoot a glance at Yuria, but she, much to her surprise (and relief), she saw no hidden intent on her aunt's face. Yuria was leaning against the wooden pillar to Yurine's right, looking rather bored.

"How is it that Yuria-sama is not training?" Yurina wondered. Yuria shrugged.

"I trained plenty enough this morning," the shortest lily (after Sayuri) replied, shooting a wink at the sisters. Yurina released a quiet "oh!" and blushed bright red. Yuriyo only groaned.

"Is everything well, Yuriyo?" Yuri asked to her granddaughter, who turned to stare at the matriarch with wide, surprised eyes.

_She knows._

"_I know."_

Yuriyo blinked. She did not expect telepathy.

"_We will talk about this. Later."_

…_very well._

Yurina, who had reached the same conclusion as her sister, smiled compassionately. _Well, this is Yuri-sama we're talking about._

Any further attempt at conversation was interrupted by an odd, if not unusual, scene.

"Hawawa…Sayoko-san." Yurine made everybody aware of the latest arrival to the garden.

Kurosaki Sayoko, seemingly unaware of so many eyes on her, walked off the wooden path and entered the large garden of the Higashiyama shrine grounds, her slow gait obviously aimed at reaching the tallest, bulkiest tree in the place. Her hands carried a wooden bench and a bundle of thick rope. With her messy long black hair and tail, her bored dark eyes and her slumped posture, she made for quite a pathetic sight. The wrinkles in her blue robe and the violet cowl she wore on top showed that she was wearing the clothes she had slept in, as she had not shown up for lunch.

She had, however, shown up at breakfast. Apparently she had just awakened from a very long morning nap.

"Hawawa…" Yurine uttered as Sayoko gently placed the bench under a thick, low branch and began to work with the rope. "…she's gonna try to hang herself…um, again."

Everyone nodded. Sayoko was done making the noose by this point. Carefully getting on the bench, she proceeded to tie it to the branch. She was having some trouble with this because the bench wasn't tall enough, so she had to tiptoe to barely reach.

"Nobody's gonna stop her?" Yurine inquired. Everyone shrugged. She seemed to be the only one worried about Sayoko.

With the rope tied to the branch, and still on the tips of her toes, Sayoko slid her head through the noose and tightened it around her neck. Somehow she was still unaware of the audience watching her attempted suicide attempt, or she just was really good at ignoring people.

With the rope firmly secured, she dropped her arms…and nothing happened.

The audience of seven watched in undisguised boredom as Sayoko simply stood on the bench, balancing herself on the tips of her toes.

Nothing happened.

A whole minute passed.

Nothing happened.

"Auuu…" Sayoko whined.

Another half minute.

Nothing happened.

For the first time, Sayoko turned to look at Yuri.

"Auuu…?" She whined again. Yuri responded with a gentle smile.

"What is it, Sayoko-san?"

"Auuu…"

"Could it be that the bench is too low and Sayoko-san can't kick it off?"

"Auuu…"

"And also…might it be that the rope is too short and Sayoko-san cannot simply let herself go?"

"Auuu…"

"Does that mean that Sayoko-san is basically stuck in that position?"

"Auuu…"

"Wow, that's just sad," Yuria muttered, and everybody else actually nodded in agreement.

That's when Sayoko's tired legs gave in. The noose pulled her up before her feet could touch the bench, making Sayoko swing her legs forwards. The friction of her toes as they slid on the surface was enough to tilt the bench and make it fall, leaving Sayoko hanging from the noose, the way it was intended to.

"Hawa! Sa-Sayoko-san!" Yurine cried.

"Oh my," Yuri muttered. Yuria dismissed the whole thing.

"Oh come on, as if you didn't know better. This is Sayoko-san we're talking about."

As if on cue, the branch broke and Sayoko fell on her butt rather harshly.

"Auuu…" Sayoko pouted. Whether it was because of the fall or because of the failed attempt, nobody will ever know.

And that's when the branch fell on her head.

"Auuuuuu…." Sayoko moaned one last time as she fell into blissful unconsciousness.

"See what I mean?" Yuria added.

* * *

After making a long walk alongside the wall, Naruto took his companion for a tour of the different sections of Konoha. The clone never returned, which Naruto realized meant it had dispelled itself somewhere to transfer her knowledge to the original Setsuna.

And this is how Naruto figured out the main application of that trick.

Setsuna simply ignored him when he suddenly went "Ooooh! **Now **I get it!" for no apparent reason.

As he guided the loli Kitsune all over his hometown, she bombarded him with all sorts of unusual questions: ANBU standard equipment, village surveillance patterns, distribution of population density, vigilance of open areas, evacuation procedures, location of shelters for civilians in case of emergency, approximate number of shinobi in each rank.

Obviously, Naruto didn't have answers for most of Setsuna's crazy questions, but he kept her attention by reassuring her that he had the text books from the Academy which would probably be useful. In any case, she also sent a clone to the library after Naruto showed her where it was located.

They were actually inside the Hokage Mountain. Naruto had not forgotten the time Iruka caught him before he could get away in time to skip the evacuation rehearsal. He still (sorta) remembered the route, and was showing Setsuna around the network of caves and passages. As the Pwetty Beam (Naruto decided he really needed to think of a new name) only went through the faces and did not travel through the bulk of the mountain itself, the vast majority (as in, 97%) of the tunnel system was intact, save for a few fallen crates here and there due to the trembling. Access routes, however, were another thing, and it took a while for Naruto and Setsuna to find a way inside the mountain that was not covered by rocks or guarded by ANBU. Or both.

"I really don't see why you think this is so interesting." Naruto, hands behind his head, stared doubtfully at the girl who seemed intent on examining the goods kept for storage in case of emergency.

"Of course you don't," Setsuna responded without keeping her eyes off the labeled shelves, crates and sacks. "That's why you're an idiot."

"Do you **always** have an insult for everything I say?"

"It's not that hard."

"Well…" Naruto rolled his eyes. "…as long as you're having fun…"

"I wouldn't precisely call it 'fun'…" Setsuna mused as she eyed a cluster of small rectangular boxes cluttering a whole shelf. "…but it is certainly interesting. I thank you for the opportunity."

"Hmm…" Naruto couldn't stop himself from smiling a little. "…anytime."

"We're still stopping by your residence later," Setsuna stated.

"Right, right."

"My, oh, my!" A disturbingly familiar voice sent chills down Naruto's spine and made Setsuna raise an eyebrow.

**Munya?**

Naruto couldn't even dare to turn around, because he knew **she **would be there.

"Not the kind of place I'd want to be brought for a secret affair, kid, but I give you points for kinkiness."

"Cree…creepy examiner lady-OW! What the hell was THAT?"

"A kunai on your buttcheeks," the voice eagerly replied before a pair of arms wrapped themselves around Naruto's neck from behind. "I do have a name, you know." The voice said to his left ear. Naruto shuddered again, unsure of whether it was because of her breathing on his ear and neck or because of her sheer presence.

"Uhh…umm…"

"…you don't remember my name, do you?"

Naruto didn't respond. He only gulped. It was a good thing he didn't see the almost deranged smirk on the woman's face.

"Well, let's do something about THAT!"

The hapless hero only reacted when his instinct warned him of sudden motion behind him. Poised for whatever could come at him, Naruto witnessed how the former examiner made an amazing contortion in midair at the same time she drew two kunai (from where? Naruto did **not** want to know) and threw them at the rocky wall to her left (Naruto's and Setsuna's right). Falling straight on her two feet, she made a half-seal, which made the two kunai release small bursts of smoke as two banners emerged from them and tiny fireworks exploded all over the small cavern.

"_**Most beautiful, deadly and outright awesome maiden of Konoha."**_

"_**SPECIAL JOUNIN Mitarashi Anko!"**_

They read.

Naruto blinked. "Uhh…"

Orochimaru's apprentice smirked widely. "Yeah, that's the usual reaction."

Setsuna seemed unfazed by the whole thing, but her crimson eyes were fixed on Anko's figure.

"Wha-what the hell are you doing here?" Naruto complained rather loudly. Anko leaned forward, resting her arms on his shoulders. Firecrackers still exploded around the trio, showering the room with lights and sparks.

"Checking the evacuation routes and shelters to make sure everything's in order. Basic procedure, boy."

_Especially with the threat of Orochimaru lurking around…_

"Now…" Anko's smirk turned outright devilish. "I could ask the same of you, boy, but we know the answer is obvious." She patted Naruto's left shoulder for good measure. "Bringing your girl for some healthy fun where you though nobody would find ya, huh? Not bad, kid."

Naruto actually caught the innuendo and responded accordingly. Well…maybe not.

"Wha-wha-wha-**NO**! **GOD**! Sheesh! Are you crazy?" He paused. "Wait, you are. You're crazy examiner lady. Scratch that." And he exploded again. "Are you **serious**? How can you eve-I wouldn't-I mean, **look at her!**" He pointed at Setsuna behind him. "She's so damn **tiny**!"

He just does not learn, does he?

Naruto did, however, freeze on the spot once again when he was showered with killing intent like a chilling downpour. He almost squeaked when Setsuna wrapped her left arm around his right in an almost possessive demeanor.

"Remind me to punish you for that one later. Now we're leaving."

While Naruto allowed himself to be dragged away by the Kitsune, Anko chuckled.

"Aw, come on, guys! I won't get in the way of your fun!" She paused, seemingly pondering something. "But the brat does have a point; you **are** kinda tiny. Dunno who's the kinkiest of you two: the brat for being a lolicon or you for being a kinky loli."

Setsune didn't bother to turn her head to reply.

"I would kill you for that, but you already did that yourself. Walk faster, boya."

Anko made an odd face. "Huh? What do…you…?"

That's when she noticed exactly where she was. Amidst the food, water and other supplies intended for long-term survival in that cavern, the shelves and boxes contained equipment to be used by shinobi should the enemy reach the evacuation routes and shelters. As in kunai, shuriken, wire…and explosives.

Then she looked at the firecrackers.

"Well, shit; this is coming straight out of my pocket, isn't it?"

And it became a race to see who'd reach the exit first. Needless to say, Setsuna won. She did have the advantage of having moved first.

The whole village rumbled (again) when the entrails of the mountain exploded.

**Waaai! Fire! Fire! **(Wiggle, wiggle)

"Not **NOW**, SAYURI!"

* * *

The three jumped out a hole in the mountain at the same time a cloud of dust and smoke engulfed them. Anko landed on her knees and Setsuna landed gracefully on her feet. Naruto fell hard on his left side and rolled a few times before stopping face-down on the ground, coughing.

"That was harsh…" He complained between coughs. "…but at least we made it out alive." He finished as he got up to look at Setsuna.

"V." The Kitsune offered the boy a victory sign with her right hand.

"Uhh…right."

**That was FUN!**

_I really need to talk with your mother…_

**Mugyuu?**

Their danger senses warned them just before they found themselves surrounded by ANBU.

"Oh, so **now **they show up…" Naruto mumbled.

"Now you've done it, Uzumaki," the ANBU behind a rat mask, apparently the leader of the squad of six, spoke. A few hand signs later, two of the ninja left to explore the extent of the damage. "You're going to containment."

An instant later, Naruto was pinned down by two other ANBU, much to his alarm. "Wha-WAIT! You can't blame me for this! Crazy examiner lady did it!"

"My name's Anko, damn it!"

"The boy speaks the truth."

It was a rather tense silence, in which Setsuna stared at each and every single of the masked faces.

A second after she looked at the last one, it was Anko who found herself being dragged. Therefore, she kicked and screamed.

"Wha-WHAT? What the hell? You were blaming the brat a moment ago! Let! Me! Go! Damnit! I can walk on my own!"

Naruto watched mutely until the ANBU and the Special Jounin disappeared in the distance, even if Anko's voice persisted as a lingering wail long after she was beyond line of sight. "What the hell…?"

"Hnn. No puny human can resist my compulsion."

"Wha-you mean, you, like, controlled their minds and stuff?"

"Yes."

"Cool. Freaky, but cool." His face hardened for a moment. "Don't do it again."

"Hnn."

**Waaa…I wish I could do that! Then I'd get onii-chan to pet mah tails all the time!**

_Please don't. And, not to be one to seal my own doom, but, uhh…you CAN do that. You've got nine tails-_

**They're pwetty! **

Wiggle, wiggle.

_Umm, yeah. So you definitely can do that freaky mind control stuff. Aren't you the one who keeps saying you can do anything?_

**Uhh…wight. I fohgot. Te-he!**

'_Te-he' she says…anyway, you can do it. But don't._

**Hoe?**

_I'm saying that, even if you can, don't do it. It's for the best._

**Muu, okaaaay…**

_That's my girl._

**Heheh, o-ni-iii-chan! ****He pwaised me! So ha-ppy!**

"Heheh…wow, that's just so weird…"

"Hmm?"

"Being the smart, responsible one."

"Hu-uh." Setsuna uttered absentmindedly. "Whatever. Let's go. There are other places I want you to show me. And I don't enjoy being stared at by so many puny humans."

It was then when Naruto noticed the audience their (well, Anko's) little stunt had gathered. "Uhh…yo!"

He rushed to seize Setsuna's left arm to pull her away. "Let's get out of here."

"Don't touch me, you peon!" She hissed.

"Oh stuff it!"

"Oh you're so getting the lightning bolt where we get out of here."

"Eeeek!"

**Mugyuu…**

"Twice. You still owe me for what you said back there."

"Ugh…"

**Onii-chan…**

"What? I'm sorry, alright?"

What Naruto and Setsuna did not count on was that, among the civilians who showed up at the commotion, there were several familiar Genin faces.

"THAT is the super hottie you two were talking about?" Ino was almost amused. Kiba and Shino were sharing uneasy glances. Or at least Kiba was. It is hard to tell with Shino.

"Shino…"

"Yes. This is clearly a different girl."

"Sheesh!" Kiba uttered. "This is the, what, third one?" He paused to look at Naruto drag away the little girl. "Well, not to say I envy him, I mean, damn. Didn't know Naruto's strike zone went that low."

"Grrrrrrr…"

"Easy there, boys." Ino interceded. "We don't want to arouse Miss Feral Growl here." She said, referring to Sakura, who was staring at Naruto with DOOM in her eyes. Looking back at Naruto and his partner, who were already far and away, she hummed. "Hmm…so another one, you say? But really, Naruto goes for that type?"

"Also," Kiba corrected. "Naruto also goes for that type. And I do share your curiosity."

"Maybe she's a good…" Shino paused. "…kisser. Yes. Kisser. That's precisely the word I had in my mind. No other. I mean, what else could I be thinking of?"

Ino and Kiba stared at Shino oddly for a while, before resuming the conversation.

"But, really…" Ino turned back to the departing couple, who were already nothing but tiny specks in the distance. "…Naruto's hanging out with a different girl today…"

Kiba rolled his eyes. "While I understand the shocking value of the fact that Naruto's hanging out with a girl, I still don't see-"

"This is for Sakura, too!"

The two looked at the cherry-haired Genin. She seemed to be in her own world of righteous anger. Only Sakura knew what was going on in Sakura's head.

"Anyway, I have to find more about these girls that suddenly show up all over him!"

"Hinata. We must do it for Hinata's sake, too," Shino added.

"Sure whatever." Ino shrugged.

"Oh, for Kami's…you're just doing it 'cause you're a bunch of gossips…as much as the idea of Shino being a busybody terrifies me beyond belief."

Ino and Shino completely ignored the dog boy, having decided to trail after Naruto and his new mysterious companion. Sakura walked a few steps behind them, saving her anger to fully unleash it at the right moment. Ino was pretty much cackling…

"Oh, Naruto-kun, you're making my week so much more amusing…"

"What happened to Sakura?" Kiba mumbled.

"Of course, of course, I'm torn by Sakura's ordeals!" Ino laughed half-heartedly. "But nobody will mind if I enjoy myself while I help a little, ne?"

"I don't mind."

"Of course you don't, Shino," Kiba mumbled again.

"Move it you two, let's GO!" The perky blonde went ahead, quickly followed by the bug user. Kiba could only shake his head.

"Oh man, if only it was that Kotonoha chick…"

* * *

"So this is the Nara Clan sector…" Setsuna looked at a lone deer strolling in a distant grassy field. "Well, it certainly makes sense." Turning around to look at the houses around her, she addressed Naruto. "Do you know how many of them are there?"

Naruto shrugged. Setsuna sighed. "Nevermind. I'll see if my clone can find a census. However, I can make an estimate right here. You do know the exact beginning and ending points, right?"

"Sure."

"Good. Assuming a median of three people per household, I could get an estimate, yes."

"Why three?"

"Ninja families, and even civilian families within shinobi clans, tend to be small."

"Really…"

"Yes…which is rather unusual, given that you'd expect shinobi families to try to make many offspring to offset career loses."

"Haa…"

"'Then again, they cannot afford to lose their kunoichi to pregnancy."

"Uhh…you lost me there."

"Of course…" Setsuna shot a small grin at the blonde. "You really are idiotic, aren't you?"

Naruto only shot her a heated glare. Setsuna chuckled. "I've trained you well, and in so little time. I never cease to amaze myself."

Walking closer to the boy's left side; Setsuna gently patted the left side of his chest. "Do not fret, boya. I'm actually glad you're like that…it's certainly convenient to me."

"Huh?"

Setsuna chuckled again, this time patting Naruto's cheek, much to his embarrassment. "That's precisely what I mean. Now, tell me what you know about this Clan's jutsu while we get to the next sector."

The boy frowned in a way totally uncommon to him. Like any other person, Naruto did not like to be mocked. It was surprising that Setsuna had not yet broken past the limit of his patience. But he really, really needed the help, and he had a very strong hope that a seemingly strong Kitsune like Setsuna could help him.

"Nee, Setsu-"

Sparks flew from Setsuna's right hand.

"Ahem, Kiyoura-sama?"

"Yes?"

"Just how many tails do you have?"

"Four. But do not let that be a measurement of my true power."

"Really."

"Really. I do not like to brag, but I can tell you that I am considerably stronger than the average four-tails." Setsuna seemed to be intent on studying the layout of the houses, her responses coming out half-heartedly.

_Hmm…I wonder if she could beat Kotonoha-san._

"But, really, do you have to look down on us humans like that?"

"I do not see why not." Setsuna shrugged. "You ARE inferior."

Naruto sighed in defeat. "Oh well…I guess not every single Kitsune I meet has to be nice."

"And that, my boy, is probably the most intelligent thing you have said since we met." Setsuna turned to him, wearing a cold smile. She was walking backwards.

"Now, take me to the next sector, if you are so kind."

"Ah…" Naruto scratched the back of his head. Mean bitch and everything, the girl was pretty, no way around it. "…sure. So I guess it's off to the Hyuuga sector now…"

Setsuna stopped on her tracks. "Did you say…?"

"Uh? Yeah, the Hyuuga grounds are nearby, like, this way…" Naruto commented; pointing in the direction they were walking towards. Setsuna clenched her right fist.

"Hyuuga…the brood of that accursed woman…"

"Hu-uh?"

**She's weird.**

_Coming from you, it doesn't really mean that much._

**Mugyuu?**

"Yes…" Setsuna was still in her own world, her eyes blazing with hatred and determination. "…when my incredibly evil plan is completed, they will be the first to be cleansed…that accursed clan of big-breasted women…ufufufu…hahahaha…HAHAHAHAHA…**BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**"

"Wow, she snapped."

**She's WEALLY weird.**

_She still doesn't beat you._

**Mugyuu…Sayuri don't get it, but onii-chan's being a mweanie…but her laugh is weally cool! I wish I could do that.**

_Please don't. For the sake of my wellbeing, don't._

**Ahahaha-haha…BHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-MUGYUU! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-MUGYUU!**

Naruto facepalmed.

_That's wrong in so many levels…I'm beginning to wonder if the Fourth actually did know who you really are but still sealed you to spare the world from things like this. And what's with the 'mugyuu' in between, anyway?_

"Boya." Setsuna called for Naruto's attention by pulling on his jacket.

"Huh? You done?"

"Umm…yeah. Thank you for not saying anything about it." She was actually blushing a little at her random outburst.

"Nah, don't worry. I'm just saving it for future blackmail."

Setsuna frowned. "I must say, you show occasional sparks of brilliance that amaze me. However…"

PZZZZZZZT!

"OW!"

**Mugyuu…**

"You don't really have a position to negotiate with me at all, boya." She walked past him. "Move, now. I want to see the…" She made a grimace as if she had tasted something really bitter. "…Hyuuga grounds."

"So…" Naruto made conversation as they resumed their walk. "…you have something against the Hyuugas or what?"

"I have something against the world in its entirety, but, yes, the Hyuuga Clan has a special portion of my hatred."

"O-kaaaay."

As stealthy as three shinobi can be (which is actually pretty stealthy, unless you're ANBU, then you suck), Ino, Shino and Kiba watched the couple from a distance. Sakura glowered some more. Enough to power a small village for a few hours. Only the gods knew what she was waiting for.

"Well they seem pretty friendly to me," Ino muttered, once again concealing her surprise. "Playful, even."

Of course, this was her interpretation of Naruto's odd gesture as he was being electrocuted. Not that either of them could tell from where they were hiding. She assumed the blonde and the shorty had some sort of mock dispute or something.

"The whole laughing thing was freaky, though. Uuugh!" Ino was almost pulling her hairs off. "There are too many questions! Who's this girl? Is she related to the other girls? What's their relationship with Naruto?"

"I thought Ayame-san made that very clear earlier today," Shino mused.

"Ayame-san?" Curiously enough, this was Ino.

"The ramen girl."

"Ah, right. But anyway, how did Naruto meet the other two? I think you said you had never seen either of these two around before, Shino-kun. Why do they like Naruto in the first place? What are they doing at the Nara grounds of all places? Why is she so damn **tiny**?"

PZZZZZZT!

**Mugyuu! Poor onii-chan…**

"OW! What the hell was that for?"

"I'm not sure. I just felt like zapping a blonde for some reason."

"You're just evil."

"So I've been told."

* * *

"So this is the Hyuuga Clan…how…predictable. Rotting and becoming stale in their faux lives of pseudo-nobility. _Imbéciles ignorants_."

"Huh?"

"Just talking to myself, boya." She eyed the tall wall that separated the Hyuuga grounds from the rest of the village and shot a bored look at the pair of guards protecting the main entrance, some eighty yards away.

"No, it's just…" Naruto felt confused. "I feel like we've been walking for hours."

"We HAVE been walking for hours."

"No, that's not what I meant!" Naruto waved his hands from side to side as if trying to dispel Setsuna's anger. "I mean, just from the Nara sector to here, it feels like it took hours. And also, I feel like the plot's not moving at all!" Naruto paused. "The plot?"

**Waaaaaaaai! **Wiggle, wiggle. **Onii-chan did it again!**

Setsuna turned to shoot a side glance to him. If he did not know better, he would think she looked pleased. "Not bad, boya." She looked away, turning her back to him once more. "Don't worry anyway; we'll try to move the plot forward in this scene."

"Ha-ah?"

"How many Hyuuga do you think there are?" She suddenly changed the topic. Setsuna almost chuckled at the puzzled look on the boy's face. Were she another person, she might have found it cute. "Just try to think about it and make a guess."

"Well…" Naruto scratched his head. "…with those eyes of them, they should be pretty easy to spot…unless they were ANBU or something. I only know Hinata, but…I would say there aren't that many of them, really." He looked at the wall. "Their grounds are so big because they're all rich and famous."

Naruto clenched his fists and fixed his gaze on the white wall, as if, by trying hard enough, he could see past it.

_I wonder if he's in there…Hyuuga Neji…_

"Hmmm…" Setsuna's eyes narrowed studiously at Naruto's change of posture. "…do **you** have something against the Hyuuga Clan, boya?"

Naruto looked at the shorter girl, and he could swear there was a hint of a smirk there.

"Not really…I…I have to fight one of them in a few days…and I really, **really** want to kick his ass, the bastard."

Setsuna blinked. "Is that so…is this somehow related to the reason you summoned me?"

"Hmm!" Naruto nodded eagerly; glad that they were finally touching his problem. "I have to beat him, so I can become a Chuunin…but…it's not just that…it's personal."

Setsuna didn't comment on that. She mutely stared at the boy, who seemed to have forgotten all about her presence and entered a world all of his own.

"…but…as I am right now…I wasted three weeks with that idiot Ero-sennin…I can't…I can't beat Neji like this, huh?"

Naruto sighed sadly. Setsuna found it severely at odds from what she had seen from him so far.

_But given the kind of life he's lived, I'm not surprised…_

"I guess Kotonoha-san is right-owah!"

Without any warning, Naruto found himself pinned against the wall by a surprisingly strong Setsuna. Her small hands were on his shoulders, so he could move his arms freely if he wanted, but the shock was so great that he found himself unable to stop her. When he actually came to his senses and tried to break free, it was already too late.

Setsuna's fiery eyes looked up at him, and he almost screamed.

_No! No fucking way!_

Two sets of three swirling black tomoe in a crimson background were shaking the very core of his soul.

"_**Sha-Sharin-**_"

"What did you just say, **boya**?" Her voice made him shiver in indescribable fear. He could not understand: why? Why was this adorably tiny girl so indescribably scary?

Suddenly, however, she winked.

"What did I say about moving the plot forward?"

"Heh?"

She slammed him against the wall one more time.

"OW!"

* * *

"Oi, oi, what's going on there?" Ino's eyes widened in alarm at the sudden action.

"An unexpected development."

"Huh." Kiba muttered pointlessly. Things were suddenly getting troublesome, especially for Naruto. He sent his prayers to the hapless blonde.

Sakura was biting her right fist. Strange sounds escaped from her throat.

"What's with that shameless, aggressive little girl?" Ino hissed. "And what the hell is Naruto doing? Why isn't he resisting?"

Shino raised an eyebrow at this. "Why should he?"

Ino gaped at the bug user. "What do you mean, why should he?"

Kiba and Shino stared at her. Silently. Very silently.

"Let me explain it in a way you can understand." Kiba stated. "If you suddenly pinned me against a wall and rubbed yourself against me, I wouldn't resist. You. Yamanaka Ino. Annoyance incarnate."

"Jerk." A mildly blushing Ino spat back. "Bu-but, still!" The girl hissed again, refocusing on the couple some fifteen yards away. "It's wrong! That girl's obviously too young, and, and, doesn't Naruto already have that ramen chick?"

Sakura growled. Even Akamaru was shooting odd looks at her by this point.

"From yesterday's events I cannot see any irrefutable proof of Naruto openly responding to Ayame-san's feelings. I do see the possibility, though. In any case, if Naruto prefers the company of this…new girl, I see no reason to be critical about it."

Ino raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you dig those types of little girls…?"

"I would have to peek under the skirt of her dress to give you a straight answer."

Ino and Kiba gaped at Shino as if he had grown a second head.

"I think I have already stated that I am an ass person," the boy in shades responded as if it were the most obvious thing.

Kiba gaped a bit more.

* * *

Naruto remembered a similar feeling. It was just like the first encounter with Zabuza all over again. That feeling of helplessness; the awareness of the inevitable, incoming doom.

It was not the _**Sharingan**_. Sasuke pissed him off, but never made him want to piss his pants. Neither did Kakashi.

It was the _**Sharingan**_, in Setsuna.

In a way his simple mind just couldn't understand, the little Kitsune pulled it off. The way she released her aura and pushed it onto him combined with the way her spinning eyes seemed to be about to swallow him; together they created a threatening aura Naruto found inescapable.

It was almost beautiful, in the same way king cobras are beautiful.

**Mugyuu… **Sayuri was out of things to say, so she said that.

"Uhh…huh?"

"What. Did. You. Just. Say!" Setsuna repeated, inching her face (_and those eyes!_) closer with every word. It was a very good thing few people walk around the streets adjacent to Hyuuga lands…not that it would have made much of a difference.

"Uhh…I said…I don't think I can beat Neji-"

"Like I give a damn about that!" Setsuna hissed. "After that!"

Naruto blinked. "Umm…I said…I said that…" Setsuna leaned up until their noses were touching. _God, those eyes! _"I said Kotonoha-san's right!"

Naruto felt like he was sinking in the vastest ocean, the weight of Setsuna's stare pushing him further and further down the abyss. He had already made an image of Setsuna, but these latest developments settled down his feelings towards her.

Despite the sheer terror she was making him experience, he still couldn't help but be awed at its significance. That a girl so seemingly small and frail could be so magnificently powerful…it fascinated him just as it scared him.

"Kotonoha…Katsura Kotonoha…"

Naruto blinked. "Huh? You know her?"

Crimson eyes stared at cerulean.

After three more seconds of silence, she laughed on his face.

It wasn't the maniacal laugh from before (thank the Gods for that). It was a hearty laugh, even in its coldness. It made Naruto wonder what Setsuna had gone through for someone to laugh like that. It was faked, but it was nice, nonetheless.

"Ah…boya. Things suddenly have become much more interesting. Yes, yes…_intéressant._"

_Yes, yes, this boy…this boy can prove amazingly useful…even before he dies._

Setsuna's next words came out unusually loud for her, being a reflection of her changing mood.

"Let's go, then!"

"Huh? Where to?"

"Isn't it obvious?" She gifted the boy with a smile of cold mischief. "To your place, of course."

"Wha-wha? NARUTO?"

* * *

"Oh, that can't be good." Shino muttered in response to Kiba's sudden emergence. Apparently the Inuzuka was done hiding and wanted some straight answers. It seemed to his teammate that the feral boy's jealousy had reached its peak, as well as his patience. "But I guess it could be worse. It could be Hinata."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" Ino's eyes were the size of ping-pong balls. "Did she just say what I think she just said?"

"If you mean she said they're going to Naruto's place, then yes, you did." Shino muttered.

"No…no way." Ino gaped at the couple in the middle of the deserted street. "I had no idea Naruto…"

"I'm sure there's a very logical explanation to that." Shino added. "Don't get weird ideas."

"…you…you don't believe that yourself, do you?"

"Not in the slightest. And I would hold Haruno-san if I were you."

"Eh?"

Sakura's body was trembling at this point, as every single neuron in her brain screamed at her to jump out there and make Naruto pay.

"Gah! Sakura!" Ino did as told and wrapped her arms under Sakura's armpits and around her shoulders.

"Should I have my _**kikaichuu**_ consume her chakra?"

Ino shot a glare at her partner in mischief.

Naruto's eyes widened in alarm. The look on Setsuna's face could not mean anything good.

He almost squeaked like a scared little girl when the girl aimed the palm of her right hand towards Kiba. Electricity began to gather into a ball in front of her hand.

"Setsuna!" Naruto hissed, grabbing her wrist with his left hand. The electric ball dispersed harmlessly.

He gulped at the deathly glare he got in response. Whether it was for calling her by her first name, or for grabbing her like that, he did not know. What he knew was that he had to stop her.

"No lightning!"

"But they're dogs!" Setsuna whispered back. "Disgusting, annoying dogs!" Her face turned into a rather ugly snarl. "I'm going to erase them, and the likes of you isn't going to stop me!"

Looking at the disgusting creatures she intended to obliterate, Electricity began to gather one more time, to which Naruto responded by tightening his grip on Setsuna's arm. The little Kitsune winced and the energy dissipated again, together with her Sharingan.

Naruto had actually hurt her!

Hissing in poorly suppressed anger, Setsuna turned to glare at the insolent boy. Her threatening glare came out half-hearted when she met Naruto's not-cerulean-anymore eyes.

His reddened irises, slit pupils and overgrown canines, together with a ferocious, beastly snarl, shook Setsuna to her core…in more than one way.

"_Insolent!_"

Letting go of him, Setsuna lowered her left hand to slam a powerful electric bolt on Naruto's stomach.

However, Naruto caught that hand, too.

His low-pitched voice, even if she'd never admit it, made her shudder.

"Enough."

Awkwardly enough, this is the moment Sakura chose to release herself from Ino's grip and jump out of their hiding place behind the nearest corner.

"Naaaaaruuuuuutooooooooo! So THIS is what you have been doing this past-"

"Oof!"

That was Setsuna's vocal response to being punched in the face; a nasty left hook that buried itself on her right cheek before sending her towards the paved street in front of the Hyuuga clan grounds.

Sakura's words got caught in her throat. Kiba, Ino and Shino watched the scene before them in stunned silence. Naruto seemed unaware of his teammate's appearance.

"Uzumaki Naru-ugh!" Setsuna's furious growl was interrupted by a kick to the gut, with force enough to slam her against the wall behind.

"What do you think you are-guh!" Setsuna was once more interrupted, this time by Naruto's left hand clasping her thin neck like a vice grip and effortlessly lifting her lithe frame.

"That's enough." Naruto growled before resting Setsuna on his left shoulder, her long legs falling down in front.

"What in Inari's name do you think you are doing?" Setsuna finally managed a complete sentence. "Put me down RIGHT-AAANNNH!"

Naruto's right hand slapped her right buttock. HARD.

"**Shut up**."

With that one last threat, Naruto leapt away, Setsuna in tow, to a destination know to only him.

The rookie Genin who had witnessed this scene watched him depart; staring at the distance long after Naruto became less than a speck beyond their sight. It would be, of course, Shino who would break the uncomfortable silence.

"Somehow I like the direction this is taking."

* * *

Sometime later, Setsuna and Naruto rested at ease on the grassy ground, some prudent distance away from Konoha proper. Naruto had left the flat stone he had used as a chair for the past thirty minutes or so, moving to the ground so that he could use it to support his back. With his lap acting as Setsuna's cushion, Naruto leisurely watched the blue autumn sky.

Setsuna knew she should be mad. She should be boiling with RIGHTEOUS ANGER…well, maybe not righteous, but definitely anger. Curiously enough, she was not. She was…was…she was…

She needed a bit more time for her brain to properly reboot. She could not even finish that thought.

They had had sex.

Well, it was rather one-sided sex, with Naruto providing and Setsuna screaming in pleasure. It was also non-penetration sex…okay, non-genital-penetration sex. He did some marvelous things with his hands, though.

He had spanked her, touched her, made her sweat, scream and cry for more. He had blackmailed her, holding back on her until she agreed to his terms. Only once she had done so, she had given the delicious ecstasy she so much craved.

It was a most unusual, but definitely welcomed, punishment method.

She did wonder about one thing. She had noticed Naruto's erection during her finger fellatio. Why had he not tried anything?

Was it because she looked tired? Or was it because he did not want his first time to be with her?

She guessed it was the latter.

Not that it really mattered to her. They did what they did, and she had enjoyed it.

Oh, she had recovered her capacity for coherent thought. Good.

She felt Naruto move behind her.

"Hmm? Wha-?"

She was surprised when Naruto picked her up, bridal style. Looking up at his face, however, she could tell there was no affection in this gesture. Naruto's expression was stern and serious once again.

Naruto paused for a moment to admire just how light and small Setsuna's body was. It was kinda cute. However, business was business, and he had to act while Setsuna was still mellowed out by what they had…well, enjoyed.

He put her down on her two feet, but was gentle enough to lean her back against a tree. Resting his own hands on the trunk by the sides of Setsuna's head, he leaned down to press his forehead against hers. His unchanging expression made an unsettling contrast with the intimacy of their positions.

"Setsuna."

Red eyes met blue. She made a mental note to scold him for using her first name.

"Listen to me, and listen to me well."

Setsuna showed no reaction, but she was listening. She had promised, after all. A Kitsune's promises are SERIOUS BUSINESS.

"You can insult me."

"You can look down on me."

"You can even use your evil electric hands on me, I don't care. I've had worse."

"But I won't! Let! YOU! Harm my friends OR my village!" Naruto snarled with a loud, threatening voice. It was something not many humans could pull off. Setsuna idly wondered if he did not have youkai blood of some kind.

"Try to pull that shit again and we'll be in trouble!" Naruto's expression relaxed, oddly. His tone as he spoke those words was actually congenial, and Setsuna knew he was back to his usual mood.

He moved his head away from hers, looking down at the shorter female with mirthful eyes.

"I'll have to punish you again, and it will be…uhh…" He blushed. "I…I'll make it more perverted! It will be SO perverted; I don't even know what it is! So don't do it!"

Naruto challenged Setsuna. However, it looked more like a pout than anything else. It was very hard to take seriously.

"…uh…ufufufu…ahahahaha!"

Setsuna could not stop herself. She chuckled, then she giggled, and it soon became full-blow laughter. Real laughter, not crazy-ass evil laughter. It was light-hearted and melodious. It was, well, nice.

Naruto really pouted at this, but he was not really angry. It was the first time he saw Setsuna like this. "It's not funny."

"No, it's not…ahahahaha!"

The Genin calmly waited for the Kitsune to settle down, which took her the good part of a minute. Once she stopped, she seemed to have fully recovered from both the fit of laughter and the afterglow of their little sex play. She was back to her usual self, save of the tiny upwards curve at the corners of her lips.

"Not bad, boya."

"Huh?"

"Even when aware of the immense difference between you and me…" She walked past him, forcing him to turn around to face her back. "…you fight back. You talk back…even if it's for a silly reason such as 'protecting your friends'."

Naruto noticed Setsuna had inclined her head up, to look at something she could only see in the distant sky.

"A tough man who fights to stand by himself, to not let the world step on him or what he believes in, a man who takes a beating and is willing to get back up…a man who knows what he wants…whether it is an evil man or a goody-goody two-shoes like you…"

Naruto grimaced.

Setsuna turned around to look at him. Naruto found her smile stunning…and disturbing.

"A man like that…is a man I can grow to like."

With that said, she snorted, as if blowing away that moment of weakness to get back on her groove.

"Well, boya."

She let herself fall down, to sit down on the grass…

"Eeep! Alright, bad idea."

Naruto chuckled at the sight of the loli rubbing her sore butt as she got back on her feet, for which he got a deathly glare.

"Don't get cocky on me, boya! Just because you got me once…and don't think it's gonna happen again." Her glare turned a mischievous smirk. "And least not under your initiative."

Naruto gulped.

"So!" Setsuna barked, like the officer demanding the new recruits to stand at attention. "The reason you summoned me. This…problem of yours."

"I'm listening."

* * *

"So…what to make of that?"

Back in Yamanaka Flower, two boys and two girls made an odd circle on the floor to discuss the latest events. Ino's question was the one thing that the four seemed intent to figure out. Even Sakura, whose titanic anger had been utterly dissipated (temporally) by the simple fact that she could not figure out just what happened back there.

"I…I think the chick was going to do something." Kiba mused. "I mean, she raised her hand and I THINK I saw something, like, shiny?" He frowned. "…but then Naruto stopped her."

"A Jutsu?" Sakura wondered.

"Without handseals?" Shino intervened. "That would make it a special jutsu of some kind…or her, a highly skilled ninja. This would also bring out the conclusion that Naruto is aware of this, because he stopped her. Besides, we cannot be sure of anything if Kiba is not sure himself."

"Hmmm…"

"Do you think…?" Ino began to propose. "Do you think she might be an enemy ninja? A spy or something?"

"Would a spy let Naruto beat the shit out of her, spank her and carry her away?" Kiba retorted rather acridly.

"Uhh…maybe…" Ino grasped at straws. "…if she wanted to keep the alias…or something…" She noticed the looks she was getting. "…forget it. So we have nothing. Other than 'they had an argument'."

"A pretty violent argument, if you ask me." Kiba muttered. "So Naruto's a wife beater?"

"I…think it is probably more complicated than that." Shino declared.

"So should we report this to anyone or something?" Ino asked.

"I do not see why, it's not like they have done anything worth reporting." Kiba gave his opinion.

"What about what happened at the mountain?" Sakura finally intervened.

"Well, the ANBU took away Mitarashi-sensei, didn't they?" Ino wondered. The two boys nodded.

"But they might have been arguing about it!" Sakura insisted. "Maybe that girl did it, but managed to put the blame on sensei and Naruto was fussing her on it!"

"So now we're defending Naruto?" Ino asked with a raised eyebrow. "I thought we were mad because Naruto was hanging out with girls instead of doing whatever it is you expected him to do in this month."

"Which was not training." Kiba mirthfully added.

"Eh? No! I mean, yes! I mean, what if…uuuuhhh…shut up, Ino." A flushed Sakura dejectedly dropped her head.

Kiba sighed and rested his hands on the back of his head, making sure Akamaru did not slip. "I say we leave it to rest for today. We can just ask Naruto next time we meet him."

"Yeah…**ask**." Sakura mumbled, cracking her knuckles.

"You have issues." Kiba mumbled in return.

"Aaaah, this won't let me sleep at night." Ino muttered in frustration.

"Then you have issues too."

The foursome got on their feet.

"So, wanna help me look for Sasuke-kun?"

"For the last time, Sakura: Sasuke-kun is not in Konoha. We have already looked everywhere. It pains me as much as it does you, but we gotta deal with it." Ino boringly explained.

Sakura stared at her. One second, two seconds, three seconds…

"I'M NOT LEAVING KONOHA TO LOOK FOR HIM!"

"Aww, come on, Ino! Mom won't let me go by myself!" She paused. "Which is weird, 'cause I'm a ninja, but anyway. Come on!"

"No means no, Sakura! I have to look after the shop, anyway!"

Kiba and Shino back away from the conversation. _Girls…_

"So…I guess we go?"

"Kiba."

"Hmm?"

"I must apologize, but I must leave now."

"Huh?"

"I have to…" Shino thought fast. "Umm…go back home. Yes."

"Ehh? Why all of a sudden?"

"Ehem…why indeed?" Shino thought even faster. "Oh."

"What?"

"You know, Kiba…my clan, the Aburame Clan…we raise insects."

Kiba stared back, deadpan. "…yes, Shino, you clan raises bugs."

"Indeed. We raise…bugs. So you see, some of these…bugs, they live in artificial hives."

"What exactly are we getting at here?"

"Well, every once in a while we have to clean these hives, because, well, they get dirty."

"Uh-huh."

"These…bugs, they release many secretions. Slimy, sticky, viscous secretions. Some are actually slightly acidic." Shino was on a roll. "So we have to wear special garments and gloves, because, otherwise, all those substances would run down our arms it would be very uncomfortable. You see, there's this one kind of mucus that-"

"Whoa, whoa, WHOA! Dude! That's gross, man! Real gross!"

"It is a fascinating topic."

"Sure, whatever. Okay, okay I get it, go play with your bugs or whatever."

"I appreciate your understanding."

"Yeah, sure, I'm great. Just don't say those things in front of Hinata or Kurenai-sensei. You'd really gross them out."

"WHAT ABOUT US?" Sakura and Ino, both rather green on the face, screamed in unison. Shino shot them a side glance.

"I…see. Very well, I will see you tomorrow."

"Yeah." Kiba muttered, and then watched his teammate walk away. "Damn he's in a hurry." He sighed. "Ah well, I'm leaving, too, girls. Gotta go report to Hinata and-WAIT A MINUTE! SHINO JUST RAN AWAY ON ME!"

"Yeah, pretty much." Ino consoled the dog boy with a compassionate smile. Akamaru whined atop his partner's head.

Kiba only growled.

"Fuck you, Shino. Fuck you."

* * *

Under the shade of a tree, Naruto exposed his situation to Setsuna. Not being one to allow Naruto to sit down and relax while her sore bum forced her to stay up, the fox woman forced him to stretch his legs and she shamelessly sat on his lap.

"And that's pretty much it. So, can you help me?"

Setsuna shrugged. "Sure."

Naruto blinked. "…say again?"

"I said, 'sure'. Are you deaf as well as stupid?" Setsuna punched his ribs playfully.

"Oh stuff it, Miss I-like-to-be-smacked-on-OW! You said no lightning!"

"That was a tender stroke."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Sure. But, really, you're gonna help me? Just like that?"

Setsuna shrugged again. "Why not? No matter how I see it, it's win-win to me."

"Why don't I like the sound of that?"

The Kitsune explained her point. "Not only do I get to see you humiliate the Hyuuga prodigy, I can also claim to have accomplished something Kotonoha couldn't do. Win-win."

"How do you win if you don't help me?"

"I don't have to spend more time with you."

Naruto pouted. "You're mean."

"So I've been told."

"But…" Naruto looked a bit skeptic. "…can you really train me in, what, a week? I mean, no offense, but…well, Kotonoha-san said-"

"Forget what that flabby-chested imbecile said." Setsuna uttered angrily. "I said I'm going to teach you. Shouldn't you be happy? Not only do you get what you want; you also get the chance to try to satiate your growing sexual attraction towards me."

Naruto gaped in disbelief. "Wha-what growing sexual whatever?"

Setsuna harshly poked the boy's crotch. "What, you think I didn't notice?"

"Whe-Where are you TOUCHING?" Naruto hurriedly pushed Setsuna's hand away, much to her private amusement.

"Cute. Do you want me to suck your fingers again? Or maybe…" She raised a finger to the right side of her mouth in a pensive gesture. "You want me to suck **something else**?"

Naruto entered a pathetic but very amusing blushing, stammering fit.

"Wha-wa-wha-what a-ah-wha-WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, SETSUNA?"

PZZZZZT!

"OW!"

"**Mistress **Setsuna." The Kitsune clarified. "Have some respect for the one who is going to educate you."

"Whatever." Naruto pouted.

PZZZZT!

"OW!" Naruto rolled his eyes. "Whatever, **Mistress**."

PZZZT!

"OW!"

"Don't use such an insincere tone."

Naruto sighed in defeat. "Yes, Mistress. I'm very grateful, Mistress."

And he was really. Not only had he got a new sensei, the electric shocks did not hurt that much anymore, either. Whether this was because he had gotten used to it by now or because Setsuna was finally going easy on him, he did not know.

"By the way, boya."

"Hmm?"

Setsuna smirkled mischievously. "You're not getting any."

"WHO THE HELL WANTS ANY?"

PZZZZT!

"OW!"

"Don't raise your voice at your Mistress."

"Yes, Mistress."

"Very well. Get up. We shall begin right away."

Setsuna got back on her fit, allowing Naruto to do the same.

"May I ask a question, Mistress Setsuna?" Naruto made an odd face at that sentence. Seriously, this whole 'Mistress' thing was just weird. And a bit funny.

"You may."

Naruto scratched the bridge of his nose. "Just how are you gonna train me, anyway?"

"Ah, well…"

Setsuna closed her eyes for a second. When she opened them again, they were different.

"Sharingan…"

"Yes, boya, Sharingan." She aimlessly walked around the place, as if dictating a lecture. "You see, if there's something I've come to realize about these eyes is that they are far more powerful than I originally intended them to be. It's like, the next best thing after being a God…or a Nine-Tails. Really, it's almost unfair."

Naruto did not catch Setsuna's very interesting choice of words.

"Hu-uh."

Setsuna rolled her eyes. "_Bon mot_, boya." She uttered, sarcasm dripping from every word.

"Huh?"

"…ah, _touché_."

"Say again?"

"…we're going nowhere here, aren't we?" She looked almost amused.

"Hey, I'm not the one who's saying all that weird stuff."

Setsuna stared tiredly at her new student. "…weird stuff." She sighed in defeat. "Haaa…_c'est la vie_, I guess."

"There you go again!" Naruto exclaimed, pointing at his sensei.

"Oh stuff it. You ready?"

"Ah! Wait a minute."

Setsuna crossed her arms impatiently. "What now? And don't point, it's rude."

"Nah, it's just that I should call Sayuri again. She must be wondering why I'm taking so long 'punishing' you."

"Ah." Setsuna actually blushed a little at this. "Sure, go ahead."

Naruto closed his eyes and tried to feel out that barely recognizable flicker of emotion that was his connection with the nine-tails.

…_Sayuri? Sayuri, you there? Can you hear me? Damn, this is weird…_

…**mugyuu? Onii-chan?**

_Hey there._

**Wah! Onii-chan! It's onii-chan! Onii-chan's back, waaaaaaaaai!**

Wiggle, wiggle.

**Onii-chan, I missed yuu!**

_You know, hard to believe, but I think I kinda missed you too. Guess I got used to this already._

**Waaaaai, onii-chan missed Sayuri! Sayuri's ha-ppy!**

The foxgirl suddenly switched to her "angwy" tone. **Mou, onii-chan! Sayuri was bowed!**

_Haaa…bored, you say?_

Naruto guessed it made sense. If he had to be completely alone in a cage for thirteen years and suddenly found someone to talk you he would not want to leave that person alone for a second, either.

**Yeah! Bowed!**

_Heh, I guess. Sorry I made you wait._

**Heheh, it's okay. 'coz I wuv onii-chan.**

Naruto blushed a bit. _Heheheh, thanks._

**So! Did you get that mweanie?**

Naruto blushed a lot more. _Uhhh…in a manner of speaking, yeah…but I think she'll be nice-_

"Why are you standing there blushing like a moron, moron?"

…_er. Nicer…from now on. Yeah._

**Gweat!**

_Uh, right. So, I'm gonna train with Setsuna now, so I can't talk with you now, okay?_

**Okaaaaaay!**

It seemed Sayuri was just too happy to hear his voice again to complain about anything. Opening his eyes, he smiled at Setsuna.

"Yosh, we're good to go here, Set-Mistress." He bit his tongue playfully, making the Kitsune shake her head in amusement.

"Very well, look into my eyes…" She said quietly as she walked closer and closer. Naruto leaned a bit forwards to get a closer look…

"…_**Izanami**_."

* * *

With arms and legs spread, Katsura Kokoro, in the body of Ichiraku Ayame, stared at an old, white ceiling.

"…I'm bored."

A ball of tumbleweed suddenly entered the bedroom, made a full tour around the room and traveled back out.

"Wow, that was weird."

Five minutes later…

"…I'm BORED! Damn, I really underestimated having a job. Hey, Ayame, can I finger myself…what do you mean, 'again'? What part of 'I'm bored' don't you get?"

Silence.

"…oh, don't be such a pru-"

Silence.

"…fine! Fine! I won't do it! Sheesh…I don't get any love here...and now that we're touching the topic of me not getting any, where's our favorite blond stud?" She narrowed her eyes. "He better not be sexing it out with someone else, or there will be HELL to pay! HELL I TELL YOU!"

Silence.

"Yeah, I know, I'm just being silly. I mean, it's **Naruto**. What are the odds of that happening?"

Silence.

"…mou, I'm bored…"

* * *

When Naruto blinked, he found himself in a surreal setting.

"Uhh…we're not in Konoha anymore, are we?"

**Mugyuu…**

He was standing in the middle of a vast canyon, which reached as far as his eyes showed him. It was completely desolate, save for the hundreds –no, thousands– of towering mesas that made him feel like he was in the gods' very own Pachinko parlor. The gigantic spires of rough, natural sandstone looked down upon him like mute colossi, awing and intimidating him.

"The basic Sharingan…it does many things." Setsuna suddenly appeared from behind him. She, too, was admiring the natural wonder than surrounded them. "It does so many things…I'm not even sure what it does anymore." She admitted. "It's not like I use these eyes that often, anyway."

Naruto noticed a curious circular hole on the back of her sundress. He blushed when he managed to see a bit of the crack of her butt.

"There is an additional stage, which the Uchihas call _**Mangekyou**_. It basically allows them to use two different Kitsune techniques, one per eye."

"I do not have this Mangekyou, basically because I don't need it, been a Kitsune myself. What I do have, however, are special techniques only I can use because of these eyes."

"This is the phantasmagoria, boya. A world hidden within the gaps in reality and shaped by my will. This is a world where no other god can reach; the world where I am God."

When she was standing some fifteen meters away from Naruto four black tails emerged from her lower back, each slightly over a meter long.

"For the next twenty-four hours, we fight. You will feel no hunger or thirst, so we will fight non-stop. You will learn from experience and observation, by demanding your body to match the speed and power of a being immensely greater than you. Do your best, for I will not hold back."

"Wait, twenty-fo-"

Setsuna was standing right in front of him, her left hand gently touching his chest.

"…idiot." She whispered, almost affectionately.

**Onii-chan!**

Naruto moved faster that he had ever moved in his life, jumping aside in time to witness how a line of lightning tore through the air where he had just stood a moment before, releasing a furious shriek as it streaked past and exploded on a rocky spire behind. The boy gasped in amazement at the sight of the colossal structure collapsing like a tower of cards due to the lightning bolt disintegrating a massive chunk of its mass, utterly destroying the pillar's balance.

"**Lightning Release – Natural Sharp.** One of the basic techniques a Lightning Kitsune learns when she gains her third tail."

Naruto had to cover his face when both master and student were engulfed by the cloud of dust and sandstone particles. Setsuna's voiced still reached him, as if the Kitsune were impervious to it.

"Do you understand now, boya? The difference between our species? Inari-sama did not condemn us to a single power; he blessed us with the potential to shape the world, according to the pulse of the blood running through our veins."

"**Wind Release – Summer's Anthem.**"

Naruto cried in pain when thunder roared all around him. He felt in the middle of a summer thunderstorm, and the sky screamed words of glory straight to his eardrums.

**Onii-chan!**

He fell on his knees and covered his pained ears, not failing to feel the blood pouring out; the banner of his ruined hearing. Sayuri, however, did not forget to provide immediate aid.

"Uhhh…uhh…" Naruto moaned. The powerful sound waves released by Setsuna's technique also blew away the dust that clouded their vision.

"Boya, question."

"Huh?" Naruto uttered. "I can't hear you."

Setsuna blinked. "Oh, for Inari's sake, are humans really that fragile?"

"Wa-wait." Naruto inclined his head. "Say something again."

"He-eh?" Setsuna frowned. "What?"

"Oh." Naruto blinked. He actually looked impressed. "I can hear again. Cool."

"I see." Setsuna replied. "Good. Now, question!"

"Uh? I-I mean, yes!"

"Do you know the thirteen different types of Kitsune?"

"Yeah." Naruto nodded while he slowly and staggeringly got back on his feet.

The Kitsune smirked. "Very well, what kind of Kitsune am I?"

"Huh?" Naruto blinked in puzzlement. "Well…aren't you a Thunder?"

Setsuna chuckled. "Kuku…that, boya, is the simple answer. However, it is not the correct one."

Poof! Poof! Poof!

**Waaaai! Fire…mugyuu?**

Naruto was of similar thoughts.

"Black…fire?"

Certainly, like unholy will-o-wisps, four flickering flames of color of midnight floated on the tips of Setsuna's tails.

"This," Setsuna stated. "is the fire that consumes all. The fire that needs no fuel, as it is driven by a sentience beyond our limited, mortal comprehension. The fire that forever hungers, and solely exists to reduce the world to nothingness. The fire that will burn for seven days and seven nights."

"This is **Void Fire**, boya. A blessing, and a curse, all Void Kitsune are born with. The Uchiha call it _**Amaterasu**_. It's a stupid name: there's nothing remotely divine about it."

"Now, my student, you shall learn to fear this flame. Now, dodge! If you know what's good for you!"

And Naruto ran for his life, for he was assaulted by an endless barrage of black flame bullets. Setsuna shot her tiny fireballs like a machine gun, chasing Naruto throughout the labyrinthine paths between the endless pillars. Naruto did notice that the flames did not dissipate after impact. They remained wherever they struck, lingering and relentlessly burning the ground itself.

**Waaaa…I wonder if I can do that.**

_Now's not the time for those kinds of comments!_

"Dodging them once is not enough, boya!" Setsuna taunted, and Naruto shrieked when the lingering flames slithered across the ground like ebony snakes set on swallowing him.

Naruto leapt high above the flame trails, which collided on the place where he had just stood. Attaching his feet and right hand to the side of a rocky spire, he watched all the tiny flames coalesce into a gargantuan maw of living flame.

_It's like it has a mind of its own!_

The race began anew. Naruto raced through the vertical wall, a gigantic anaconda of black fire trailing after him. Out of a corner of his eye, he saw Setsuna following him from an adjacent mesa. The young ninja demanded his legs to outdo themselves, to reach for the top and touch the clouds.

"Hoooooooooyah!"

With a mighty leap, Naruto reached the summit, landing in the middle of an almost perfect circle no more than twenty meters in diameter. An instant later, the gathering of flames surged upwards like a tidal wave intent on swallowing him whole.

_Is there no end to that thing? _Naruto screamed in his mind.

"Don't take your eyes off your opponent, boya!"

Setsuna was on the sky right above Naruto, at the height of an astounding leap. Her tails were ablaze with Void Fire, and a ball of the devastating flames the size of a shopping cart floated above her.

"The Void! Is! MERCILESS!"

_SHIT!_

**ONII-CHAN!**

Everything became white.

**Kakuton! Kakuyuugou!**

Then everything became black.

* * *

Clouds.

Naruto quietly, placidly watched the clouds.

They were pretty, puffy clouds, like cotton motes idly pacing through the sky.

The ground was cold and hard, but he really did not feel like moving at all.

He knew that, should he turn his head to the right, he would see Setsuna.

She, too, was watching the clouds.

…**onii-chan?**

"What. The Fuck. Was That?" Naruto finally muttered.

"We died." Setsuna plainly stated.

"Huh?"

"We died." She repeated. "That little runt in your belly killed us. We never stood a chance."

"Huh?"

**O-Onii-chan…**

Naruto felt a tinge of pain in his chest. Sayuri was sobbing.

**Onii-chan…I… **Sob. **I'm sowwy…I…Sayuri's fire huht onii-chan…**

"Ahhh…" Naruto mumbled. So that was it. Honestly, he had not felt a thing. He still was not sure what had just happened.

**Bu-but! Sayuri…when that bwack fire was chasin' onii-chan…I…I…Sayuri…Sayuri didn't wike it! Sayuri felt something! That fire is weird! It's a bad fire! It's not wike Sayuri's fire! Sayuri's fire is shiny! And fun! That fire…**

Naruto shuddered. Somehow, he knew Sayuri was shuddering too.

…**is bad. Sayuri was scawed. So…Sayuri…Sayuri killed the bad fire.**

"You…killed the bad fire…?" Naruto frowned at the strange choice of words. This was the same girl who thought her chakra pulses "made the birdies fall asleep"?

"Ah…so that's how it is…" Setsuna muttered. "That's a Kyuubi for you. She's perceptive, even if she's just a girl."

"Huh?" Naruto finally turned his head to look at his master. "Wha…what do you mean?"

Setsuna's expression became solemn and respectful. "I told you, boya. Void Fire is not ordinary fire. It's…it's…I wish I had a better word, but, really, there is no other way to put it. It is evil."

"Bu-but, it's fire!"

Setsuna returned Naruto's confused look. Naruto was taken aback by her unusually gentle smile.

"Boy, I showed you the Void so that you would be ready in case another Kitsune tries to use it against you. Now you know it's dangerous and relentless. But do not expect me to tell you more about it. You don't need to understand the Void. You don't **want **to understand the Void. That responsibility belongs only to those who wield it, Kitsune or whatever."

**Setsuna-san shouldn't use that bad fire.**

The four-tails looked back up. With a single motion, without even using her arms for support, she raised her body to a sitting position.

"But, really, I can't believe your Kyuubi did that."

"What?" Naruto was confused by this whole thing, but he had already resigned himself to accept that this was a conversation that would fly way over his head.

"Look over there."

Naruto turned his head to the opposite side…and his heart shook at the sight of the most frightening scenario he had ever witnessed.

He was finally aware that he was on top of one of the tall pillars that littered the whole place. Similar towering mesas of rock extended for a very long distance in the direction he was looking at, until they all disappeared to be replaced by a crater. A HUGE crater. The land had been perfectly flattened and shaped into a flat cone devoid of any feature.

"I got rid of the cloud and the lingering radiation…I should have let you see the cloud. It was quite impressive."

"Wha…wha…?"

"That, my boy, is the scar left by your little Kyuubi's explosion. That's got to be at least…I'd say…four kilometers diameter. I have truly never seen anything like that. It's humbling."

"…Sayuri did THAT?"

…**um.**

For once, the girl did not seem proud of her achievement.

**I…Sayuri doesn't weally know. Sayuri wanted to get wid of the bad fire, and then Sayuri came up with a new jutsu…Kakuton Jutsu.**

"Kakuton? Stroke Release?" Naruto frowned. That was just odd.

**Mugyuu…Sayuri doesn't know the kanji…**

"Nuclear Release."

Naruto turned to Setsuna. "Nu-ku-li…what?"

Setsuna chuckled. "Nothing you need to know, boya. Now, get up. We're supposed to be fighting, right?"

"Uh, um!" Naruto jumped back to his feet. "But, really…" He wiped some dust off his jumpsuit. "…what the heck happened?"

"Didn't I tell you? Higashiyama Sayuri's will allowed her to release a jutsu from behind the seal that contains her. She made a nuclear explosion and killed us."

"How can you say she killed us if-"

Setsuna sighed. "I explained this before. The gods cannot reach this phantasmagoria. The only god here is me. I decide what happens when you die in this world."

"Huuu…I don't get it."

**Sayuri doesn't get it.**

"I'm not surprised." Setsuna rolled her eyes. "By the way, tell your little Kyuubi to stay out of our training. How can you expect to improve if you depend on her power to save you?"

"Uhh…right. You heard that, Sayuri?" Naruto deflected the words in an amicable way. He did not want Sayuri to think he was angry at her.

**Mugyuu…ahwight.**

"Now, lesson two! Taijutsu!"

"O-Oi! Wait! Gah!"

And the battle continued.

* * *

It hurt.

It hurt everywhere.

But it was good.

Night had fallen in that dry, lifeless world, and they had fought.

Darkness had swallowed that moonless realm, and they had fought.

Light had returned again, and they had never stopped fighting.

Setsuna was right. He had felt no hunger or thirst, even as he pushed his muscles relentlessly and constantly. He had long ago taken off both jacket and shirt (and he could have sworn Setsuna shot him a very Kokoro-ish look for a moment there), allowing his perspiration to pour out without obstruction.

He was already getting the hang of Void Fire. The first thing he learned was that, once Setsuna gave the silent order for the fire to chase him, it moved independently of its creator, so distracting or attacking Setsuna did not stop it.

A few deaths and resets later, he found out that the black fire could apparently see through solid rock, so hiding behind a pillar would not stop it.

On a side note, death, most of the time, was very uncomfortable. But he guessed that had everything to do with the fire and the lightning and the neck snaps and the spear-tipped tails and stuff.

After the next reset, Setsuna explained to him that Void Fire was naturally inclined to extinguish living things, and it could "feel him" somehow.

He eventually found out that the only way to get the black fire to stop chasing him was to get beyond the range of its "perception." He estimated this range to be somewhere between eighty to a hundred meters. Conveniently enough, Setsuna could not command the fire beyond the first instruction, so he could get back within range without fear.

Beyond dealing with the lingering flames, there was no real technique to dodging Setsuna's shots. Whether it was a barrage or a large fireball, it was simply a matter of speed, reflexes and finding the gaps in the offensive.

Lightning was tricky, too. It could only move in a straight line, unlike the Void Fire which he had seen making some really incredible things in the air. Setsuna made up for it with her jutsu.

She had shown him a jutsu with which she created four balls of lightning which orbited around her body to defend her. As soon as Setsuna saw a gap in Naruto's defense, one or more of the balls became lines of destructive lightning rushing to get him. It was simple, but it worked.

Setsuna also did not need to shoot it from her hands or her tails. She could summon it from the sky, like, well, real lightning.

In any case, Naruto was getting quite adept at dodging ranged attacks.

Too bad Neji was a Taijutsu specialist.

Then there was Setsuna's Taijutsu. Naruto had quickly learned it was highly acrobatic. The most important feature of Setsuna's nameless style was that it relied almost entirely on her legs. Setsuna never threw a punch. She only used her arms to defend and to support her body when performing her highly flexible motions.

It also took him a while to get used to the almost constant glimpses of her private parts, as she was still not wearing underwear. Of course, he learned his lesson, as every single time he averted his eyes to not look, he ended up dead. Or at least very, very beaten.

It could be said it was a side benefit of their training. As a ninja, Naruto had to get at least used to the female body. Thanks to Setsuna, he was many steps closer to this objective than most of his male Genin colleagues. "Most," because Sasuke and Neji probably would not care, and Shino would probably be able to enjoy it but not let it get in his way.

There was one thing that bothered him from Setsuna's Taijutsu, though. It was not precisely annoying, it was just…weird.

Setsuna's crazy, crazy made-up words.

Naruto grimaced when his right arm got caught in Setsuna's leg clinch. It was one of her preferred defense maneuvers: hooking her thin, flexible leg around his offending limb and holding him by this means.

"_Crois__é__._"

**Sayuri wikes croissants.**

The boy tried to sweep her off her sole balancing leg, but she raised it first to attempt a roundhouse kick in midair. Naruto blocked it with his left arm. Setsuna ended up upside down, her entire weight supported by her thin arms (something that amazed Naruto to no end), using a flip to make some distance between the two. Naruto went after her with a straightforward jump, legs first to castigate her head. Setsuna, however, leapt upwards, turning in the air to parry the straight flying double kick with her right shin interposed between Naruto's feet and her chest.

"_Prise de Fer_."

Naruto's higher mass and momentum should have ensured his advantage, but he could feel his legs giving in.

_Chakra!_

Deciding that he, too, could play that game, he remembered his tree and water-walking lectures to push chakra towards his legs. In an instant, he easily overpowered Setsuna and sent her flying away straight into a sandstone spire.

"Oh…" Naruto admired his work once he was back on his feet. "That was pretty badass."

Eight spheres of lightning, each the size of a tennis ball, emerged from the dust cloud released by Setsuna's impact. They spread all over the place, stopping at apparently random positions around Naruto. Not stopping to think for a second, Naruto jumped away from them.

A lightning bolt flew from within the dust towards one of the spheres, jumping from one to the next at, well, lightning speed, before going for Naruto once it struck the last one.

"Whoa!" Naruto howled as he leapt out of its deathly path. The spheres got into motion again, orbiting Naruto in unpredictable, erratic paths. A second lightning bolt appeared, challenging Naruto's reaction speed as the order in which it struck the eight spheres before going for him was apparently random.

This was, Naruto realized, the point. He could not tell which would be the last sphere struck before it actually happened, so he did not know from which direction would the eventual attack come from.

_Best. Jutsu. Ever._

**Muuu…fire is better.**

…_okay, maybe not the best, but pretty cool anyway._

He did not notice when Setsuna closed the distance between them and moved back to melee. At the same time, one of the eight spheres became a lightning bolt itself, jumping past the other seven spheres before attempting to strike Naruto.

"Oof!" Naruto watched the thin line of electrically charged pain fly by his left side.

Setsuna stopped a step away from Naruto. Turning so as to show only her right side to him, she made an outside circle kick with her right leg.

"_Faux!_"

**Mugiii!**

"Oh my fucking God!" Naruto screamed even as he dodged. Setsuna's legs were coated in lightning!

A wide arc of lightning moved with Setsuna's right leg, smashing the solid ground with the force of a giant hammer, blowing fragments of rock everywhere.

A second lightning ball was spent, jumping from sphere to sphere before going for the blonde vessel. Naruto's muscles and senses were in overdrive, allowing him to somehow make it out unscathed from that electric hell. Setsuna was just a step behind, this time going for a straight kick aimed at his chest.

"_Rapière!_"

Lightning crackled on the tip of her foot, granting her attack unparalleled piercing power.

Naruto ducked. Setsuna's stretched leg fell upon him.

"_Hache!_"

**At-choo! Te-he!**

Naruto jumped to his left, and Setsuna's foot only struck the ground. The boy had to jump a second time in a single step to dodge the third sphere-turned-lightning bolt.

Kick. Dodge. Jump. Duck. Kick. Jump. Flip.

Just like there was lightning all around him, electricity coursed through Naruto's body.

Tense muscles.

Sharp reflexes.

Three more spheres were gone.

Human and Kitsune danced a waltz of electrical death.

Naruto went after Setsuna this time. The shorter Kitsune caught the right knee kick with her left shin. Before Naruto pulled away, Setsuna counterattacked.

"_Riposte!_"

Naruto bent his torso backwards, watching a lovely leg stretched less than a foot above him. Any thoughts of striking back were stopped by the seventh sphere forcing him to drop to the ground and roll away.

"_**Extension**_!"

Jump back. Duck. Sway to the left. Sidestep to the right.

All four tails dug into the ground behind Naruto and pulled in their owner. Setsuna went for a high jump and a straight kick, at the same time the final sphere glowed menacingly.

Naruto ducked one more notice, noticing out of corner of his eyes that the sphere had moved to his right. He leapt forward in time to let the final lightning bolt pass behind him, and got back on his feet with a fluid roll.

Then he felt a flat body on his back.

"Uhh…is that your back or your chest, Mistress? I really can't tell."

The only response he got was crackling electricity.

He decided to place it all in his next move…and hope Lady Luck was with him this time.

"I'm so going to hurt you for-GYAH!" Setsuna squeaked. "YOU SPANKED ME AGA-AH!"

Next thing she knew, Naruto had swept her feel off the ground, seized both her hands and pressed the full weight of his body on hers.

"Whoa…I can't believe it actually worked!" Naruto celebrated with a silly grin. Their right cheeks were touching. "And it WAS your back after all. Really, now that I notice…" Naruto rubbed his chest against hers a bit, furthering Setsuna's embarrassment. "Yeah, I can tell the difference now."

"Bastard…"

"So…are we done? Please tell me we're done."

Setsuna pondered for a moment. "…sure, it's about time. Now get off me."

"No."

"What the hell do you mean, 'no'?"

"'cause you'll kill me the moment I get off."

"True, but I can kill you even like this, too."

"You can?"

The tip of a black fox tail made itself known by poking Naruto's back through his clothes.

"Ah. The tails. Right."

"Right."

"So what was the point of me restraining your body like this?"

"Beats me. Now, get off."

"Ah…well…promise you won't hurt me?"

Setsuna gritted her teeth. "I promise nothing."

"Uhh…I…well…I kinda…can't."

"…explain yourself."

"I'm tired."

"…you're tired." Setsuna sighed. "You know, I'm starting to think you're just looking for an excuse to feel me up."

"What?"

"It would explain your recent obsession with my _derrière_."

**Munii?**

"Oh, shut up!" Naruto spat back, not moving an inch. "You're the one who was asking for it at the end!"

**Asking for what?**

"Ah, really?" An irate Setsuna responded. "But I was not the one who had a raging hard-on AFTER that!"

**What's a wa-gin' hard-**

"Well, at least I'm not a total PERVERT!" Naruto shouted.

"YOU STARTED THE WHOLE THING!" Setsuna shouted back.

Blue eyes met red, and the two silently challenged each other for several tense seconds, their noses barely touching.

Slowly, very slowly, Setsuna's angry frown became a mischievous smirk.

At the same time, Naruto's own smirk faded and changed into a nervous expression; a prominent blush adorning his cheeks.

"…is that a kunai in your pants or-"

"Don't. Finish. That sentence." Naruto grumpily mumbled, pushing himself off Setsuna so that she would not feel his sudden erection.

He had gotten hard from arguing? How many kinds of weird was that?

Those were his thoughts as he slowly tried to get back up.

Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on who you ask), Naruto's right knee subtly brushed the gap between Setsuna's legs.

"A-aahn!" The Kitsune gasped cutely.

Naruto stopped. His cerulean eyes sought Setsuna's scarlet. Slowly, they moved down to shoot a glance at the slightly damp spot on her sundress. Just as slowly, they moved back up to her eyes.

Setsuna's pupils had moved to her right, avoiding his gaze.

Naruto's smirk would have made the Cheshire Cat envious.

"...you did not hear anything."

"Ssssssuuuuuuuuuure I didn't."

**Mugyuu…Sayuri doesn't get it.

* * *

**

It is almost redundant to say it, but Setsuna did kill him when he got off her.

A reset later, the two were watching the clouds again. Naruto was simply waiting to leave this strange and rather monotonous world.

Setsuna was forcing herself to settle down.

_You're not a two-tails anymore, Kiyoura Setsuna! Act your age!_

Like that.

**Onii-chaaaaaaaaan!**

Naruto frowned at Sayuri's whiny tone. _What?_

**I'm booooooooowed. I wanna leaaaaaave.**

_Hmm…good point. _He turned to Setsuna. "Mistress?"

"Ah!" Taken by surprise by Naruto's sudden call, Setsuna quickly gained a blush. "Wha…wha…" She looked away. "What is it?"

"Are we waiting for anything to get out of this place?"

"Wha? No…no…I was just…thinking. Yeah! Thinking things completely beyond your comprehension. Moron."

Setsuna has taken several levels of Tsundere.

"Uh-huh. So, can we get out now? Sayuri's bored."

Setsuna raised an eyebrow. "Really…then why doesn't she break the technique herself, if she's so bored?"

"Huh? She can?"

**I'm a Nine-Tails. I can do ANYTHING.**

"Right…so why haven't you done it yet?"

**Mugyuu…Sayuri hadn't thought about it.**

"Uh…right…then do it now."

…**Sayuri doesn't weally know how.**

Naruto sighed. "…you don't know how."

Setsuna held back a chuckle. "It's not surprising. She might be a Kyuubi, but I doubt she has been even trained in Kitsune Arts. This technique is completely different from anything she might have seen before. It's a jutsu that creates an alternate reality, after all."

**Mugyuu…but I'm bowed!**

"Alright then, get us out of here, Mistress."

"No."

"What?" Naruto moved up from his laying position to better look at his teacher. "Why?"

"Because." Setsuna shrugged. "I'm tired. I'd rather lie down for a few hours. You should rest too, boya."

**Wha? No! I want out! Out!**

"I…don't think Sayuri's gonna let me rest."

**Ah! **Sayuri gasped, as the proverbial light bulb was turned on. **I know!**

**Ah…ah…Sayuri…Sayuri…wejects youh weality and subpi…subspi…subti…changes it with her own!**

Random Genkyouien trivia: Sayuri is an honorary member of The Mythbusters.

She even has an official t-shirt.

Anyway, they were out. They were back in the familiar greenery of Konoha's peripheral training grounds.

"Now how did this happen?" Setsuna muttered to herself.

**Waaaaaaaaaai! I did it!**

Wiggle, wiggle.

"So, how are you feeling, bo-"

"AAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Naruto screamed at the top of his lungs, scaring the nearby fauna.

Setsuna winced. "Too loud."

"OH GOD, THE **PAIN**! THE **AGONY**! THE **TORTURE**!" Naruto was on the grass, incapable of moving. "THE **HUMANITY**!"

"You're such a wuss…" Setsuna muttered bitterly. "My muscles ache, too, and you don't see me screaming like a pussy."

"Owww…"

"So, can we rest now, boya? We're not done for today."

"Ah…let's rest. Yeah. Rest is good. Thank you for your kindness, Mistress Setsuna."

The Kitsune smiled in satisfaction. "I've trained you well."

**Mouuuuu! But I wanna do something! I'm bowed!**

Naruto suppressed a groan. _…like what?_

**I wanna burn something.**

…_Sayuri, sometimes I really worry about you._

**Mugyuu…Sayuri doesn't get it, but onii-chan being a mweanie.**

"Boya?"

"Hmm?"

"I was wondering…" She leaned on her left side, to look straight at Naruto. "By any chance, has she told you what happened…the day she was sealed?"

**I was chasin' mah tails.**

Naruto sweatdropped. "Umm…yeah…she has."

Resting her head on her left hand, Setsuna offered him a rather suspicious smile. "May I hear the story?"

"Uhh…I don't see why not." He said rather tiredly.

**Mou, onii-chan! Put some emotion, EE-MO-SHUN! And cool sound effects!**

Naruto sighed. _Be a good girl and chase your tails for a while, Sayuri._

**Eh? My-ah! TAILS!**

Whoosh!

Naruto could swear he could hear the water splashing as little Sayuri rolled all over her prison.

_Go Roll-yuri, go!_

"So…how was it again?" He began. "Sayuri suddenly felt like trying becoming gigantic…"

* * *

**CHAPTER 09 END**


	11. Kitsune Days, Night Chapter

_**Naruto Genkyouien**_

_**- **__**ナルト**__**- **__**幻**__**脅**__**威宴**_

**Chapter Ten: Kitsune Days – Night Chapter**

**OR**

**Advent of the Lilies

* * *

**

To most citizens of Konoha, including most shinobi, the Aburame Clan grounds are a mystery. People are freely allowed to go in, but most people avoid it.

It is basically a mental thing. Only the people of Konoha know what the people of Konoha think the Aburames have or do within their homes.

Aburame Shino does not particularly care about this situation. His teammates did not seem to be the kind of people that would feel disturbed by the prospect of visiting his house, but he has not presented an invitation, either, and neither Kiba nor Hinata have touched the subject.

To this particular boy, his house was a place of seclusion. A place distant from the rough-and-tumble of daily life and the noisy Konoha.

Kiba might mock him saying he behaved like an old man, but there were few things Shino enjoyed more than sitting down and enjoy the peace and quiet in the company of a warm cup of tea.

He did not mind that the copious amounts of tree impeded the proper enjoyment of the sunset, he was at peace.

"Woof."

And his peace was suddenly shattered by an all-too-familiar bark.

"Akamaru." Stating the obvious, Shino welcomed the canine visitor. He also noticed the object carefully tied to the dog's left forepaw.

"A letter? From Kiba?" Shino noted. "Unusual…but not entirely unexpected."

Taking the note, the boy in shades carefully patted the puppy's head.

"Good boy."

Akamaru gladly wagged his tail.

"I'm sorry I don't have any treats for you. Ask your partner to give you some when you get back."

The white dog barked his agreement. With his free hand, Shino unrolled the tiny piece of paper and quickly read.

_Dear bastard,_

_Screw you._

"Well, that was concise." Shino muttered before reading the rest.

_P.S. Hinata was just released. She's on her way to pay you a visit. Have fun!_

As if on cue, a bell announced Shino that somebody waited at the door.

An ominous wind blew towards the sun. Akamaru whined and shuddered in uneasiness. Shino noticed the cluster of dark clouds gathering high atop his home.

"Now that cannot mean anything good."

Calmly standing up, Shino walked to the main entrance. He was alone in the house: his father was out of Konoha and her mother was at her weekly session of her "Aesthetic Appreciation Club."

It was a very fancy name for a bunch of women meeting to drool at pictures of males half their age. Sometimes younger. It was a very disturbing thing to watch, something Shino could attest to.

He sometimes wondered whether he should just apologize to Naruto in behalf of the female population of Konohagakure.

But that's a story for another time.

The temperature dropped dramatically as he moved closer to the sliding door, and it seemed like the amount of light was also decreased with every step he took. To any other person it would have been quite unsettling. There was a strange, tremulous hum in the air. Shino could feel a presence beyond the panel. It waited, impatiently. And he knew it could feel him too.

Taking a deep breath, Shino opened the door.

_**OOOOOOOOH FOOOORTUUUUNAAAAA!**_

He closed the door. Why was he breathing so heavily? Why were his hands shaking?

Willing himself to remain calm, he opened the door again.

_**VEEEEEEEEEELUT LUUUUNAAAA!**_

He closed the door again. He was sweating by this point. It was a cold sweat further accentuated by the low temperature. Moisture gathered on his shades.

"A-Anooooo…" A lovely voice reached him from the opposite side. "Shino-kun, can you open the door, please?"

Shino's knees trembled. However, this was something he had to face. There was no other way.

He opened the door.

_**SSSSSSSSSTATU VA-RI-A-BI-LIIIIIS!**_

"Hello, Hinata."

_Fuck you Kiba, fuck you._

Hinata smiled, tilting her head for maximum adorableness.

"Umm…good evening, Shino-kun." Hinata saluted him with a polite bow. "Can I come in?"

"Can you stop that unnerving background music?"

Hinata blinked. Even when she blinked she looked cute. "What background music?"

_**Sem-per cres-cis.**_

_**Aut de-cres-cis.**_

_**Vi-ta de-tes-taaaaa-bi-liiiiiis…**_

Shino shuddered.

"Nothing. Please come in."

_**Nunc ob-du-rat…**_

_**Et tunc cu-rat…

* * *

**_

With a throaty groan, Naruto opened his eyes.

The first thing that came to mind was that he felt awfully thirsty.

The second was the feel of the grass under his back.

The third was the weight and warmth of Setsuna's body pressed against his right side.

…wait.

Looking down, Naruto found, indeed, the sleeping figure of his newest teacher, peacefully sleeping by his side. Both her right arm and her right leg held him in place, the arm wrapped around his chest and the leg hooked to his own right leg. A faint, sibilant noise, reminiscent of a boiling teapot, escaped her parted lips with each breath.

It was utterly adorable.

He was so completely fucked.

_Uh…so, how did this happen? Sayuri?_

…

_Ah, asleep too._

Naruto easily remembered. By the end of his tale of Sayuri's ordeals and subsequent sealing, Setsuna was twitching. Whether it was from annoyance or suppressed laughter, he did not know. She did not comment on it, anyway. She thanked him in a subdued tone and went back to watching the clouds, obviously immersed in thought. Naruto left her to her own reflections, for once his exhaustion defeating his curiosity.

Besides, there was also…

It was still a bit too early to call her one of his precious people (give him a day or two), but they had a connection. Beyond the obvious master-student thing, of course. They simply got along, in a weird, unnerving way, completely unlike any other relationship he had forged before.

He groaned quietly, feeling his face flush at the memory of their spontaneous sexual encounter.

That…does sound a lot worse than it actually was, does it not?

"Ugh…that's going to show up in my dreams tonight, isn't it?" He mumbled.

"Mmmmm…" Setsuna uttered as her sleep was disturbed.

"Oh crap."

"Hnnn…" The little Kitsune moaned, groggily raising a hand to wipe her eyes. "Hnn?"

Her eyes met Naruto's.

"Ummm…yo?"

Her eyes hardened.

"Please don't hurt me."

Silence.

One.

Two.

"GET OFF ME!" Setsuna clumsily struggled to push Naruto off her, unaware that…

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO'S ALL OVER ME!"

"A-ALL OVER YOU?" Setsuna squeaked in an overly high-pitched tone. Raising the upper half of her body to get a better look, she realized that, indeed, it was she who had moved.

Cue massive blush.

"S-So-So-So what?" The Kitsune moved away. "S-So I moved a bit while I was asleep!"

"A bit?"Naruto raised an eyebrow. "You were, like, a full meter away last I remember."

Naruto's words got the girl even more flustered. "S-S-S-S-S-Ssss-So WHAT? It's not li-like it means anything!" She paused, as if reflecting on her words, before exploding again. "It doesn't mean anything! So do-don't get ideas!"

"Okay, okay, whatever!" Naruto dismissed the overly excited tsundere. "It's not like I care or anything."

"Eh?" For some reason, Setsuna's body perked up.

"What? It wasn't…really uncomfortable…or anything."

"Oh…"

They stared at each other for several uncomfortable seconds, watching the other's face becoming gradually redder and redder.

"S-SO!" The nervous Kitsune finally declared, hurriedly jumping to her feet. "Are you rested now, boya?"

"Uh?" Naruto was doing the same. "Ah! Rested! Yeah! Sure…"

* * *

A little over an hour later, Naruto was climbing the stairs to his apartment. He had taken a calm, cool stroll back home, not really feeling like roof-jumping or ninja-dashing, at least for the rest of the day. That is not to say he was going to relax. Far from it. With his training having just begun, Naruto felt the determination to push himself harder than he had ever done before.

However, life moved on with him, and he still had a life beyond training. He had to get dinner, which meant he had to buy groceries, which meant he had to go home to get some money.

Surprisingly enough, Sayuri still slept. Naruto had been thinking, and he wanted to talk to her about one little thing (Setsuna's suggestion, in fact), but he guessed it could wait.

In any case, Naruto was feeling very satisfied. He was finally moving forward, towards the appointed objective: defeating Hyuuga Neji.

"I'm home…" He boringly muttered to no one.

"Katsura Special Technique – Kokoro Pounce!"

Next thing he knew, Naruto was on the floor in front of his apartment door, Ayame straddling him and bluntly sliding her hands all over his broad chest.

"Hello you." Kokoro saucily greeted her chosen mate.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "…why are you here?"

Lowering her (well, Ayame's) body to press her chest against his, Kokoro ignored the question. "I missed you."

"Why are you here?" Naruto repeated, unfazed.

Ayame playfully traced circles on Naruto's chest with her left index. "I was soooo bored in here; I could only think about you."

"Seriously. Why are you here?"

Ayame rubbed her nose against his neck. "Mou, just what have you been doing? You kinda stink…"

Naruto was about to tell her he had been training when he noticed the strange frown on her face. "…Ko…Kokoro-nee-chan?" He did not know himself why he was using the same honorific he had extended to Kokoro's human host all these years.

Lowering her head to Naruto's chest, Kokoro began to sniff.

"Oh crap." Naruto, surprising even himself, could see where this was going.

The intrigued nose rapidly trailed down past Naruto's abdomen until it reached his pants, finally lingering over his right leg.

"Uhh…Kokoro-nee-chan?" Naruto began to sweat heavily. "Kokoro-chan?"

She raised her head to meet his uneasy glance. Ayame's eyes were dead cold, unveiling no emotion.

"Umm…" Naruto grasped at straws. "…darling?"

"GYAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Kokoro shrieked.

"WHAT THE FUCK?"

With strength unsettling coming from a supposedly-ordinary cook and waitress, Ayame grabbed Naruto's jacket with both hands and got on her feet, effortlessly lifting the boy off his own, before turning around to toss him inside the apartment.

"Oof!" Naruto hit the floor with a grunt, a little too stunned by the whole thing to react in time to Kokoro's violent stomps. He was lifted up again by two feminine but ridiculously strong hands.

"Koko-ragh!" The blonde gasped again when he was slammed against the nearest wall. A speck of saliva flew past Ayame's left ear.

"I can't believe you…" The woman growled, sending unpleasant shivers down the boy's spine.

"Uh…Kokoro-nee-"

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DID THIS TO ME!" Ayame shrieked, her eyes glowing with deranged intensity. Her hands shook Naruto's smaller but sturdier body like a rag doll.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DID THIS TO ME!" She repeated. "HOW COULD YOU! HOW COULD YOU, DAMN IT!"

"Guuuuuh…dizzy…"

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOUR NERVE!" Kokoro did not stop screaming, nor did she stop shaking poor Naruto and slamming him against the wall. "I **OFFERED** MYSELF TO YOU! I **THREW** MYSELF AT YOU, AND YOU GO AND HAVE FUN WITH SOME **SKANK** BEHIND MY BACK!"

"Hey!" Naruto found it within himself to complain. What an idiot. "I have every right to choose whatever skank I want to have fun with!" He paused. "Whatever that means."

Naruto made a silent promise never to let Setsuna find out about this conversation.

Smack!

That was the sound of Ayame slapping Naruto.

"Wrong. Answer," the furious female growled.

Slowly, she lowered the boy, allowing Naruto to stand on his own feet. Her hands, however, never left his clothes. She was breathing slowly and heavily. Naruto ignored the sway of her chest as she breathed to focus on her face, even if those disturbing, crazed eyes were freaking the hell out of him.

Kokoro let her forehead rest on Naruto's.

"Who was it?"

"Huh?"

"WHO WAS IT!" The Kitsune raised her voice again, slamming Naruto against the wall for good measure.

"Oww…"

"I'll kill her," Kokoro growled menacingly, looking to the side for a moment, as if the hated enemy were there. She looked back at Naruto, who squeaked in fear. "I'll rape you." She made a pause. Her face strangely returned to her normal, placid appearance. "I'll take a shower." Back to crazy. "I'll rape you."

Suddenly, she looked away, her face one of reflection. She seemed to be pondering what she had just said. Then she slammed Naruto against the wall one more time.

"NOT NECESSARILY IN THAT ORDER!"

_Wow, she snapped._

"Kokoro-nee-chan, I didn't do any…I didn't do what you think I did."

"LIKE HELL YOU DIDN'T!" Slam. Naruto groaned. "YOUR PANTS REEK OF SEX!"

"Yeah." Naruto rolled his eyes. "Hers." _Should have known this would get me in trouble._

Naruto's choice of words was far from the best, and Ayame's normally warm eyes glowed with insane anger. Naruto was quick to notice, however, and did not hesitate to explain himself.

"I...I touched her…there…and…and I…" He was a blushing wreck by this point. "…I did…stuff…to her…" No way in hell he was going to go into details. "…but we didn't! We didn't do…well, **that**."

Kokoro stared at the boy. She stared HARD. Naruto held the gaze for a while, but eventually her intensity and his own embarrassment obliged him to shy away. The girl, however, could not deny that Naruto's words were honest.

However…

Slam!

"OW!"

"THAT'S PLENTY MORE THAN WHAT **WE** HAVE DONE!"

"Oh, for the gods' sake…I still don't see why you're all crazy like this!"

Ayame gasped in honest surprise, her eyes wide as saucers.

"You…you don't…GYAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

"What the-WHA!" Naruto yelled as he was thrown one more time. At least this time he landed safely on the old couch. Naruto feared for his immediate health when Kokoro began pulling her own (well, Ayame's) hair.

"You don't see? YOU DON'T SEE!" Her crazed gaze and deranged grin scared Naruto considerably.

"IS IT SO HARD TO UNDERSTAND?" Ayame shrieked, stretching her arms to both sides. "I WANT TO FUCK! I! WANT! TO! FUCK!"

Naruto winced. Ayame was banging her head on the wall after each word.

"F! U! C! K!"

"What the hell are you saying?"

Ayame blinked. "Huh? Oh! Oh, right, we speak Japanese here. My bad. Which is kinda weird, because Japan doesn't exist."

"Now what the hell are you talking about?"

"Nothing, nothing." Back to crazy, one more time. "REGARDLESS!"

A second later, Ayame had pinned Naruto's body to the couch with her waist.

"We, as in you and me, are gonna do it. And we are gonna do it now." Kokoro licked her lips in anticipation.

"No."

"OH, COME ON!" Kokoro wildly threw her arms in the air. "YOU HAVE NO EXCUSE TO REFUSE ME NOW!"

"How about 'I don't want to'?"

"Pweaaaaaase." Ayame went for the puppy eyes trick. It was a fearsome technique, but honestly, Naruto had had enough unwanted sexual education for a day. Or a whole year.

"No." Naruto tiredly repeated.

"You know I could take you by force, don't you?"

"If you could you would have done it already."

They stared at each other's eyes.

"…tch. Fine!"

Naruto was finally free from the weight of the older girl. However, it was blatantly clear that she was not satisfied with the conclusion. Her lowered gaze avoided Naruto's frame; her left arm hesitatingly kept a hold on her right elbow.

"You…you know you're hurting me, Naruto…"

For a moment, the boy actually pitied the Kitsune in heat.

For a moment.

"I can't do something I don't wanna do. It wouldn't be fair, Kokoro-nee-chan."

"No."

Her eyes sought his. While the furious spark of lust and anger was gone, there was a cold determination that chilled the young Genin.

"Don't call me that." Her eyes narrowed. "I don't want to be your onee-chan."

After yet another moment of uncomfortable silence, Kokoro sighed loudly and slumped down on the nearest seat.

"Haaa, mou…" Her face was a perfect expression of disappointment.

"Kokoro-ne…Kokoro-chan?"

"Hmm?"

"Really…why are you in my place?"

* * *

Around the same time Naruto had a close encounter of the Kokoro type, Sarutobi had a select group of his ANBU gathered in his office. He had a meeting with his advisors in less than an hour and he did not want to show up empty-handed. Therefore, he expected his select elites to present the results of the earliest inquiries concerning the events of earlier that day.

"While we easily located the initial point from which the attack came from, there were no leads of any use to find in that place. There were no lingering traces of chakra we could follow or associate with…anything." Tiger explained.

The Third easily caught the undertone behind those words. By 'anything', Tiger obviously meant 'Kyuubi'. It was not hard to understand why anyone would associate what happened that day to the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. That level of destruction was not something that could be seen every day. However, at the same time, it made little sense. After all, on that frightening day almost thirteen years before, Kyuubi did not really use any jutsu, especially not shining beams of DOOM.

It just simply…walked around, crushing anything that stood in its path. It also swung its tails haphazardly, destroying structures and annihilating many ninja with every swing.

It also rolled a few times all over the village. That was just mean. If it wasn't beyond ridiculous Sarutobi could have sworn it was chasing its tails like an ordinary dog.

"Also, Inuzuka Tsume-san explained that somehow hers and her nin-dog's sense of smell were hampered in the firing zone. The same happened later when we were exploring the impact zone." Tiger continued.

The Hokage sighed and rested his elbows on the desk, his mouth covered by his hands joined together. "So there was nothing at the firing zone."

"Nothing." Tiger agreed. "Besides a disturbing amount of dead animals within a radius of around fifty meters from the crater: birds, lizards and large insects, mostly."

"I see…" It was just a saying; he had absolutely nothing. "How about our 'guests'?"

"The group from Sunagakure has been under constant observation. We have discarded them as suspects, but a team is still monitoring their activities."

"The boy, Gaara?"

"No activity…" A shinobi behind a Horse mask handed a piece of paper to Tiger. After eyeing it for no more than three seconds, Tiger placed on the desk for the Third to read it. "Yesterday, Sabaku no Gaara left Konoha early in the morning. He located and contacted Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Sasuke."

The Third raised an eyebrow.

"They exchanged no more than a few words and the Suna-nin left after that, immediately returning to Konoha."

"So we know where they are…" The old man muttered to himself. He would have to make things clear to Kakashi: the Jounin could not just take one of Konoha's shinobi outside the village's limits without informing anyone; no matter the reason or that it was one of his Genin.

Why was everyone stepping on his authority lately? Sarutobi would have none of that. He had already "enjoyed" a thorough talk with Jiraiya concerning Naruto, his training and the methods the Toad Hermit had chosen. The Sannin had actually apologized. It seemed Jiraiya expected a little too much from Naruto. Did his old student really think controlling the Nine-Tails chakra could be THAT simple?

Had Naruto been aware of the Hokage's thoughts, he would have found them quite humorous.

"The bulk of foreign visitors will arrive on the last two days before the finals," Tiger continued. "So far we only have a small influx of tourists. We are keeping an eye of them, but…"

The Hokage nodded. It was hard to believe any of them could be the culprit.

He had an idea, an explanation perhaps, of what had been unleashed upon Konoha. It was as if somebody had taken the Fourth's signature jutsu, _**Rasengan**_, overloaded it with chakra, and fired it from a distance. However, if such a thing were possible, they would definitely know of it.

_What in all the gods' names happened?_

He sighed. No point dwelling in 'what if's'.

"Mortal victims?"

"None."

"Number of wounded."

"Twenty-six. All are currently under control and recovering."

"So it's mostly material losses."

"Yes sir."

"How did the relocation of the homeless go?"

"Almost without trouble. A few hesitated to take residence in the mostly abandoned Uchiha sector. The situation is under control."

Sarutobi nodded. The shinobi force of Konoha would aid its civilians recover and rebuild their lost homes.

"How about clearing the affected areas?"

"The Demolition Corps are having a blast cleaning that up…" Tiger made a pause. Nobody could see the grimace on his face, but more than a few could tell.

"…literally."

"I see." The aged Kage muttered matter-of-factly. "The refuges within the mountain must be restored within the week."

"Yes sir."

"Have you consulted with the Demolition Corps?"

"They admit not to have any technique in their arsenal with a behavior like what we saw today. They are as puzzled as the rest of us, but did not hesitate to express their interest in acquiring such a technique."

"Of course." Sarutobi rolled his eyes. "So, no ideas from them, either."

"Actually…" Tiger dropped his voice a quarter of an octave. "There is…well, it is expected from the villagers, but…"

"What is it?" The Third insisted with a flat, cold tone.

"…more than a few of the ADC members think it was Uzumaki Naruto."

Sarutobi was aware of the strange relationship between Naruto and the ANBU Demolition Corps. The young blonde had unknowingly become an unofficial pet of sorts. This was because of the two single things Naruto and the ADC had in common: a penchant for unacceptable, loud antics and an uncanny ability at pissing everyone off. He also knew the ADC was keeping an eye on the boy's development, even if his progress so far had been rather disappointing.

Of course, if Naruto had really done that, which was, of course, beyond ridiculous, it would not be hard to realize the ADC guys would be considerably excited.

"Speaking of Uzumaki, he was a valuable aid in the efforts to clear up the rubble."

"How so?" This truly interested the Hokage.

"It seems that, when he became aware of what happened, he dispatched many of his shadow clones to aid in the efforts. It is astounding, his chakra capacity."

A few more nods from other ANBU confirmed Tiger's words. Sarutobi did not show it, but he was proud of the boy. There was no Kyuubi there, it was all Naruto. He made a mental note to commend the boy for his good intentions.

"Well, if you speak so well of Naruto's actions, I take you are not considering him a suspect." Sarutobi declared, not without a hint of mirth clear in his voice.

"Well…" Tiger could not stop himself from hesitating. "…he has an alibi."

"One hell of an alibi," Cat muttered somewhere in the back. Tiger, if able to, would have shot a glare at both him and at the chuckling Aardvark next to him. At the same time, however, he was surprised.

"You met them, too?"

Tiger had failed to share notes with the team of Cat and Aardvark before meeting with the Third.

Crass mistake.

"Who?" Cat inquired, obviously amused by the whole thing. "We did not talk with Uzumaki, if that's what you mean. We did talk with his…" He stiffened a chuckle. "…companion."

"Companion?" Sarutobi asked. There was something in the way his ANBU were touching the topic that unsettled the old man in an all too familiar way. If Naruto had been hanging around with any of his few friends, his elites would have just said the name, without the need to beat around the bush.

A girl.

This was the obvious undertone. However, this was not really a bad thing, either. Naruto was at that age…sorta. However, his ANBU would not behave like this, even if that was the case.

"Apparently Uzumaki has made a new friend."

"Yeah, frieeeeeeeend." Cat retorted with a sly tone. Many chuckles filled the room.

While Tiger had not exchanged notes with Cat and Aardvark, every other ANBU in the room already knew of Tiger's and Boar's encounter with Naruto and Setsuna.

"From what we got, it seems she is a tourist here for the finals. She met with Uzumaki and he has acted as his…tour guide, of sorts, showing her around the village." This was the story Setsuna imprinted in their minds with both her words and her powers.

"Namely, his bedroom." Aardvark muttered, for which he got a slap on the back of his head courtesy of Cat.

"Apparently, Uzumaki was asleep in the moment of the explosion. When the incident happened, he deployed his clones, but did not depart himself. It seems the girl did not notice Naruto doing this."

"The girl was with him at the moment of the incident?" Sarutobi asked.

"So they claimed." Tiger neutrally declared.

"Reading?"

"Negative."

By this Tiger meant they had not detected any emission of conscious or residual chakra from Setsuna. From this, they concluded the girl was neither untrained in the use of chakra nor possessing of naturally vast chakra capacity (some humans were gifted in this way, even without ninja training). There was, of course, the possibility of Setsuna just being incredibly good at concealing her chakra.

For most youkai it is extremely easy to conceal their inhuman chakra from those who are not actively looking for it.

"So, does this girl have a name?"

Tiger, Boar, Cat and Aardvark froze in unison. They had just realized: they never got the girl's name!

They could not understand how such a thing could have happened. It was even worse than a rookie mistake!

Such is the power of Kitsune Enchantments. It also helps that they are complete idiots.

Aardvark voiced his colleagues' feelings with a sigh. "Damn…well, I guess we just got distracted. I mean, that chick was totally hot."

The rest of the ANBU turned their heads to Aardvark, shock concealed behind their masks. Sarutobi raised an eyebrow at this. What was the problem now?

The problem was, of course, that Tiger's description of Naruto's girlfriend was not precisely something they would call "hot." More like "jailbait."

"Yeah, I'd totally hit that," Cat agreed with his teammate.

More than a few gasps broke the silence within the room.

"Dude!" Boar exclaimed accusingly at the two. Cat raised an eyebrow under the mask.

"What?"

"Dude!" Boar repeated, obviously speaking in behalf of the entire ANBU Corps. Cat and Aardvark could not see the disapproving looks they were getting from their fellows.

"What?"

"What do you mean, 'what'? Are you crazy? That…that girl!"

"What?" Cat insisted. "She's a total fox! Didn't you check those legs?"

Tiger and Boar shuddered. "What the fuck, man!" Boar responded, his disbelief slowly changing into disgust.

"Yeah…" Aardvark responded to his partner's question. "When I wasn't looking at her tits, of course."

"What the-DUDE!" Boar yelled. It was all disgust by this point. "That's just WRONG!"

"Wha-come on, what's wrong?" Aardvark honestly inquired. "What, are you gay or something?"

"Wha-NO! I'm just decent! You guys are SICK! That girl, I'm not sure she's even right for the fox brat!"

Cat chuckled. "Well, yeah, there's a bit of an age difference…but she's just right enough for me!"

"EW!" Almost every single ANBU in the room voiced simultaneously.

"Ugh-" Boar held back a breath, before forcing himself to calm down. He had been about to do something he would later regret.

"You know what? Fuck you, you two. Fuck you to hell. I'm done. We don't give a damn about your sick tastes. We're not talking to you guys anymore. We just work together, and that's it." Boar and a few others shook their heads to the two confused ANBU officers. "You fuckin' pedos." He muttered quietly enough for only Tiger to listen in. The man in the striped mask nodded in agreement.

"Wha…?" Aardvark muttered in a subdued tone. He was a rookie; he did not want to be in bad terms with the others so soon.

"What the fuck is wrong with you people?" Cat asked in honest confusion and disbelief. He did not get answers.

Throughout the whole thing, Hiruzen Sarutobi was twitching on his seat. Why was everybody acting as if he were not even there? What, just because he was old everybody thought they could step on his authority?

_You're so getting academy cleaning duties after this, you bastards._

At no point did the ANBU think of sharing notes and dispel the confusion, especially not after Cat and Aardvark were branded as "those fuckin' pedos."

Yes.

Complete idiots.

* * *

"_**Kuchiyose no Jutsu**_!" Naruto exclaimed, slamming his right hand on the floor of his living room. A few seconds later, the smoke revealed two familiar tall figures. The shortest one, already six centimeters taller than him (and imperceptibly taller than Sasuke), made him hold his breath and skip a beat.

She was beautiful.

He could almost swear her hair glowed, as if it released captured moonlight. She was wearing the most beautiful dress Naruto had ever seen. It was a formal long-sleeved kimono; a _**furisode**_. It was made to remind any who looked at it of the night sky: a dark shade of blue, transitioning to black in a flawless gradation from the main body to the edges of the dress. Diminutive, nigh-unnoticeable white dots randomly blanketed the garment as twinkling stars. The most amazing thing, however, was the swirling arc of white and light blue which danced all over the yukata, including the long sleeves.

The marvelous aurora streaked the night sky in an unparalleled display of light, color and artistic technique unlike anything Naruto had seen before. Small white lilies crawled up from the bottom edge of the dress until somewhere around waist level. Tiny white, gold and black butterflies fluttered off the branches and petals to dance in the night sky. Similar patterns of flowers and butterflies appeared on the sleeves, too.

Kokoro had requested him to summon this specific pair of Kitsune, if only for a few minutes. Apparently, it was related to an order from Sayuri's mother, the Matriarch of Higashiyama. Naruto was not even sure he could pull it off, but apparently he had rested enough, if only to call them for a few minutes.

He easily realized what this meant. She was wearing this to meet him. She was wearing it for him.

Naruto was out of words. He was one hundred percent, absolutely sure no other (human) girl he knew could pull this off. As much as he liked Sakura, he simply could not picture her irradiating such an astoundingly…**mature**, elegant aura.

He found himself envying the girl a little. He wished he could look like that.

Well, the manly equivalent of that.

"Yurimi…" A weak voice escaped his frozen lips.

"Good evening, Master." Yurimi's soft, flat voice startled the boy. "I take from your silence that you approve of my choice of wardrobe."

Naruto skipped a beat when the girl expressed her satisfaction via a gentle, half-hidden smile.

"…I'm glad."

The boy released a breath he did not know he had been holding.

"…beautiful." It was the only word that came out of his mouth.

Kotonoha shot an approving glance at the boy, who did not notice, for he had eyes for nobody but the apparition of virginal beauty in front of him.

Yurimi actually look surprised for a moment, honestly never expecting Naruto to voice the emotions blatant in his eyes. The single flattering word send a rush of blood towards her pale cheeks, and Yurimi found herself dropping her gaze to not let anyone witness her moment of embarrassment.

Naruto and Kotonoha thought it was adorable.

"Master," Ayame mouthed. Kotonoha looked at the body possessed by her sister. Ayame was actually looking at her, at the same time her left index pointed at Yurimi.

"She called him Master."

"Yes, she did," Kotonoha idly responded. "And please stop pointing at Yurimi-sama, it's rude."

Kokoro already knew Naruto was acquainted with Yurimi; he told her himself. He had obviously "forgotten" to mention this aspect of their relationship.

She dropped her head in defeat.

"I want to die," she muttered. A few seconds later, her body went rigid. "Don't you DARE patronize me, Ayame."

"Uh…um…Master?" Yurimi softly called. If it were not so hard to tell, Naruto would have thought she sounded shy.

"Uh…yeah?" Naruto nervously scratched the back of his head. He was sure he was a blushing wreck.

Yurimi hesitatingly raised her head to look at the nervous boy in front of her. After that, she shot uneasy glances at the other two women in the room. Wearing a bitter half-smile, she dropped her head again.

"No…it's nothing. My apologies. Is my little sister well?"

"Ah, she's asleep right now."

"I see."

Kotonoha felt a bit guilty. Yurimi didn't want to openly display her affection in front of the Katsura sisters.

Naruto blinked in confusion, but did not insist. The initial impression of Yurimi's beautiful appearance fading; Naruto finally noticed the world beyond the girl.

"Kotonoha-san…um…hello."

"Naruto-sama." The bodyguard bowed courteously. Naruto could not stop himself from noticing the perennial bag hanging down her right side.

"Umm…" He sweatdropped. "…Makoto…san."

Kotonoha's eyes glimmered in surprise, but she did not hesitate to smile in approval. "Makoto-kun says hello."

"Sure he does," Ayame mumbled, only to find herself the target of her older sister's coldly placid stare.

"Kokoro-chan?"

Ayame shuddered. "Damn, you could share tips with Ichimaru Gin…umm…y-yo! Makoto-kun…hahaha…"

Kotonoha's smile softened and became more honest. She did, however, pat her bag exactly three times. Ayame sighed.

"…hello, Sekai," Ayame "greeted" with a flat tone.

Nodding in approval, Kotonoha turned to Naruto again. "I hope you had a good day, Naruto-sama. I am truly sorry I could not be of help."

"Ah!" Naruto gasped, but quickly smile reassuringly. "Don't worry, don't worry!" Looking down at the right fist he clenched, his eyes sparked with excitement and determination. "I…I'm training hard now." His smile grew far wider. "I think I learned more today than I did the previous three weeks!"

Naruto could not explain it with words, but he instinctively understood the bulk of Setsuna's "teachings." By fighting him using different methods, approaches and strategies, she was helping him develop a "sense" of how to better defend against specific forms of attack. In addition, both his reflexes and speed would steadily increase as he forced himself to keep up with Setsuna's overly superior physical qualities (strength being the exception).

He pouted a bit as he scratched the right side of his chin, muttering more to himself than to the girls around him.

"Setsuna's kinda harsh, but at least she's actually teaching me stuff."

The temperature around Ayame dropped a few degrees. None of the three others failed to notice, and did not hesitate to look at her.

"You have GOT to be fucking kidding me," Ayame retorted in a voice dangerously resembling a growl.

"Now, now…" Kotonoha dismissed her sister's growing anger with her usual placid smile. "I'm sure there are plenty of Setsunas out there. It doesn't have to be THE Setsuna."

"Ah!" Naruto gasped in sudden awareness. "Right! I think she knows you, Kotonoha-san."

The swordswoman held back a giggle. "Okay, it's her."

"I hate my life."

"So, how's she been doing, Naruto-sama?" Kotonoha honestly inquired. "I had not heard from her in a while."

"And it was supposed to stay like that…"

Ayame blinked. At some point while she uttered that sentence, the proverbial light bulb was lit. Before she could stop herself, she was looking at Naruto.

The boy ninja noticed the ramen girl's fixed gaze and nervously returned it, unsure of what exactly she was looking for in his clear blue orbs.

Then he figured it out.

He realized he was fucked half a second AFTER he gulped and looked guilty.

"Crap."

Truer words Naruto had not ever said.

Ayame gaped.

Kotonoha raised an eyebrow.

Yurimi…well, Yurimi did nothing. This was just because her name had not shown up for a while already.

Ayame gaped some more.

Kotonoha shot an odd glance at Naruto, as if asking "what the fuck is wrong with the body my sister's possessing?"

Yurimi remained outside of the (now silent) conversation. It was not a position she particularly enjoyed. She's a traditionalist so she would prefer to be taken from behind like any good vixen…but this has absolutely nothing to do with the current plot. Please forget it.

Ayame…well, she stopped gaping. Not that this was a good thing, though.

"GYAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Kotonoha raised the other eyebrow. Yurimi blinked. Good for her.

"THE FUCK!" This was Naruto.

"URK!" This was Naruto, after Ayame closed her hands around his neck like a vice.

"FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU, UZUMAKI NARUTO! AND FUCK HER, TOO!" Kokoro screamed through the body of a human girl. "FUCK THAT BLASTED LOLI! I'M GONNA **KILL **HER!"

"Now that wouldn't be wise…" Kotonoha mumbled, still uncertain of what exactly was going on. Yurimi blinked a few more times.

"I'M GONNA KILL HER! I'M GONNA HANG HER LIKE A TROPHY WITH **MEATHOOKS **THROUGH HER **NIPPLES**!"

"Now that's just harsh," Kotonoha commented.

"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Ayame screamed pointlessly one more time before throwing Naruto as far as her surprisingly strong arms allowed her to. Yurimi's eyes followed her flying beloved until he slammed the dining table, hard.

"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Ayame repeated and then ran in the first direction her feet guided her to: straight into a wall.

Kotonoha winced at the sickening "thud" sound made by Ayame's face impacting the vertical surface. A second later, the ramen girl was face up on the floor.

And then there was silence.

Yurimi walked over to the dining table to check on the boy she loved. His quiet groans were the only sounds that broke the uneasy silence within the room.

"Master…" She called with a hint of unease.

"Ugh…" Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "What the hell…"

"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Naruto and Yurimi froze. Ayame was screaming from the prone position, but then she suddenly got back on her feet to run towards the main entrance. Naruto and the two Kitsune slowly approached the possessed girl while she opened the door and walked outside, only to be startled when Ayame began to run down the corridor.

The three managed to pop their heads out of the apartment in time to witness the end of Ayame's strange run.

"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Naruto gasped when Ayame leapt off the end of the corridor. There were about two seconds of stunned silence until the sound of Ayame's body falling on the trash container reached the trio's ears; the hissing complaints of felines added for good measure.

And then there was silence, again.

"Umm…can you explain that, Naruto-sama?" Kotonoha questioned in a surprisingly subdued tone.

Naruto pondered the question for exactly one second.

"…no. No, I really can't."

* * *

With the excuse of checking for her younger sister's welfare –which made no sense right after she let Ayame JUMP FROM THE TOP FLOOR OF A BUILDING–, Kotonoha let Yurimi alone with Naruto for a few minutes, not before reminding her ward of the reason they were summoned.

Hiding her mirth as she closed the door behind her, Kotonoha let the two young lovebirds alone. Naruto was just grateful he had thought of changing his clothes. But, really, after witnessing Ayame's reaction, he would have been an idiot not to.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

Yurimi raised an eyebrow. "You mean murdering Naruto-sama's best friend, skin her and turn her into a bag?"

Kotonoha pouted cutely. "Pooh, you're no fun." And with that, she was gone.

Yurimi looked away from the door and at her love interest. Naruto was staring back with a hint of fear in his blue eyes. The girl offered a comforting half-smile.

"No, Master, I do not intend to kill Haruno Sakura, skin her and turn her into a bag."

Naruto sighed in poorly concealed relief.

"It would be the easy way to beat her, after all."

"Meep."

This short and strange interlude was followed by an uneasy silence. Naruto's advanced processing functions were short-circuited and Yurimi was experiencing something she was not used to: a lack of ability to form coherent sentences.

She simply had no idea what to say.

The young Kitsune glanced at the boy who tried to look at anything but her. His uncharacteristic quietness made her heart flutter, for she knew it was because of her that he behaved like this.

"I…I really love you."

Naruto stared at the girl with the eyes of the deer caught by the headlights and Yurimi realized she had voiced her thoughts. Her eyes actually became round and wide.

"Ma-Mast-" She quickly composed herself, but it was impossible to hide the pretty blush on her snow white cheeks. "My apologies. I…I suddenly spoke my mind, that was most inappropriate."

Naruto mutely stared at the girl, unsure of how else he could react to this event. Nobody else made him feel as uncomfortably self-conscious as Yurimi did. It was completely different from Sakura. With the pink-haired girl, he made a constant effort to charm her with his boisterous, honest, outgoing personality. Yurimi made him feel…inappropriate. She made him feel like changing himself just so he could feel worthy of being in the same room as her.

Setsuna? She was just…weird. In an OH-MY-GOD-WHAT-THE-FUCK-IS-WRONG-WITH-YOU way.

The worst thing about Yurimi, however, was that her unhesitating voicing of her feelings for him made him question his own every single moment he was around her.

No, scratch that.

The worst thing was that he couldn't keep the feel of her body and her lips pressed against his out of his mind.

"It…it's okay…" The boy bashfully muttered. "Um…tha…thank you…"

Yurimi could not understand herself, or the current situation. Why was she so nervous? Everything had been so simple, so natural the previous time…

Her brilliant mind quickly came up with an explanation. She had lost the advantage of surprise. In their first meeting she only needed to confess to make a strong impact, and the impression made it easy to…further express the depths of her feelings. However, this advantage was now lost: they were on equal grounds. She honestly believed she needed to make a greater effort to further impress her love. How close should she stand? How much could she say? How far should she insist? There were so many variables…

It was a rather distorted way to look at things, though, as confessing is generally seen as the hardest part. It is yet another thing that makes Yurimi different from ordinary females.

Her carmine eyes met Naruto's blue, and she felt a stab of pain in her chest. She felt so close, yet so far from him. She felt cold and in desperate need of the warmth only he could gift her with. The memories of his possessive embrace and their inexperienced, hungry kisses were driving her wild.

She wanted to hold him! Kiss him and never let go!

"I…" Her voice came out weak and a bit sad. "I guess I should go. Kotonoha waits for me outside."

She turned her back to Naruto and walked exactly one step towards the door before freezing on her tracks.

A thrilling current streaked from her left hand upwards, through her arm and past her heart before traveling down her spine and sending delightful shivers in its wake.

Yurimi looked down, at her hand, and at the bigger hand that held it. Then she turned around again, to face the one she loved. The boy looked as surprised by his own actions as she was. He, too, stared at his right hand as if he could not understand what it was doing holding Yurimi's. And maybe he really couldn't.

However, the burst of spontaneity from Naruto's part reminded Yurimi of truths far more important from her own self-consciousness and perfectionism.

Naruto knew even less about matters of the heart than she did. Also, she remembered the fundamental maxim of Kitsune-Human relationships.

The Kitsune must always be in the lead. There was no offense towards humans intended in that affirmation, but it was simply anathema to Kitsune to allow themselves be led through a relationship. Kitsune simply were not supposed to do that.

Yurimi realized that she would never get anywhere with Naruto if she just stayed quiet. While, technically, their mental ages were about the same, both being just about to enter their respective puberties, it did not change the fact that she was 152 years old while Naruto was just, well, 12.

The young Kitsune quickly rethought her plan. Go ahead, speak your mind, be yourself, but stop when he wants to stop. Move as far as he allows you to. He's still young, and so are you.

"Mas…" Yurimi stopped herself. She remembered it was not a title Naruto particularly preferred. "Naruto-sama…"

Naruto suppressed a shudder. There was it again. Even her voice made him feel like a pitiful child in her presence. She looked about his same age, but the difference was painfully obvious. It was with the eyes off a frightened child that he watched Yurimi reciprocate his grip on her left hand. Yurimi gently, affectionately rubbed the back of his right hand against her right cheek. The curious gesture sent a chill down his body and made the hairs on his right arm stand on end. His eyes sought hers, and he almost gulped when he noticed she had been staring at his face the whole time. However, there was no sign of amusement, disappointment or disdain towards his behavior, the kinds of which he had seen in Setsuna's eyes so very often.

He had made the association more than once since he met the two. While Setsuna's eyes looked perennially bored with a hint of contempt, Yurimi simply showed nothing. He did know Yurimi was capable of emotion (no doubt about it); he wondered just what kind of training she underwent to be able to conceal her thoughts and feelings to the extent she did. In a disturbing trail of thought, Naruto realized it reminded him of a doll.

However, there was something in Yurimi's eyes that made her unequivocally different from lifeless dolls.

He could not really explain it. He didn't really understand it. But there was no doubt in his mind of what Yurimi was feeling and wanted to show him in that moment. After all, had not she just said it a moment ago?

Naruto suddenly realized: he was a very selfish person.

"I…" Yurimi said softly, almost as if she'd rather not be heard. "I really should go now."

Reluctantly, very reluctantly, she let go of Naruto's hand and walked towards the door.

_No! Don't go! _A piece of Naruto's mind desperately screamed. However, his body only followed her in silence.

She could hear and smell Naruto mutely following her two steps behind. Yurimi placed her right hand on the doorknob…and couldn't find it within herself to turn it open.

"Na…Naruto-sama…"

No answer. Something within Yurimi prevented her from turning around to face him. She had to say it.

"Naruto-sama…may…may I…may I hug you?"

As much as she wanted to, she had promised herself she would not do anything he did not want to do.

So lost she was in her thoughts that she almost shrieked when Naruto's hand landed on her right shoulder.

"Na-Naruto-sama?" She muttered as she allowed herself to be turned by the boy's forceful hand.

Her body went deathly stiff when she felt a pair of arms wrapping themselves around her lithe body. His right hand timidly reached for the curve of her waist on the right side. His left hand went up her back and grasped her left shoulder. His forehead rested on her right shoulder, concealing his face from view. Yurimi wondered why he was shaking his head like that. She could not make anything from the gesture.

It was the regretful acknowledgement of Naruto's own selfishness. He wanted her love; even if he was not sure he could reciprocate it.

Yurimi was surprised by the sudden hug, but she did not hesitate to return it. Both her arms reached around him and pushed him closer to her. She was hungry for his warmth, and she wanted to feel every centimeter of him on her body, even if only through their clothes. She nuzzled down the nape of his neck and filled her nostrils with his scent. He was not sweaty, but she could tell he had, indeed, worked out significantly that day.

He needed a shower.

In any other occasion she would have voiced this thought, being a lover of personal cleanliness herself, but in the current situation she found out she did not care as much. If anything, she thought it would be a good time to start getting used to it.

His smell.

She got nervous for an instant when Naruto's right hand became bolder and squeezed her tighter. His well-built body contrasted with her tall, thin frame so much that anyone would think Naruto could break her like a twig if he got forceful. The girl relaxed again after the initial surprise, carefully concealing her satisfaction. Naruto wanted to feel her closer, and she was more than willing to comply. In fact…

"Naruto-sama…" She allowed herself to be a bit bolder.

Naruto looked up at her. While Yurimi's face showed no emotion, there were plenty of those within her. She could not understand the expression on Naruto's face. Unlike her, Naruto's face was like an open book that carelessly mirrored his soul. In that moment, there were so many emotions within the boy that Yurimi could not pinpoint a single one. His face was an odd rictus of conflicting feelings that Yurimi found saddening.

It made her hesitate. For a second.

_I am the one who will make you happy._

"May I kiss you?"

* * *

Kotonoha calmly approached the large tetragonal trash container. She had easily made the leap from the top floor, so it did not take her more than ten seconds to get from the apartment to where her sister was laying still.

"How do you do it, onee-chan?" Ayame spoke from within the container. Kotonoha looked at her sister from beyond the edges of the large metallic object.

"How do I do what?"

"How can you live…well, normally, even if you haven't mated in more than a century?"

The bodyguard tilted her head. "What do you mean? Makoto-kun and I have a very healthy sex life."

"Wha?" Ayame turned to look at her sister. "Bu-but, he's a skull! How the hell do you…?" She made a pause. "No. Wait. I DON'T want to know."

Kotonoha looked at her sister with mild puzzlement. Ayame just shook her head and sighed.

"Haaaa…"

"Kokoro-chan, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Just frustrated…" Her voice dropped an octave. "And **angry**."

"You know such behavior won't help you with him."

"I know, I know!" Ayame raised her arms to the night sky, only to let them fall again. "I know I can have him…I know he cares about me…well, he cared for Ayame before he found out about me…I know…I know I can have him. I'm just impatient."

"You won't get him before your mating call ends. That's what you mean. Besides, things will be much complicated as long as Sayuri-sama remains within that seal."

Ayame nodded. "True enough." She paused. "Not that I want –or can– have children like this. Ayame's not ready for that, either."

"Speaking of Ayame-san, she's another reason you have to calm down."

"I know. I already apologized to her. I have used my powers way too much today."

Kotonoha nodded. "Yes, you have. You can rest now; your part of the job is done, the rest is up to Yurimi-sama."

Ayame nodded. "That girl…she wants him."

"Yurimi-sama has wanted Naruto-sama for a very long time."

"Is that so…" Ayame went silent for a moment there. "…will she share?"

She did not like the odd smile she got from her older sister.

Five seconds of silence.

"…what's got you worried, little sister?"

Ayame frowned.

"…Setsuna." She released a low-pitched hiss. "I can't believe that **bitch** got to him before me! I swear, it's gotta be a Curse God! I have a Curse God after me! It's probably a little girl who wears frilly red dresses, green ribbons and likes to spin around."

"Please don't make references only a select few will understand." The older sister muttered half-heartedly. However, she blinked in sudden surprise when she processed Kokoro's words. "You mean they-"

"No." Ayame interrupted, maybe a bit too forcefully. "Naruto said they didn't do it, but they did **something**. He had the stench of her sex all over his pants."

"Hmm…" Kotonoha did not know what to say to that.

"Sis," Kokoro continued. "Setsuna is not helping Naruto from the goodness of her heart."

"No, she isn't," Kotonoha agreed. "But I cannot imagine what interest Setsuna could have in Naruto-sama…other than sexual gratification, apparently."

Ayame growled.

* * *

The kiss, just like their first one, was riddled with insecurity. Yurimi called it a little victory when Naruto himself made the first move.

Naruto pushed her back until she was leaning against the door. The hand that had been on her left shoulder moved down and rested on her right hip and the right hand moved across Yurimi's lower back to the left hip. Yurimi moved her feet a bit forward to lower her center of mass and make the kiss easier for the two of them.

The boy went for what he did the previous time, seizing Yurimi's lips one at a time and irregularly switching from one to the other and back. Yurimi raised her right hand to the back of his head, pushing him towards her eager mouth and unwilling to let go. Her left hand seized the fabric of the back of Naruto's orange jacket.

Naruto pushed his weight on the girl one more time, eliciting a surprisingly loud moan. Yurimi seized a handful of blonde hair. Naruto's right leg pushed forward. The soft material of the kimono brushed against Naruto's pants. The foxgirl held back a gasp, but her eyes opened wide as saucers and her hands unconsciously moved to push Naruto away.

The blonde stared right back at her, his eyes and expression betraying nothing; the blush on his face was nothing beyond the expected. It was Yurimi who was already gaining a sweaty sheen and whose breath had become slightly rugged. Naruto slowly raised his right hand to let it rest on her left cheek, gently feeling her smooth skin and her soft silvery hair.

Then, he pushed his right leg forwards one more time and, like the stone that sinks in the pond, the forceful contact of his thigh with her crotch sent delicious ripples throughout her insides.

That's when he realized he had been doing it on purpose, since the very beginning.

She didn't ask.

She only kissed back, moaning in satisfaction when she felt the tip of Naruto's tongue tracing the curve of her lips, wordlessly demanding entrance.

_I am but your most faithful servant, Master._

Naruto's right hand moved back down, reaching under her left armpit for her back, roaming uncertain of where to go. His left hand went around her waist for her left hip, and his right leg began a coordinated assault on her sensitive flower. She had been taught not to wear underwear with a kimono. While this would mean she would stain it with the rapidly increasing flow of lubricant from her insides, she figured out she could not care less.

Yurimi's hands did not move. Her muscles' only job was to keep Naruto's body as close to hers as physically possible, so that she could revel in the feel of his lips, his tongue, his warmth and the wonderful, wonderful thing he was doing with his right leg.

Yurimi, too, is a very selfish woman.

Naruto's tongue never left her mouth. Even if it wanted to, Yurimi would not let him. She wanted him inside her, even if it was just his tongue's faux penetration. The softness of her furisode wrinkled and stuck to her folds, caressing her in all the right ways. Tiny squeaks escaped her throat when the cloth sometimes reached her oversensitive nub.

Then his roaming right hand moved downwards.

"Ah! Aaaaah…" Yurimi gasped in the midst of their passionate kissing. She thought she could actually listen to her juices flowing out when Naruto reached for her right buttock. Even while she raised her head to release the rest of her now soundless gasp, unable as she was to resume kissing as the quasi-orgasmic tremors rocked her body, Naruto did not stop kissing her, switching targets to her chin and her neck.

"Yurimi…" Naruto whispered hoarsely to her jugular.

"Hnnn!" Yurimi's slow return to 'normal' was abruptly stopped by Naruto's single word. He was hungry for her, and it drove her wild. Seizing the sides of his head with both hands, she hastily guided him back to his awaiting mouth.

Naruto secretly wondered if he was becoming an ass person. He undeniably enjoyed squeezing the plentiful muscles of Yurimi's rear and, by the way she moaned, squirmed and attempted to squeeze her thighs together (his leg did not allow her to), he could tell she did, too.

Then again, neither Yurimi nor Setsuna had much (or at all) in the chest department, so, from a strict point of view, it wasn't much of a choice.

_Hey…_

"Eh?" A little whine escaped Yurimi's lips when he pulled away from their kiss and his right hand abandoned her ass.

"Master?" A faint mixture of confusion and disappointment crossed her neutral gaze.

He looked…insecure. Yurimi had no idea why. She could not think of anything she might have done that would make him stop.

Carefully, Naruto placed his hand on her left side. Yurimi looked at the eyes that looked at the hand, wondering just what was in her beloved's mind.

Her breath got caught in her throat when his hand began to move up, never leaving her body. All semblance of control over her expressions disappeared when the roaming hand reached her chest.

"Ma-Master!" She whimpered. Years of self-consciousness over her so-far-underdeveloped chest struck her in an instant. "Master, you don't…I don't…my chest is not-hmmm!"

All complaints were crushed to nothing when Naruto forcefully shoved his tongue to the deepest recesses of her mouth cavity.

* * *

Kotonoha wisely remained silent when Yurimi closed the door to Naruto's apartment. It was easy to tell from Yurimi's sweaty, flushed skin that the lily and Naruto did plenty more than "chat for a few minutes."

Most unfortunately, Yurimi was not one to keep her opinions to herself.

How many times did she orgasm anyway? Five? Something like that. With nothing but foreplay.

She was getting sick of foreplay. She wanted the good stuff! But Kotonoha had to interrupt!

Sure, it was not really Kotonoha's fault. They were following instructions from Higashiyama Yuri. However, Yurimi needed an outlet, and Kotonoha was there.

The busty swordswoman did not visibly react when Yurimi forcefully grasped the neck of her kimono and pulled her down. A stark contrast with Kotonoha's calm, soothing gaze, Yurimi's carmine orbs glowed with RIGHTEOUS ANGER.

However, what did change was the shape of her lips. Kotonoha's calm smile was completely gone, her lips having become a flat line.

"I must ask you to let go, Yurimi-sama."

Kitsune are creatures driven by emotion. Many had found death by doing exactly what Yurimi was doing: letting their boiling emotions get the better of them and make them strike at creatures far beyond their level. Many young Kitsune die by the hands of older, stronger Kitsune who decide to claim the younger youkai's love interest for themselves.

Kotonoha was a vassal of Higashiyama, but not even that status would prevent her from defending herself. Kotonoha knew, and she knew Yurimi knew, that she could kill Yurimi faster than the young lily could say "Naruto-sama."

"Right now I hate you more than you could possibly imagine," Yurimi hissed. Kotonoha offered her a half-smile.

"I can imagine."

As if flinching away from something disgusting, Yurimi pushed her bodyguard away. Taking a deep breath, she quickly settled down into her usual mask of stone. Kotonoha was visibly impressed by this.

"Tonight I will masturbate until I stop feeling my fingers," the younger Kitsune declared.

"If it is your command, I will assist you, Yurimi-sama," Kotonoha declared plainly. Yurimi's face showed no reaction.

"You know I don't swing that way, Kotonoha."

"Good. I wasn't really looking forward to it, either."

Yurimi shot an odd look to the woman, who responded with her usual smile. Slowly shaking her head, Yurimi began the long trek ahead of the two, the guardian closely behind her.

* * *

Clad in only boxers (a new set), Naruto walked out of the bathroom after a long shower. He needed it: he had spent exactly twenty-four hours in Setsuna's _**Izanami**_.

Also, he had done something he had thought he was still too young to do.

Naruto did not remember the Third's words on masturbation. Strangely, the old Kage seemed more comfortable explaining most other aspects of sexuality than he was explaining self-satisfaction.

At this current moment, Naruto did not really care about facts or opinions. He had needed it. Unlike his little encounter with Setsuna, where he was too busy "punishing" her to be aroused himself (except at the end when she licked and sucked his fingers; that was unbelievably hot), Yurimi had pushed him dangerously close to the borderline, and he could not just pull back. He had desperately needed the final release, and he moaned in unbelievable relief when he got it over the toilet seat. However, it was a rather bitter moment.

His mind did not hesitate to taunt him, wondering just how much better if it had been Yurimi's eager body instead of his callused hand.

It worried him. There was no doubt in his mind: he liked Sakura. He thought Sakura was cute; not in the same way Sayuri is cute, but cute nonetheless. He wondered, then, why he did not feel the animalistic desire to…well, have sex with her, the way he was feeling it with Yurimi.

Maybe it had to do with his perception of Yurimi. To his eyes, Yurimi was not cute. Girls are cute. Naruto just could not see Yurimi as a girl. Hers were not the eyes of one. Her mesmerizing eyes were just too…something.

Naruto gave up. He found no point in trying to figure out any further. The fact remained: he **wanted** her. His body begged for her.

She had told him she was looking forward to their next meeting. She had told him they would do it the next time they met.

He was looking forward to it…and it terrified him, to want something so badly, even if he could not even understand why.

His thoughts moved to Ayame, his self-appointed new roommate. He guessed he could accept it: her house was destroyed, after all, and he was not the kind of person who could just ignore a friend in need.

The fact that the whole thing was his fault was a particularly strong argument on Kokoro's favor.

However, if they were going to live together (just for how long, anyway?), they would need to settle matters. It would not do if she kept trying to have sex with him all the time. Even if he now knew that it was a Kitsune in Ayame's body, he could not just start looking at her in that way. Besides, the real Ayame was still there, right?

The whole thing was just too weird to Naruto, and after the past two days he was developing a natural resilience against weirdness.

In any case, there was a more pressing matter: dinner. Opening the door of the fridge, Naruto…gaped.

The lower half of the appliance was full with things that definitely were not there before.

"What's all this?" Naruto pulled out a bottle after the other, checking the labels with a confused glance. "Honey…caramel…strawberries…whipped cream? What the hell's this for, a cake? Just what did Kokoro have in mind for all this…wait, no." Shaking his head as he closed the door, Naruto sighed in defeat. "I'd rather not know."

Sighing again, he went to his room to withdraw money from his little hideout. It was time to do some shopping. A few packets of instant ramen would do.

He had to take the chance while Sayuri was asleep, after all.

* * *

Her name was Hyuuga Hanabi, age 8. And she was in trouble.

It was way past the time she should have walked past the boundary of her clan's grounds. The reason she remained seated on a bench on a park near the village's main gate was a reason she would not admit in public: she was afraid of retribution.

At her tender age, Hanabi was under far more stress than any child her age should have to deal with. Having recently figured out the whole situation with the succession of the leadership of the clan, her status as second child and the true reason her father demanded so much of her, little Hanabi was at a crossroads.

She had spent hours idly staring at other children doing whatever it is children do in the afternoons. Silently, lazily, she watched children being children, while trying to figure out just what was she supposed to do.

Hanabi could not understand it, but the problem was fundamentally simple. Her clan demanded her to be something she could not be. It had nothing to do with lack of will; Hanabi did not want the bleak future that awaited her should she not become her father's successor. It had nothing to do with lack of effort, either; Hanabi gave nothing but her very best every day, struggling to become the Hyuuga her father and the clan expect her to be.

No, it had everything to do with the fact that she was just eight years old.

She was supposed to comprise the best of both genders. Hanabi was expected to be ruthless, wise and savvy like her father, and beautiful, graceful and elegant like all Hyuuga women. The little girl had often watched the older females of her clan with muted awe. The way they moved, acted and spoke; everything was a perfect choreography meant to glorify the pride and tradition of an old clan.

Hanabi wanted to be like them. She needed to be like them. But she just couldn't. To become like that at the age of eight, nine or ten years old is nigh impossible, for the infantile mind is not made to understand or follow such behavioral patterns.

In her quiet yet stormy meditation, Hanabi had not noticed the passage of time. Only nightfall helped her realize she was utterly late; the sudden awareness of her lack of carefulness and her stupid failure fueling her fear of her father's reaction. The more she hesitated, the more time passed by, making her imagination run wild with the idea of one Hyuuga Hiashi growing more and more furious with every minute.

Hanabi's mind was locked inside a trap of her own making.

Until she saw them.

Thinking about it, even after hiding their tails with Henge, Yurimi and Kotonoha are far from indistinguishable. It is not everyday a person sees a kimono-clad woman carrying a katana, a hatchet and a hundred and six centimeters of bust; or a young silver-haired, carmine-eyed girl wearing what can only be an extremely costly furisode over her milky white skin.

Or both.

Hence, it was not hard to understand how the two would attract so much attention. Even more, that night it seemed that the entirety of Konoha had claimed the streets, as if to catch up on the hours lost in the aftermath of the yet-unexplained destruction of the Hokage Monument.

The two walked close together at a sedate pace betraying their urgency. Kotonoha could tell that, despite her unchanging expression and her perfect posture, there was an unusual stiffness in Yurimi's pace. Unlike the older Kitsune, Sayuri's blood sister was not accustomed to large gatherings of humans, especially not being the recipient of so many different looks, from envy to mesmerized wonder, passing through contempt, approval and even a lustful stare from a rather disturbing-looking man.

As they approached the main entrance to the village, the human presence became scarcer, something Yurimi was grateful for. From a distance, they could see the gate was still open, but she expected that to change very soon. At least, that was what her common sense told her. Who would keep a massive village gate open at night?

Of course, they did not intend to leave through the main gate. That would raise unnecessary suspicion. With a barely unnoticeable glance at her bodyguard, Yurimi turned to the right. They would move past the nearby park to reach the gigantic wall. Kotonoha would handle getting the two to the other side.

"Y-You!"

Yurimi halted. It was obvious that was directed at them. She saw no reason for alarm, however.

"Oh my." Kotonoha's perennial smile widened just the slightest bit at the sight of the small white-eyed girl trotting towards them. Hanabi's pace became slower and slower; she walked the last three or four steps. Her open-mouthed stare was fixated on Yurimi.

The first thing the young Kitsune noticed was, of course, Hanabi's unique eyes. While her face did not show reaction of any kind, her mind photographed the image of the little girl for future reference.

After five seconds of wordless staring, Yurimi deemed the girl a waste of her time and proceeded to resume her march. Hanabi would have none of it, though.

"Wait!"

Yurimi stopped and stared down at the young human one more time. Only those most acquainted with Yurimi would have noticed that her eyes had narrowed a fraction. It was her way to say "you have one second to make your point."

"Ple-Please tell me how to be like you!" Hanabi honestly pleaded.

Yurimi blinked.

"Oh my," Kotonoha repeated, covering her lips with the hem of her kimono to hide her smile of amusement.

Yurimi blinked again. Very slowly, her glance drifted towards her bodyguard, wordlessly asking for an explanation. Kotonoha knew that was her cue.

"Hmm…who might you be, little Hyuuga?"

Once again, Yurimi's face did not betray her acute mental activity. She recognized the family name of her beloved's opponent in the upcoming Chuunin exam finals.

_So these are the 'White Eyes'…_

The second youngest of Yuri's daughters archived this knowledge as further proof of there being a reason for her bodyguard to know so much about this particular human clan.

Hanabi was used to being recognized as Hyuuga at first glance, so she did not react in any noticeable manner to Kotonoha's inquiry. Bowing courteously as she had been taught to, the young girl responded.

"Hyu-Hyuuga Hanabi, ma'am."

Kotonoha tilted her head cutely. "Ma'am, hmm?" She shot a side glance at nobody. "Kind of makes me feel old."

Hanabi held back a tiny gasp. "Ah! S-so very sorry, ma-uhhh…"

The swordswoman took pity on the little girl. "I'm Kotonoha. This is my ward, Higashiyama Yurimi-sama."

Hanabi looked back at Yurimi with renewed awe. She had long noticed Kotonoha's weapon (she had yet to see the backsaw), but she had not figured out Kotonoha was Yurimi's bodyguard.

That regal, cold elegance; the natural fluidity of her motions; the way she just felt far older than she truly was: if she were like this girl in front of her, she would get her father's and the clan's approval!

"Kotonoha. We're in a hurry."

Hanabi had to suppress another gasp. Even the way she spoke, it was perfect! She could easily picture this girl instead of her father at the far end of the dining table, or leading the clan meetings.

"Ufufu…" Kotonoha chuckled. "You were not as eager to leave just a while ago. When you were with your beloved."

Hanabi blinked. Of course, it was the way of the nobles. At such a young age, this girl already had a 'special someone'. It stirred Hanabi's heart to see the girl actually reacted to her guardian's words, barely narrowing her glance at the same time she raised the hem of her kimono to hide a mild blush, even if the poor illumination already made it invisible.

_It must be an incredible person; this girl's special someone._ Hanabi thought.

Naruto's sneeze made him drop several unopened packs of instant ramen.

The little Hyuuga's mind went into overdrive, however, when Yurimi walked past her with the obvious intent of continuing her previous walk. Kotonoha followed, still wearing an amused smile on her lovely face. Hanabi looked at the departing girl's back, desperately looking for the right words.

"Wa-wait! Ah…umm…Higashiyama-sama! Please! Please tell me how I can be like you!"

She pouted and clenched her fists in childish frustration when she realized Yurimi had no intention of stopping to answer. Not willing to give up so easily, she moved after the pair, something they did not fail to notice.

"…Kotonoha."

Hanabi stopped. Yurimi had not ceased her walking, but her bodyguard had. This was not what stopped the little Hyuuga, though, but the fact that Kotonoha had her right hand on the hilt of her katana.

There was no threat or aggressiveness on the busty woman's expression, but Hanabi, even at her tender age, knew better than to underestimate a professional bodyguard.

"Yurimi-sama does not want to be followed," Kotonoha stated plainly.

Hanabi wordlessly acquiesced, but she could not hide her disappointment. Even with her head lowered, she could see that young, ephemeral vision of the person she wanted to become, drifting further away.

She froze when Kotonoha suddenly walked closer to her, but only for as long as it took the taller woman to lean down to reach Hanabi's left earlobe.

"I'm very, very sorry, but we really are in a hurry now. Maybe next time we meet we can talk a bit more, ne?"

With a last, mischievous wink, Kotonoha hurried to catch up with her ward, leaving Hanabi feeling a lot better with herself.

The appallingly mysterious Higashiyama Yurimi-sama and her kind, amiable bodyguard, Kotonoha-san.

Hanabi was already looking forward to their next meeting.

* * *

"Here should be fine, Yurimi-sama."

"Hnn."

The two stopped. Looking back towards Konoha, they could see they were at a considerable distance; due to the high density of tree life, it was already impossible to see the massive outer wall of the village.

"Space?"

"I'd judge it appropriate."

"…what about ninja patrols?"

"I'm fairly certain Yuri-sama has taken those into account. It is commendable of you to notice, though, Yurimi-sama."

"Hnn." Looking up at the crescent moon, Yurimi pondered for a moment.

"…very well. Give me the beacons."

Reaching into her cleavage, Kotonoha pulled out a small paper strip. Injecting a minimal amount of chakra into the seal, the swordswoman released its contents.

Unlike Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, which are humanity's pretentious attempt at wielding the supernatural powers of youkai and divinities, Fuuinjutsu was an exclusively human art. While some of its effects can be mimicked by specific supernal techniques, many of them are difficult to grasp for the highly specialized supernal beings. For this reason, few of them bothered to dabble in it. Higashiyama Yuri happened to be one of those few, driven more out of curiosity than of any particular interest in the art.

Yurimi eyed the two small, identical statues for a moment. Stone foxes seated on a vertical cylinder; both beacons were about fifty centimeters tall.

Hesitatingly, the two-tails (whose tails were still hidden, however) grabbed the solid statue with her pale hands. With everything her lithe body could give, Yurimi tried to lift it.

"Hmmmmnph!"

Instead, the statue only leaned towards Yurimi, quickly losing its balance.

"Ah."

Kotonoha wordlessly stared down at the foxgirl she had sworn to protect, her thin body wriggling under the far greater weight of the stone beacon. It reminded Kotonoha of a fish out of water.

It was amusing, in a sort of pathetic way.

"…Kotonoha."

"Yes?" The taller Kitsune was mildly amused. She had an idea of what Yurimi was about to say.

"…please help me move this one."

"You could reinforce your tails," the busty femme suggested.

Yurimi glared at her bodyguard, well aware that Kotonoha was enjoying her little predicament.

"That is Yuria's specialty, not mine."

"You should work a bit more on your Enhancements, Yurimi-sama," Kotonoha murmured as she moved to help lift the vulpine statue.

Like most Kitsune, Yurimi had willingly chosen to focus on the other branches of Kitsune Arts, dismissing Enhancements. This was done for a very simple reason. Due to their deficient chakra circulatory systems (other than in their tails), Enhancement Techniques, that is, techniques aimed at improving body performance, were highly inefficient. As most Kitsune possessed deficient chakra reserves when compared with other youkai races or even some gifted humans, they preferred to rely on the far more efficient and "delicate" enchantments. By the time these Kitsune had enough tails (and chakra) to not need to worry about inefficiency, they simply did not care anymore.

When they were done, Kotonoha stepped back and unsheathed her katana. Wordlessly, Yurimi extended her right arm, offering it to the blade.

Gently, slowly, Kotonoha slid the weapon over Yurimi's snow white skin. To the unknowing eye it would seem like the blade never touched it. However, soon enough scarlet blood poured out of the relatively large wound.

Kotonoha found it commendable how Yurimi's face remained unchanged, impervious to the pain. Commendable, and a bit scary.

Yurimi moved the bleeding arm over the statue they had moved, allowing the vital fluid to pour over the stone fox.

"I am Yurimi, daughter of Higashiyama, sixth born of Yuri. Mine is the Crest of the Butterfly."

When the blood reached the dead eyes of the effigy, these glowed with a faint white for a moment, acknowledging the offering of blood and chakra. Walking over to the second statue, Yurimi repeated the ritual, pronouncing the same words. Once she was done, Kotonoha hurried to use a fairly simple healing technique of River Kitsune to close the wound she had inflicted.

"So, what now?"

"Now we wait, Yurimi-sama."

* * *

Ayame wandered. She guessed it would be a good idea to check on Teuchi-san before going back to Naruto's place, but for the moment she just wandered around. Seeking out some solitude and quietness, she avoided the main body of the village and preferred instead to roam the surrounding perimeter of greenery, some of it preserved forest, but most of it part of the many training areas available to the shinobi corps.

"I can't believe it…" She complained, half-growl, half-pout. "And with Setsuna of all people! Setsuna! I couldn't feel more insulted if the ANBU actually outwitted me!"

"I hear voices calling…" A rather lame sing-song voice filled the dark forest.

Gasping, Ayame hurriedly sought the source.

"Oh, you silly girl. If I had any intention to harm you, I would have already done so, _**Imouto-chan**_."

Growling under her breath, Ayame looked up. Calmly seated on a branch as thick as one of her slender legs, Setsuna contemptuously looked down.

"No, you wouldn't. You would toy with me like the cat toys with the terrified mouse. Then you'd hurt me."

"Hmm…true enough. You are not an opponent worth taking seriously."

With that, she leapt down, gracefully landing on both bare feet.

"Setsuna."

"_Bonsoir_."

A tense silence followed, at least to Kokoro and Ayame within. Setsuna just looked bored.

"How did you know?"

"The possession, you mean?" Setsuna shrugged. "I can see the trace of your chakra…with these special eyes of mine."

Ayame narrowed her eyes. Kokoro guessed that, being safe for the moment, she should try to push her luck a little bit.

"So, what is the mother of the _**Sharingan**_ doing in Konohagakure? Kotonoha's not here, let me tell you."

Setsuna snorted. "My life does not revolve around the deranged bimbo you call sister, Katsura Kokoro. I have other…exploits to pursuit, and they are, of course, none of your concern."

"They do when you go around fucking MY chosen mate!"

Kokoro could not see the bright blush that instantaneously formed on Setsuna's face.

"Wha-WHAT? We-we-we-we did-di-d-d-di-didn't FUCK!" She suddenly gasped. With her low-pitched, droning voice, it came out rather odd. "Di-di-di-did he tell you that? I'LL KILL HIM! THA-THA-THAT PRETENTIOUS BRAT! INSECT! HUMAN WASTE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!"

Ayame could only blink at the sight of the moody loli stomping the grass, attacking a vision of Naruto only she could see. Kokoro knew, however, that she had to clear things up. It would not do for Setsuna to get back at her Naruto due to a misunderstanding.

"Umm…no…but your reaction definitely clears things out for me, thank you very much. I guess I should have trusted Naruto-kun since the beginning."

"Eh?" Setsuna suddenly calmed down, only to blush again, this time in embarrassment after her sudden outburst. "Oh…"

_And suddenly the ball is in my court._ Kokoro held back a grin. "So what did you two actually do, anyway?"

This time the blush was practically iridescent. "I-I-I-ah-WE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" Setsuna looked away. "As if! With such a pathetic, lousy, annoying human brat!"

"Rrrrrrrrright." Kokoro did chuckle this time. "Damn, when did you become so tsundere?"

"WHO'S A TSUNDERE?" Setsuna growled.

"Okay, okay, sheesh!" Ayame waved her hands in front of her in a warding gesture. "Nobody's a tsundere, there are no tsunderes here; I see no tsunderes; did I even say tsundere?"

"But let me tell you this, Setsuna."

The shorter Kitsune's expression hardened, her blush quickly gone.

"I don't know what your plans are, and I don't expect you to tell me…but I won't let you go easily if you hurt Naruto."

"Hmm…" Setsuna crossed her arms in front of her. "I decide to help the boya, and this is what I get?"

"Don't **fuck** with me, Setsu-gah!"

Kokoro felt her body freeze for an instant. She was well aware of the difference in power between the two. Setsuna's enchantment worked with this instinctive feeling of inferiority to inspire unbearable fear. Kokoro had to move a few steps back.

"No, don't **you** fuck with **me**, Katsura," the four-tailed Kitsune hissed back. "Remember your position."

Kokoro tried to get away when Setsuna began to move closer, but the compulsion changed in response, forcing her to remain where she stood. She began to sweat.

"Not only are you a three-tails, right now you live within the body of an untrained human girl. I could destroy you in an instant."

When they were right in front of each other, Ayame began to shudder. Even with the difference in height, the glowing red eyes with which Setsuna looked up at her were terrifying.

"Do you think you can speak like that to me, you insolent slut? Has your swollen pussy rendered you unable to use your common sense? I **could** kill you, Katsura Kokoro, and nobody but your pathetic sister would say a word!"

Ayame struggled to form words in her throat.

"I…I have the…protection…of the Higa-"

"Higashiyama Yuri would be a fool to vouch for you, and you know it! You insulted an elder Kitsune! That's the only truth that matters! KNOW YOUR PLACE!"

Ayame's legs finally gave in. She was just glad she had not soiled herself…yet.

"However! I am magnanimous and kind-hearted."

Kokoro did not find that funny in the slightest.

She gulped when Setsuna leaned down to fix her crimson eyes on hers.

"I will do as I wish. This village is but another piece in my wonderful, masterful plan. It will become an instrument of my final victory over this disgusting world."

"I **will **triumph, Katsura Kokoro. Everything I've done for the last 150 years has been for this. I **will **succeed. I **will **turn my dream into reality. And I **will **destroy your sister."

Ayame's eyes widened in fear, this time not for her own safety.

"Yes, I'll kill her, Katsura Kokoro. I'll kill that disgusting woman, but only after I have crushed her soul and shown her true misery!"

A frightening smirk crossed Setsuna's features.

"And Uzumaki Naruto, too. He is another of my pieces; a very important one, I may admit."

"N-no…" Ayame gasped, tears running down her pretty face.

"I'll use him as I please, until he's no longer useful. And you'll watch it all, Katsura Kokoro. The realization of my dream, the fall and demise of your stupid, beloved sister."

"You'll watch the whole thing. And you won't…be able…to do anything about it."

"That, my dear, will be your punishment."

And, with an explosion of white smoke, Setsuna was gone. She had finally broken the metaphysical bond Naruto crafted the moment he summoned her and she had maintained with her own chakra.

Finally alone, Ayame allowed herself to fall on the grass, shaking and sobbing.

She needed to cry. She needed to cry a lot.

* * *

Many leagues away, Higashiyama Yuri's lips curved into a smile. The red torii that marked the boundary of the Higashiyama Shrine was glowing with a beautiful silvery light. Ephemeral rainbow-colored butterflies of light emerged from the iridescent pillars, filling the air around them with a sparkly display of color and beauty.

The intensity of the light was such that it had caught the attention of most of the shrine's inhabitants, who soon enough gathered behind their matriarch to gaze in awe at the magnificent show.

"Wha…what the hell?" Yuria mumbled in a low tone, following an indigo butterfly with her eyes.

"Hawa…so pretty!" The curvaceous Yurine ran with arms spread wide, futilely grasping at the butterflies of light, which dissipated to nothingness with the slightest touch. Still, she laughed and cheered gleefully, using wide gestures to show wondrous flying constructs to her daughter Yurina, who simply smiled gently at her childlike mother, and to Yuriyo, who sighed and shook her head at the antics.

"Hawa!"

The lilies winced as one when Yurine's natural clumsiness finally showed its ugly face. While Yurina helped her mother get back on her feet, Yuri addressed her family.

"As you might be able to tell from the butterflies, Yurimi has successfully accomplished the mission I appointed her. This means it's time to depart. Those who are coming to Konohagakure with me, please bring your luggage immediately."

The sudden realization brought with it an explosion of activity, as the younger Kitsune hurried to follow her matriarch's instruction. While the lilies went back to their rooms, Kurosaki Sayoko calmly walked over towards her best friend, carrying a small black cloth bag. Yuri smiled at the eternally depressed woman.

"Will you bless me with your company, Sayoko-san?"

Blushing a bit at Yuri's choice of words, Sayoko nodded.

"…I'll go." Her first words in this fanfic. "…I…want to see her."

Yuri nodded. "I'm sure Sayuri-chan will be happy to see you. You are, after all, as much her mother as I am, if not more."

The matriarch did not wait for her daughters and granddaughters. Turning towards the torii arch, she projected her chakra and channeled it through her seven magnificent silver tails.

"_**Kitsune Art – Shrine Gate**_."

A spatial technique so powerful that it demanded at least seven tails of power to be learned, the Shrine Gate connected a Kitsune Shrine Realm with any point of the world possessing a beacon attuned to the shrine. With Yurimi's offering of blood and chakra, they ensured the gate could only be used, or even seen, by those of the Higashiyama Clan.

Yuria was the first to return. Her baggage was surprisingly small; the short lily only carried a leather satchel which hung off her left shoulder. She was gazing in awe at the curtain of sparkling gold that rained down from the horizontal beam of the torii, only enhancing the visual wonder of the whole thing.

"Neat stuff. When will you teach me this jutsu, mother?"

"By the time you become powerful enough to learn it you would not need my help anymore, Yuria."

"Ah…" Yuria understood. She was in the presence of a technique that demanded a lot more than three tails of power.

Suddenly, two bursts of smoke appeared between Yuria and her mother, revealing Yurimi and her bodyguard.

"Thank you for the hard work." Yuri greeted the two.

"Mother." Yurimi courteously bowed before her progenitor and matriarch. Kotonoha did the same.

"Yo."

Yurimi turned to her immediately older sister. "Yuria." She eyed the satchel. "Will that be enough for you?"

Yuria shrugged. "I don't need much."

Kotonoha nodded. "Very well, I shall bring Yurimi-sama's luggage."

The swordswoman crossed paths with a mother-daughter duo. Wearing an azure kimono with cloud motifs that contrasted with her big, sapphire blue eyes, the blonde beauty Higashiyama Yurisa led her only daughter to the shrine gate, carrying the two's belongings. As silent and sad-looking as ever, Mayuri followed a step behind her mother.

"So you two really are coming," Yuri welcomed the two. Surprising everyone, it was Mayuri who nodded in response.

The little girl had already surprised the whole family during lunchtime, when Yuri announced the trip to the ninja village. When the matriarch had announced her intention to meet her youngest daughter and the human boy who contained her, Mayuri had widened her eyes noticeably and hurried to pull her mother's sleeve as if to make a point. When Yurisa finally figured it out and asked her daughter if she wanted to go, the girl had nodded effusively.

It was the greatest display of emotion she had shown in almost thirty-five years.

Yurisa was in a particularly good mood. After so many years of impotently watching her daughter lock her words and emotions away, this sudden interest of Mayuri in traveling to Konoha had filled the melancholic mother with hope. Maybe the key to open her lovely little daughter's heart again was, in fact, outside of the Higashiyama Shrine?

"Hawawawawa!"

"Wa-wait, mom!"

"Hawa!"

A loud crash and the sound of multiple heavy objects hitting the wooden floor startled the group by the glowing torii. Yurina was already dropping her own luggage to help her mother get up. On the other side, Yuriyo was only shaking her head and throwing her arms to the air in frustration.

"Sheesh, mom! Can't you go a minute without tripping on your own feet?"

"Hawa…" Yurine shot an apologetic look at her daughter; traces of tears barely holding within her eyes. "Sowwy…"

"O-Onee-chan!" Yurina complained with a rather whiny tone. "A-Ano…why did you make mother carry your things, then?"

"Well, it's the least she can do!"

Yurina dropped her gaze. "That's rather mean of you, onee-chan."

"It's not that heavy," Yuriyo argumented.

"Extension."

"Hiiii!" The single word triggered a reactionary impulse from the beautiful brunette, quickly hiding behind her fraternal twin, who moved away to Yuriyo's chagrin.

Three unnaturally long black tails seized the three large bags as well as the tent and the three sleeping bags tied to them. The lightest bag, however, was slammed against Yuriyo's chest.

"Hey!"

"You're right; it's not that heavy. Then carry it yourself," Yuria declared in a flat tone. "It's not like you'll break a nail."

The now free third tail wrapped itself around Yurine's legs under her knees.

"Hawa!"

Surprising those present, the second oldest of the lilies was effortlessly lifted by the tail. Yurina slowly sat down on the fluffy appendage, and she was comfortably carried through the air towards the shrine gate, the two bags belonging to her and Yurina following after. Yuriyo quietly went last, carrying her own bag.

"Thank you, Yuria-chan! Hawa…ei!" Yurine jumped off the tail that supported her.

"That was a splendid feat of strength, Yuria," The matriarch acknowledged. Yuria shrugged and half-smiled.

"Well, it's about the only thing I can do; might as well show it off a little."

Yuri hid a very tiny frown. She did not like her daughter's choice of words.

Three more figures approached the gates. Unlike the others, these particular three did not carry luggage with themselves. Had they been in a public place, a sizable number of eyes would have been attracted to the first, oldest and most respected of the lilies, the Princess Lily, Himeyuri. With her 183.8 centimeters of height, she was the tallest of the sisters and second only to her mother. Such stature, combined with her waist-length golden hair (kept in a ponytail), her six lively tails and her penchant for long flowing dresses that complimented her beautiful, voluptuous body, created an image of adult grace and beauty her sisters looked up to.

Those who did not look at Himeyuri would probably be busy staring at her first daughter's incredibly ample cleavage. Higashiyama Chiyuri claimed the second place in the clan's bust ranking. She had her mother's blonde hair, but Chiyuri's was far longer, and while most of it loosely fell down almost to the floor, two immense ponytails adorned the side, each tied by a white ribbon. Her big, round emerald eyes and the permanent flush of her cheeks illuminated a round face and the loveliest of smiles. Four white-tipped blonde tails swayed behind her.

After admiring Himeyuri's impressive presence and Chiyuri's amazing figure, all eyes would probably move to the third female, if only to gape at the contrast she made. She had the same lifeless, snow white hair as little Mayuri. Surprisingly enough, unlike most of her relatives, who had been blessed with outstanding figures (even Yuria had a bust to be proud of, despite her short height); Higashiyama Yurie's body was what most humans would call "averagely proportioned."

Incredibly enough, her most outstanding feature is not her hair, or even her "ordinary" figure. It is her eyes.

Yurie's pupils are unnaturally large, to the point that the white of her eyes practically disappears behind the skin and only a cold, intimidating gray can be seen surrounding a small black spot. The fact that her eyes themselves are quite round and big results in Yurie's abnormal and rather unsettling wide-eyed look.

Clad in a complicated, frilly black dress of textbook Gothic Lolita fashion, Yurie gave the appearance of a very scary mannequin.

The fact that she was utterly insane did not help matters much.

"I see the twins are missing," Himeyuri stated.

"Didn't you see them on the way here, perhaps?"

"I fear not, Mother."

"Knowing them, they're probably making out in their room," Yuria muttered matter-of-factly, for which she got several glares, mostly because the thought had also crossed their minds.

"May I go find them?" Chiyuri offered; her voice soothing and fresh as morning blossoms.

"I shall go."

While Yurimi's voice was rather flat and lacking in emotion, anybody who listened to it would not hesitate to declare it belong to a human (or youkai).

Yurie's voice was, in lack of better words, robotic. It was something beyond its flat tone and its quiet volume; it was simply dead and unnatural; something that should not come out of the mouth of a living, intelligent being. It only added to Yurie's long list of abnormalities.

She was the Hidden Lily; the one whom the world only knows by name.

Before anybody could say anything about it, Yurie had departed. Silently, they watched the girl until she disappeared beyond a corner. Even after that, they followed the sound of their footsteps. The footsteps then stopped, followed by the sound of a sliding door being opened.

"Ah!" The familiar voice of Yuriko…or Yurika, their voices are identical. "Yu-Yurie!" She sounded surprised…and a bit frightened. "They let you out of the basement!"

"…I'm not Flandre."

"Ah…ahahaha…haa…" Uneasy laughter. "Good one, Yurie…umm…you might be wondering about this…"

"Not really. It seems very clear to me; what you two were doing."

Back at the torii, Yuri sighed in defeat. Why oh why was she cursed with lesbian twin daughters?

"There, there." Yuria clumsily patted her mother's back.

"Ah…umm…good…ehh…this…this is kinda uncomfortable..." One of the twins' voices continued. "…why are you entering the room, Yurie?"

"You have disobeyed a simple instruction to indulge in…frivolities. Punishment shall be served."

The family at the edge of the shrine shared looks of alarm.

"Wha-?" Two identical voices cried at the same time. "Wait, no! You don't! Please don't-OHMYGOD!"

The Kitsune by the torii stiffened.

"OH MY GOD!" The twin voices repeated. "WHAT THE FUCK IS-NO! NO! GET AWAY FROM MEEEE! GET AWAY! GET AWAY! GYAAAAAH-EEEEK! N-NO! DON'T TOUCH ME! GET AWAY FROM-GYAH! NOT THERE! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU-GYAAAH!"

From that moment onwards all words faded away into a threnody of hoarser and hoarser screams. Massive blinking ensued, when all other sounds were drowned by the sound of massive puking. And then, silence.

Yurine quite accurately voiced the thoughts of those gathered outside.

"Hawaa…"

* * *

Around ten minutes later, Higashiyama Yuri stepped out of the gate in the other side, becoming the first to breathe in the warmer air of the forests around Konohagakure. The rest of her family, sans Himeyuri and her daughters, who were staying behind to watch the fort, soon followed her.

"Hmm…lots of green," Yuria idly commented. "Chiyuri would be at home here."

"Quite true," Yuri agreed. Turning to face her lilies, the matriarch issued instructions. "Very well, my girls; please make camp here. Make sure you brought everything you need; I'm closing the gate now."

Seeing that none of the girls approached her to request access through the gate, Yuri nodded to herself and, with a flick of her wrist, willed it to dissipate behind her. Turning around to look at the two beacons, she nodded to herself one more time.

"You will do just fine. Don't you think so, Sayoko-san?"

The quiet woman, who never moved from the taller Kitsune's side, tilted her head unsure of how to answer. Yuri simply offered her an affectionate smile.

"_**Spirit Release – Spirit Veil**_."

"_**Kitsune Art – Aura of Antipathy**_."

"I had never seen Mother use so many jutsu in succession before."

"Ah, Yuria." The mother welcomed the curious daughter. However… "What about your tent?"

"Didn't bring one. More like didn't want to. I'll just sleep outdoors or something. If it comes to worse I'll just take Yuriyo's tent."

"HEY!"

"Won't you get cold?" Yuri inquired, honestly worried. In response, Yuria wrapped her unnaturally long tails around her unnaturally petite body.

"I…see." Yuri…saw.

"So!" The third youngest lily changed the topic. "What are you doing?" She asked; looking at the vulpine beacons whose eyes now carried a permanent silvery glow.

"The Spirit Veil moves this whole place out of phase with the rest of the world. It becomes invisible to creatures not attuned to the spirit world. The Aura of Antipathy simply keeps humans and lesser youkai from getting too close. Safety measures, my dear."

"Hmm…cool."

"Mother."

Yuri and Yuria looked at Yurimi, who stood a few steps away. Kotonoha was fixing up her tent somewhere nearby. The silver-haired foxgirl's eyes were fixated on her mother's, as if attempting to transmit a wordless message through the invisible connection of their matching carmine eyes.

Yuri's smile became slightly wider.

"I'm sure that can wait until tomorrow, Yurimi dear."

Yurimi's eyes narrowed imperceptibly.

_No, it CAN'T! I want my mate, and I want him RIGHT NOW!_

"Yes, Mother."

_DAMN IT!_

Yurimi wordlessly walked away the way she came. Yuria raised an eyebrow.

"What was that about?"

"Yurimi wants to stake her claim on the human, Uzumaki Naruto."

"Hmm…"

* * *

In a gloomy cave somewhere in the westernmost reaches of Fire Country, Kiyoura Setsuna appeared with a cloud of smoke.

"Whoa!" A lighthearted male voice expressed its surprise at the sudden arrival. Setsuna shot a bored look at the masked man.

"…Madara."

"Ah!" The man gasped. "It's Mama Setsuna!" He ran to envelop her in a warm welcome hug. "Mmmmaaa-maaaaaaaaa-gyaaaaaah!"

The man in black was sent flying by a powerful line of lightning, far more dangerous than anything Setsuna had inflicted upon Naruto. Outside of training, that is.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING MAMA?"

"Uguu…"

More lightning.

"DON'T YOU GO USING OTHER PEOPLE'S CATCHWORDS!"

"Auuu…"

"WHAT DID I JUST SAY?"

"Ah!" The poor guy made a feeble protective gesture with his hands. "I mean…ouch?"

Setsuna sighed. "Stop fooling around, Madara."

"Hoe?" The man in the swirly mask scratched his head. "Madara? Nope, no Madara! I'm Tobi!"

The Kitsune just rolled her eyes and ignored him.

It was a rather sparse residence, not at all suitable to Setsuna's tastes. However, for the sake of her plans, she put up with it. At least the bed was grand and very comfortable, for it was the minimum she required. An old wooden drawer to keep her sparse pieces of clothing, a just-as-old desk and chair and a metal clothes hanger by the far corner made the rest of the furnishings. A thick white curtain separated the torch-illuminated bedroom from the rest of the cave.

Letting herself fall on the bed, the little Kitsune stared at the uneven ceiling.

"…I need a bath," She mumbled.

"Uhh…Grandma…"

An arc of lightning danced across the room.

"Eek! Umm, I mean, Setsuna-sama…where…where was Setsuna-sama the whole afternoon…if I may ask?"

Setsuna was tired enough not to argue. "I was summoned."

Tobi tilted his head. "Summoned?"

"Yes, Kuchiyose. Regardless…" She made a pause, quickly projecting the events of earlier that day past the screen of her memory. "…it was fruitful." Her expression became sharp. "By the way, I have a mission for you."

"Yes?" Tobi tilted his head.

"Uchiha Itachi. Bring him to me. It's about time we meet. I need to meet him tomorrow, as early as possible."

"Heeeeh…" The voice behind the mask sounded dubious. "Are you sure?"

Setsuna shot an annoyed glance at the Uchiha elder.

"…I'll bring him. Should I bring Kisame-kun too? They're a team, you know…"

A dismissing gesture. "That is of no importance. Will he cooperate?"

Madara shrugged. "I do not think he would be interested in Setsuna-sama's glorious objective."

"Whatever," Setsuna concluded. "If he doesn't cooperate he dies."

"Mou, does Setsuna-sama have to be so mean? Anyway…if you don't mind sharing your plan with Kisame-kun, then why don't you let the whole group into it?"

Setsuna released a bitter chuckle. "I thought you smarter than…wait, forget it. Pain's more useful as a fool with delusions of grandeur, and that made-up plot straight out of Metal Gear Solid lets him herd the sheep properly. Nah, let the Akatsuki be the misguided idiots they are. I only need the Uchiha…and his partner might prove useful. At the very least he's got character."

"Orochimaru was smart to leave. Not that it helped him cut off my strings, though," Setsuna mused. "Speaking of the snake, what about the instructions I gave you?"

"Oh, he's interested!" Tobi nodded eagerly. "He will agree to meet you, I'm sure…well, to meet the Doctor."

"Good. We'll meet him in Konoha. We will depart tomorrow after conversing with your descendant."

"Really?"

"Yes. I have matters to attend in Konoha, anyway. Now, how about dinner?"

"Ah!" Even with the mask, it was easy to tell this was a topic the man enjoyed a lot more. "Well, what would Setsuna-sama prefer: the meat dish or the vegetarian menu?"

Lightning!

"U-gaaah!"

"I have no time for your stupid games, idiot! Hmph!"

Attempting to relax on the bed, Setsuna reflected on her plans. So many things to do, so many details to take care of, so complicated…and suddenly, Uzumaki Naruto's worth as a piece in her grand chess board had gained a whole new magnitude.

_Uzumaki…Naruto, hmm? Just for how long will you make yourself useful?_

"Heeeeh…"

Setsuna frowned. Madara was looking down at her from the edge of the bed. There was a tinge of amusement in his tone she just did not like.

"What, you're still here?" She spat. "Where's dinner?"

"I'll bring it in a moment, but…" It was, indeed, an amused voice. "…Setsuna-sama had a sorta funny look on her face just now…" Madara explained in a sing-song tone. "I wonder what Setsuna-sama had in her mind~"

"NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!"

"Heeeh, Setsuna-sama's blushing no-oooooooooowwww!"

"DIE!" Setsuna rained pain upon her man-servant, Palpatine-style. "DIE, DIE, DIE!"

"Mugyuu…"

And Madara spontaneously combusted.

Setsuna paused. "Now how did that happen?"

"OH GOD IT HURTS!"

* * *

**Mugyuu…**

"Huh?" Naruto stopped on his way downstairs. He was taking out the trash. "Sayuri? You awake?"

**Mugyuu…hmm…unnh…mweanie…that's mah catchwodd…I'll burn you…uaaanh…**

"What the?"

…**munya…ahh…Pywoninja…burn, Pywoninja, burn…heheheheh…ZZZZZZZ…**

Naruto blinked…a few times. "…sleeptalking?"

* * *

"Help! It hurts! Mommy!"

Setsuna looked at the rolling, crying, burning figure of Uchiha Madara AKA Tobi on the cavern floor. Her face was as disdainful and bored as ever.

"Hmm…oh well. Not to look at a gift horse and all that. DIE!"

"Ugyaaaa!"

* * *

**CHAPTER 10 END**


	12. Boy Meets Foxgirls, Part One

_**Naruto Genkyouien**_

_**- **__**ナルト**__**- **__**幻**__**脅**__**威宴**_

**Chapter Eleven: Boy Meets Foxgirl**

**OR**

**The Long Night of the Two (Part One)  


* * *

**

Lying on the familiar comfort of his old bed, Naruto found himself unable to sleep. In fact, he thought he had never been so alert in his life.

He was trying to figure out when his life became such an unholy mess. He could easily pinpoint his meeting with Sayuri as the beginning of it all, but it still did not explained the way things had turned out.

There was the foxgirl who for some reason was head over heels in love with him and, much to his surprise, he was more than a little attracted to her, too.

There was the other foxgirl who had been all this time in control of the body of a girl he loved as a dear sister, and she, too, wanted to sex him up.

And then there was the OTHER foxgirl (or more like fox-woman, in this case…even if it just feels wrong somehow), whom he had actually sexed up!

Sure, they had not really done…well, **it**, but still, it had been pretty perverted.

Naruto's face quickly gained a brilliant red flush when the memory of a warm, delicate tongue tracing the rough surface of his fingers flooded his mind.

"Uuuh-wha! Down, boy! Down!"

He groaned in the solitude of his bedroom (where was Ayame-nee-chan, anyway?). He definitely did not need those kinds of thoughts in his head if he was going to be Setsuna's student!

"What the hell's wrong with me? She's so…annoying and…bossy and mean and…**tiny**!"

An instinctive self-preservation mechanism triggered, sending Naruto's body in overdrive, pumping excessive amounts of adrenaline through his bloodstream.

After several seconds and realizing that there was no incoming lightning bolt, the boy relaxed once more.

Speaking of the source of all wackiness, what happened to Sayuri anyway?

She had been astoundingly quiet while he had been training with Setsuna in the alternate dimension, silently "watching" his training and overall being a nice girl and not interrupting. Then, when they returned, they had fallen asleep, but he had been the only one who woke up. Unless…

…_Sayuri? You there? Umm…are you okay? I mean…_

**Onii-chan?**

Naruto found himself sighing in relief. He had no idea what he had been so afraid of.

_Hello there._

**Ah, it's onii-chan! Oniiiiiiiii-chan! Waaaaaaaai!**

Wiggle, wiggle.

**Did onii-chan finish twaining with Setsuna-san? **Only then did Sayuri pay attention to what she could see through Naruto's eyes. **Ah, we're home!**

_Yeah, I was done with Setsuna a while ago. Were you disconnected all this time?_

**Um! Sayuri's a good girl, so she stayed disconnected to let onii-chan finish his twaining, 'coz twaining is weally important to onii-chan!**

Naruto suddenly felt all warm and fuzzy inside. Just how fucked up the world could be if the nicest and most lovable person he had ever met was the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox sealed in his belly?

…_we really have to figure out how I can get in there. I want to hug you so badly right now._

**Ah!**

There was a strange pause.

_Sayuri?_

**Ah…te-he…Sayuri…Sayuri's weally happy…Sayuri wished onii-chan could be hear, too. **The little foxgirl released a sudden giggle. **Kyah! Sayuri feels all…heheh…doki-doki-fuwa-fuwaaah…munyaa…**

_Uhh…okay, whatever that means. _Naruto sweatdropped.

He stared at the ceiling for a few seconds. Nope, he was not falling asleep anytime soon.

_Sayuri, you feeling sleepy?_

**Umm…no, but it's sleepy time and mama said good girls go to sleep at sleepy time.**

_Heeh, cute. Okay, you do that and…I guess I might as well start doing my homework._

**Home-wohk?**

_Yup. Well, if you feel like talking or anything, just call me, okay? You don't have to disconnect yourself._

**Haaaai! Thank you, onii-chan! Wuv yuu lots!**

Naruto chuckled as he jumped off the bed. _Hai, hai.

* * *

_

Making a mostly perfect circle around the bonfire, the Higashiyama group enjoyed a fabulous outdoors meal courtesy of Yurine, who had definitely proved that the lack of a kitchen was not detrimental to her **l337 (00|1|\|9 $|1LL$**.

"Once again, I'd like to thank Yurimi for setting up the bonfire for us." Yuri spoke.

As the only one with a trace of Fire-Kitsune blood in her veins, Yurimi had been appointed to make the bonfire. Of course, there was no way in hell any of the foxgirls would be seen trying to make flame the normal way.

On a side note, it had long been discovered by Kitsune that Kitsune Fire was simply not suitable for cooking.

"It did take you a while, though…" The Matriarch added, not hiding a slight bit of mirth in her tone. Yurimi, true to her usual self, did not seem to mind the mild taunt.

"Most unfortunately, my affinity with fire is diametrically opposite to my venerable sister's." She plainly explained. "Sayuri-nee-sama would have no problem making a strong bonfire for us."

"True, but she would have also incinerated a few acres of forest in the process." Yuria added, her eyes never leaving her juicy rabbit leg. Swallowing what she had in her mouth, she made her best imitation of her youngest sister. "Mama, lookie-lookie! So pwetty! Waaaaaai!"

Yurina giggled and her sister snorted at the sight of Yuria happily wagging her tails.

"True." Yurimi agreed, and Yurisa nodded at that.

"Hahaha…haaa…" Yuri's sweatdrop said more than any choice of words. Memories of many frantic days of damage control came back to her. Really, why did her youngest daughter have to like fire so damn much?

Looking for an excuse to change the topic, Yuri turned to look at the identical twins, which ate their meals in silence.

"You two are surprisingly quiet tonight." She commented; no hint of any particular emotion in those words. The twins looked up at their mother in unison, staring with a weak, tired gaze before randomly shuddering and going back to their meals. The rest of the group (sans Mayuri) stared oddly at the two.

"Damn." Yuria muttered.

"Weird." Yuriyo added. "Just what did Yurie do to you two?"

The way the two identical beauties went stiff like statues told Yuriyo she had triggered something terrible. Only their rapidly shaking pupils showed there was life within those frozen bodies; their carmine eyes projecting an unimaginable horror.

The two girls looked at each other and, finding some sort of answer in the other's eyes, they hesitatingly turned to face their mother.

"We…we don't know." Yurika shook her head. "As much as we try to remember, we only get a blank. It's like…it's like our brains refuse to remember."

It was an ominous silence that permeated the camp for a few tense seconds.

"Deep. Lovecraft can't top that shit."

"Language, Yuria."

"Yes, mother." Yuria paused, as if pondering whether to speak her mind or not. "Umm, mother."

"Yes, dear?"

Yuria looked around, at the semicircle of tents that surrounded the bonfire, the Kitsune and the two beacons. "I can't help but notice you don't have a tent."

The others watching the exchange looked at the matriarch with unconcealed curiosity. They had all been wondering the same thing for a while already.

"Hmm…I don't, do I?" Yuri raised her right index to the corner of her lips in mock doubt. Yuria's face went flat.

"No, you don't."

Yuri paid no heed to her daughter's flat stare. "Hmm…well, no time like the present, or so humans say."

Gracefully standing up, the tall and beautiful matriarch of Higashiyama walked away from the tents, towards the opposite side of the clearing. As she did so, a cold, ominous wind began to cloak the place with an eerie, suffocating fog. Yurina reflexively sought the warmth of her dark-haired sister, and Yurisa protectively wrapped her arms around her little Mayuri.

"I must commend the human who thought of building a village in this place." Yuri softly spoke after stopping a few steps past the very center of the clearing. "There is power here, both pure and vile."

"The spirits of nature have welcomed us and vouch for our safety within this forest. Any threat to our safety while we are here will come from the humans who have claimed this territory."

"However, the number of humans in that village is shadowed by the number of souls wandering around and within its walls. So many unforgiving souls of people who have died at the hands of a Konoha shinobi, only to come here to wander pointlessly, unable to enact vengeance. So many aimless, worthless souls…all ripe for the plucking."

Yuri, with her back to her family, released a placid smile. "It's a good place…to be a Ghost Kitsune."

When the fog that flooded the place began to trace a circuit on the perimeter of the clearing, rapidly ascending to gather above and in front of the matriarch, the other Kitsune understood it was not fog. It was a coalescence of spirit-stuff, the result of dozens of spirits being gathered, their souls dispatched to the Sanzu River to leave behind empty, formless ectoplasm.

"_**Spirit Release – Spirit Pagoda**_."

The other Kitsune (sans Mayuri) had to stand up to stare in awe at the magic Yuri had unleashed. The spirit-stuff was shaping itself into a magnificent silver palace; three levels of the most symmetric and admirable architecture.

Turning around, Yuri presented her creation to a stunned audience.

"Now I have a tent."

"Can I sleep with you?" Yuria immediately asked.

"No." Yuri immediately answered.

"Mom!"

"Get your own pagoda."

"That's frighteningly childish of you, Mother," Yuria deadpanned.

"Weren't you the one who was eager to sleep outdoors, Yuria dear?"

"Now you're just being cruel."

* * *

After reaching the all-too-familiar bridge where Team 7 always meets in the mornings, Naruto traveled north, following the shore of the river. It led him to a second familiar scenery. He remembered Jiraiya drooling at giggling at the visage of women bathing by the waterfall. The impact of falling water disturbed the flow and created and ceaseless stream of ripples and small waves.

Standing on the middle of the stream, Naruto drew two kunai. Gently throwing them upwards, he quickly turned his body upside down to stand on his two hands.

"Now!"

With enviable precision, Naruto sent chakra to the sole of his bare feet. The two kunai halted their fall, stuck to Naruto's feet by a thin layer of chakra.

"Ungh!" Naruto winced. It was not perfect. He could feel the first droplets of blood popping out of the tiny wound on his right foot.

"It's good enough." He said to himself. The important part was to come.

Slowly, carefully, Naruto approached the waterfall walking upside-down. The constant disturbances and vibrations on the surface forced Naruto to use more chakra than water-walking usually demanded. Adjusting the chakra to keep the constant counterforce effect was also challenging.

"I can…yes, I can do this." Naruto concluded with a grin.

For a second, he considered trying to climb up the waterfall, but he quickly dismissed the idea as outright ridiculous…at least for the time being.

Lowering his legs until they were extended horizontally, Naruto tested his chakra control and made sure the kunai would not succumb to gravity. Conserving that posture, he walked all around the water body, a smile never leaving his face.

Just as Setsuna had commanded, he had ensured he could do at least this.

He was ready for the next level.

**Waaaa…onii-chan can walk on water! It's so cool!**

_Hmm…haven't you seen me doing this before?_

**Eh? Hmm…mugyuu…I don't wemember. But it's weally cool!**

_Really. Thank you, Sayuri!_

**Heheeeh…onii-chan thanked me! Sayuri's so ha-ppy!**

A pause.

**Nee, nee, onii-chan! Sayuri, Sayuri can walk on fire!**

"Huh."

**And wava!**

Naruto almost lost his balance at that.

_Hu-huuuh…really._

**Um! Did Sayuri tell you the story of when mama took Sayuri to a volcano?**

Naruto grimaced. "…no. No, Sayuri didn't."

**It was gweat! And then, and then, when we got to the top, there was a looooooot of wava! So cool! So Sayuri jumped in!**

"You did what?"

**Um! Onii-chan should swim in wava with Sayuri one day, ne? It's fun!**

"…I…think I'll pass."

**Muuu…onii-chan, but it's fun…**

"So, what happened then?" Naruto moved the conversation ahead before Sayuri made him promise to go swim in lava with her.

**Ah, wight! So, Sayuri ask mama to swim with her, but mama just yelled "Get it all out of there wight now, Sayuri!" I dunno why mama wanted Sayuri to get all the lava out of the volcano, but Sayuri did it, 'coz she's a good girl.**

Somehow Naruto knew that was not precisely what Yuri was shouting that day.

**It was weaaaally hard, you know? Because, because, Sayuri didn't weally know how to do that. Then, Sayuri got a gweat idea! Sayuri would do what she always does!**

"'I can guess…"

**Yup! Fire! **Sayuri nodded sagely within her cage. **And expwosions. Lots of expwosions.**

Naruto sighed. He could tell where this was going. He made a side note to check for deadly volcano eruptions some time before his birth in the library, if he ever got the time.

**So Sayuri just thwew lots and lots of fire into the wava. And expwosions! Evwything was shaking, and there were these biiiiiiiig waves of wava! It was wike going to the beach, but without the yu-cky salty water, it was gweat!**

"Really."

**And mama kept encouwaging Sayuri! "Go! Go, Sayuri!"**

Somehow Naruto did not really think so.

**And then, and then! There was this big "whoooooooo" sound, and then "whoosh!" A BIG expwosion! And wava evwywhere! It's good that Sayuri's weally good at holding her bweath, like-**

Naruto rolled his eyes when he heard the distinct sound of Sayuri taking a very deep breath. "Sayuri."

…

"Sayuri."

…

Naruto did the first known upside-down facepalm. "Sayuri, stop it."

…

"Ok, got it. I wait."

* * *

Yuria was worried. Worried and angry.

After a while of idle chatting, Yuri had declared she was retiring for the night, Sayoko in tow. Apparently, the chronically-depressed Kitsune was the only one allowed to dwell in the pagoda with the matriarch.

It was surprising that the twins did not make any innuendo-laced comments regarding the full extent of Yuri's and Sayoko's relationship. Apparently they were just that traumatized.

Yurina and her sister were the first to depart, followed by Yurimi and Kotonoha. Yurisa had worriedly secluded herself in her tent after Mayuri seemingly rejected her invitation to go sleep with her.

As for Yuria, well, she had a little problem.

"My bag! It's gone!"

"Hawaa…" Yurine muttered, looking over her younger sister's shoulder. Indeed, where once had rested Yuria's luggage, there was now a pile of ashes. Only a small piece of leather, the edges still incandescent, remained to testify as to the original composition of the pile.

"Wha…how…who…" Slowly seizing a fistful of what once was her belongings, Yuria let her mind run wild, quickly deducing the most likely culprit. Her eyes glowing with wrathful fury, Yuria jumped on her feet and strode towards a specific tent.

"YURIYO!"

"Yes?"

Yuria's furious glare **almost** broke for an instant. The only reason it didn't was because doing so would have been synonym with defeat.

A black sleeping bag large enough to fit two people was sprawled on the grass in the very center of the large tent. Obviously the sisters intended to share as they always did. While Yurina had already changed to strangely "prudish" pajamas –long buttoned pink shirt and pants–, Yuriyo was caught on all fours while emptying her single bag, her usual clothes haphazardly thrown aside.

Kitsune were naturally drawn towards beauty in any form. While every individual, human or Kitsune, had its own perception of what could be deemed as beautiful: Yurimi found Naruto dashingly handsome, for example; there were some thing in this world that can be deemed universally beautiful.

Yuriyo's nude body was one of those.

Even Yuria had to admit the two-tails was naturally, genetically, mathematically appealing to the eyes. What she found infuriating was just how unbelievably natural the half-Void found it to act sexy. With her back to her aunt, Yuriyo had assumed a perfectly straight posture, the better to draw eyes first to her firm buttocks, then following the path marked by her spine, with a minute glance to the bit of breast-side that could be seen from that position, to those teasingly challenging eyes of hers.

Eroticism in motion, indeed.

"Explain yourself." Yuria growled, but the two-tails showed no sign of being intimidated. Her black tails danced gleefully behind her, hiding and revealing tantalizing inches of backside.

"And what exactly do you mean by that, auntie?"

The fact that, after being thoroughly intimidated by subdued the whole day, Yuriyo was back in her groove, made for the most incriminating evidence. Yuria's wildly swinging tails were a reflection of the storm of fury building within her, contrasting with her stone cold gaze.

"Seems like a morning was not enough to properly educate you, **girl**."

Like a siren emerging from the sapphire ocean, with one fluid motion, Yuriyo stood up and turned to face her mother's sister. Her tails hugged her body both to keep her warm and to work as a painfully effective cover for her otherwise completely nude body.

"I insist I do not know what you are trying to say."

"I mean THIS!"

Yuriyo had to close her eyes to prevent the soot to reach her eyes. Yurina, who so far had stayed out of the discussion, went into alert when her sister's body went totally rigid after Yuria slammed the sole remaining piece of leather on her face.

"Ne-nee-chan…" She pleaded quietly.

"…that was not nice, Yuria." With eyes still close, Yuriyo spoke. Her voice had lost her natural alluring tone and now carried a dangerous edge.

"Don't pretend you didn't do it, Yuriyo." Yuria hissed back. "You're the only petty bitch in this clan who would resort to that."

"Ha-Hawawa…Yuria-cha-eh?"

Yurine's attempt at soothing her sister was stopped by the matriarch's hand on her shoulder. The eldest of Higashiyama, drawn by Yuria's loud shouting just before, was now standing outside the tent and behind Yuria, but outside of Yuriyo's vision.

"I thought Yurimi was your 'archrival', not me." Yuriyo declared, not forgetting to make quotation marks with her fingers.

"Yurimi at least **deserves** that title. You're just a cocky little bitch that obviously needs to be put in her place." Yuria made a step forward, which Yuriyo immediately mirrored.

"I throw those words back at you!" The two-tails grin was menacing and wild in its beauty. "You think you can boss me around just because you're older?" She snorted. "Age means nothing if you **fail** as a Kitsune!"

Yuria's pupils contracted and her lips pulled away to reveal sharp canines. "That's it, you'll be asking for the tail rape when I'm done kicking your ass!"

"Ha!" Yuriyo laughed back. Raising her left hand, she revealed thin, sharp claws. Yuria did notice they had become pitch black. "About time someone shows you how pathetic you are."

They met halfway inside the tent, Yuria's breasts barely touching the underside of Yuriyo's; both sporting deathly glares.

"The more words your rotten mouth spouts, the worst the beating you'll get."

Yuriyo smirked. "So you can break my enchantment. Good for you."

Yuria's glare faltered. Yuriyo's expression had suddenly become utterly deranged. But more than her facial expression, it was the fact that her pupils had gone completely black which worried her.

"Wha-what the hell?"

"Let me show you…show you that you're nothing but an insect…"

Yuriyo placed a hand on Yuria's right shoulder, and the three-tails could not suppress a shudder. There was something horrible within those eyes the color of petrol.

"…it hungers, Yuria…" Yuriyo whispered on her aunt's right ear. The shorter Kitsune went rigid when Yuriyo gave her right cheek a thorough and delightfully terrifying lick. "It hungers for you…"

"Higashiyama Yuriyo."

The succubus lily glared daggers at the matriarch. Yuri's usual placid stare was utterly gone. There was nothing but ice on her pale skin and the righteous flame of authority and centuries of power in her carmine eyes.

"You will NOT fight Yuria. Step back at once."

Yurine's daughter stared at the matriarch for several seconds before pulling away. In that time, Yuria's unexplainable fear had dissipated; having being replaced by another, far more painful emotion.

Yuri almost cracked at the sight of her sixth daughter's gaze. She could tell exactly what Yuria was thinking, and it pained her the most because Yuria was not in the wrong.

Being a mother is often a job met with ungratefulness and pain.

When Yuri averted her gaze from Yuria to Yuriyo, the small lily confirmed the painful suspicion. Yuri had ordered Yuriyo to stop. Yuriyo, not Yuria.

_Yuriyo…is stronger than me?_

"So…"

All eyes were on the shortest Kitsune in the tent, whose shoulders were trembling from so many undesired emotions.

"So…I'm that much of a failure."

Yuriyo wanted to roll her eyes and say "duh," but she deemed it a bad idea with her sister, mother and grandmother fixing their eyes on her.

"I'm…this much of a disappointment."

Yuri just could not remain silent after that. "Yuria! Of course no-"

The three-tails walked outside of the tent and past her mother.

"Yu-Yuria! Where are you going?"

Yuria shrugged but did not stop. "Does it matter? I don't have a tent anyway."

"Uh!" Yuri thought fast. "You…you can stay with me!"

"…I'll get my own pagoda, thank you very much."

Yuri (and Yurina inside the tent) flinched at that. With admirable speed, Yuria dashed into the forest and disappeared from sight.

The oldest of Higashiyama made a single step to follow her before a hand stopped her.

"Sayoko-san?"

The gloomy Kitsune slowly shook her head. After several seconds of staring at each other, Yuri sighed in defeat.

"…I'll trust your judgment, then."

Yurina stared at the two elder Kitsune with a tinge of envy. She truly wished she could be like that with her sister. As for Yuri, she let Yuria go for the moment. She did have other matters to attend to.

"Higashiyama Yuriyo, you intended to do harm to your fellow."

"She's the one who came barging in." Yuriyo complained. The darkness had already extended past her arms and covered most of her face, chest and her legs under her knees. Yurine watched her daughter with a look of complete devastation, barely holding back tears.

"You destroyed her few possessions."

"You can't prove that."

Yuri covered the few steps that separated her from her granddaughter and mercilessly slapped her left cheek. Yurina gasped, but did not move. Yurine looked away and sobbed.

The darkness began to reach for Yuriyo's backside, quickly covering her shoulder blades and moving down her spine towards her rear. At the same time, it moved upwards past her knees to cover her thighs and crotch.

"Don't forget who you are talking to, **girl**. I can prove it was Void Fire which burned Yuria's luggage, even if I **don't need to**."

Yuriyo's pupils widened a bit at that. The message was clear: this was no democracy. The matriarch's word is absolute.

Had she been in full control of her actions, she would have never done what she did.

It was so fast Yurina couldn't see it clearly. Before Yuriyo's black tail-spear could reach halfway towards Yuri's head, the matriarch's silver tail pierced the younger Kitsune's skull.

"Nee-chan!" Yurina could feel her heart in her throat.

"Be at ease."

With those words, Yurina looked more carefully. The tip of Yuri's tail, the part that seemed to go through her sister's head, was strangely wispy, as if made of gray smoke.

When the dark-haired Kitsune collapsed, consciousness long lost, Yurina hurried to tend to her. Yuri felt her heart break at the sight of the blonde darling checking on her sister's wellbeing.

"Sayoko-san…"

The Kitsune clad in purple quietly stood by her best friend's side.

"It…it shouldn't be this complicated."

Yurine had covered her face and sobbed by the tent's entrance. Sayoko did not say a word. She rarely did, anyway.

"Yurina, dear."

"Eh?"

Yuri almost shed tears. She had never imagined that one day; one of her precious girls would face her with such fright in her eyes.

"Sleep now. Tomorrow you and your sister will tell me everything. About your Celestial and Void powers."

"Ha-hai…" Yurina lowered her head to gently cradle her sister's on her lap. Yuri turned her back to the sisters and walked outside the tent.

"'I'm sorry, Yurine."

The mother only shook her head and sobbed some more. Yuri sighed and walked towards the spirit pagoda. However, something caught her attention in the way. Sayoko, too, stopped her march to follow her best friend's gaze.

As if alien to the world and the events around her, Higashiyama Mayuri did not move from her original spot. On her seat by the dwindling bonfire, the smallest among the group quietly stared at the beautiful starry sky, uncaring of the earthly affairs of her clan.

She did not even seem to react to the two pairs of eyes focused on her frame. After several moments of cold silence, Yuri secluded herself for the night.

Or so she thought.

* * *

One minute and fourteen seconds later, Sayuri put an end to her silence.

**Puaaaaaah! Ha! See, onii-chan? Sayuri can hold her breath.**

Naruto, who had spent the silent time polishing up his upside-down water-walking skills, shifted back to a normal posture. He was starting to get a headache.

"Well…yeah." He nodded. "I gotta say you lasted more than I expected."

**Um! Mama said holding one's breath is a very important Kitsune skill, so Sayuri pwacticed a lot!**

"Really?"

**In fire!**

"Of course."

**She also said something about "gag wefweks," but Sayuri didn't get that part.**

"Haaaa." Naruto sweatdropped. "You…you like fire a lot, don't ya?"

**Um! I wuv fire! It's cool! Even if it's scary, Sayuri wikes it when it burns things, and it's, like, always! It's gweat!**

Whoosh!

Naruto mutely stare at the sight to his left. Comfortable yet eerie warmth enveloped him. Steam quickly clouded his vision and made him begin to sweat. Naruto quickly moved away.

"The water…the water's on fire."

**Waaaaaaai!**

Wiggle, wiggle.

The flames traced a ring around Naruto.

**Wing of fire!**

Naruto watched in amazement how tiny butterflies of flame fluttered out of the ring and flew for a few seconds before dispersing like the ephemeral existences they were.

**Waaaai! So pwetty!**

Wiggle, wiggle.

Naruto had to nod in agreement. It was a beautiful display, true.

**I wuv fire. It's cool and pwetty. And it burns things. **Sayuri made a pause, as if suddenly pondering something. **And I wuv onii-chan too!**

"I don't know if I should feel happy or annoyed." The boy mumbled.

**Mugyuu?**

"Nothing." Naruto dismissed the little foxgirl's doubts. However, he was honestly worried about something.

Was Sayuri supposed to be able to do this?

Just what was happening to the Fourth's seal?

* * *

By a certain riverside, a very beautiful Kitsune strolled.

From a distance, she could see the hordes carefully set into groups before entering the ominous palace of marble and silver. Even from afar, the gigantic, deva-shaped pillars that supported the structure made for an astounding sight, their fantastically detailed features easily noticeable. Such was their sheer magnitude.

Such a busy place, the palace. She had to feel sorry for its mistress; she simply had not a moment for herself. On the other side, the fair Kitsune was sighing of boredom.

She had nothing to do, so she trained. She trained all the time, until she reached a point where further training became unnecessary.

"Oi."

A familiar voice. The foxgirl turned to grace the newcomer with a lovely smile. The cloaked being responded with a slight nod. She had long gotten accustomed to the eerie cloak and the freaky, gray oni mask. She knew the face behind the mask very well, so she did not feel intimidated by him in the slightest.

Strangely enough, he (it?) went straight to the point. In a place where time flowed so slowly, such abruptness was unusual. This was, however, a behavior the mistress of the palace did not approve of.

"The circumstances of our contract have changed."

The girl tilted her head. With all her smarts, she had absolutely no idea what that meant. She knew, however, that it was very important.

"…you can go."

She gasped. Then she paused.

"…eh?"

"What?"

"What do you mean 'what'?" The girl pouted. "I've been waiting forever for this day!" Keeping her pout, she looked aside. "So anticlimactic."

"I couldn't care less." The masked being replied tiredly. "So, you leaving? I'll give you a ride."

The foxgirl's eyes shone brightly. "Really? Waaaaai, you're so nice!"

The hidden being stepped away from the Kitsune's incoming glomp. "Stay away from me."

The girl did not need to be told to follow the being in grey when he walked away.

"…hey." He suddenly called after a while of silent marching.

"Hmm?"

"…please…take care of him."

The girl giggled. "You don't need to tell me that. Isn't it a wife's duty to look after her husband?"

"Yes, of course it-wait, WHAT? HUSBAND?"

The girl tilted her head in doubt one more time. She could not understand why he used that tone of sheer horror.

"Yes, husband."

They stared at each other in silence for a few moments, until the masked entity sighed in defeat.

"I think I prefer 'onii-chan'."

The foxgirl giggled.

Shaking her head, the other being turned his back to her one more time and resumed his march along the riverside. The colossal palace loomed closer and closer with each step, slowly blocking the horizon in its entirety.

"…why do I get the feeling that I've just made the boy's life exponentially more complicated?"

"Now that's just not nice."

* * *

Yuria had randomly chosen the northeast direction in her escape from the clan camping grounds. She did not stop running until a river blocked her path. Tired of running pointlessly, and not wanting to draw unneeded attention, she dropped her pace to a slow walk, following the river eastwards. She was approaching the outer wall of Konoha; she could see it clearly standing tall above the treeline. Not that she intended to go in. At least not during nighttime.

Her thoughts drifted to her lost luggage. She was a woman of few possessions; now she had even less. It made the loss all the more hard to swallow, even if it was just clothes, underwear, rolls of cloth for her sarashi, a hairbrush and a-

"Oh crap the scroll." Yuria felt the coals of anger slowly reigniting. "I'm so getting that bitch for…"

She sighed. She was tired of being angry.

Deciding to postpone everything to the next day, Yuria began to think of settling down for the night. Fortunately, Yuria was more than prepared for surviving in the wilderness, probably more so than any of her similarly-aged relatives.

"Well, I guess Rina-chan has read some survival guides and stuff." She muttered to herself.

Yurina: now that was a Kitsune anyone could get along with. She had inherited the best trait she could have taken from her mother: her amiable nature. On the other side, Yuriyo seemed to be Void to the core.

"…The Void, huh…"

It was Yuria's first encounter with the fabled "Cursed" power of the Dark Kitsune. She had to admit; it was intimidating, even if she had never gotten to see what Yuriyo could do with it. She guessed that was a good thing.

Since Yuriyo seemed to be able to tap into The Void, it was safe to assume Yurina could also use Celestial power.

"I guess that makes little Mayuri the only one who's still weaker than me." Yuria sighed again. "Damn, that's pathetic. I'm pathetic."

Blinking a few times, Yuria hurriedly shook her head and slapped her cheeks, forcing the tears to get back into their ducts.

"Come on, Yuria, snap out of it! You're better than this!"

She looked around. It was strange: despite being in a foreign, unknown land, she felt more comfortable in this forest than in the misty forest surrounding the Higashiyama Shrine. If anybody asked her, she'd have to say the forest of Higashi Mountain was just too eerie for her tastes. Or maybe she was just fond of the warmer weather. She thought she should be more excited about this trip, being her first time outside the mountain, but she guessed the recent events had clouded that excitement.

"Well, I guess I should get some firewood…huh?"

The ferocious sound of crashing water diffused her thoughts of setting up camp before the need for sleep claimed her.

There was a waterfall ahead.

Not having seen many in her few forays around Higashiyama, Yuria was quickly drawn by curiosity.

* * *

While Naruto could have moved to the next stage of his exercise, he was also a curious person, very attentive when it comes to matters that interest him (which are very few) and prone to experimenting. With Sayuri gone for a second attempt at falling asleep, he was alone with his ambitious thoughts.

He was, precisely, in the middle of an experiment. After taking off his jacket and t-shirt, Naruto returned to the water.

Naruto knew he could not copy Setsuna's Taijutsu. It was a fast, agile Taijutsu, made for small, lithe bodies.

Taijutsu for lolis.

In addition, it relied on inflicting the debilitating effects of electricity to facilitate dealing damage with Void-based attacks. Naruto could not create electricity with his chakra (as far as he knew), so he was out of options in that regard.

Naruto was a well-built tank, meant to both take tremendous punishment and deal as much damage as possible with every single blow. In other words, Setsuna's Taijutsu simply did not match Naruto.

That did not change the fact that, to Naruto, Setsuna's style looked REALLY COOL.

Naruto has always been easily impressed.

So, he could not learn the style, but he still tried to mimic the moves. Sure, they didn't look as cool without the sparks and the black fire, but, still, they were new ways to kick ass and look good while doing it.

And maybe, just maybe, he could train himself to be both fast and strong. That would be badass.

And so, Naruto danced on the river's surface, or at least tried to. Fighting against an imaginary opponent, or maybe an imaginary self, Naruto pretended to move like he had seen his teacher do. The force of his motions pulled shining trails of water off the surface, tracing brilliant arcs of pearly liquid around his body.

He turned his body into a flow, never letting his two feet touch the water at the same time, and never taking a moment between blows.

His body became weightless, and Naruto laughed at gravity's futile attempts to shackle him.

He became the embodiment of motion; his head impossibly clear even within the maelstrom of swirls, twists and turns in midair.

And then he stopped, to watch the ripples created by his momentum being transferred to the river under his feet.

"Hmm…I guess I can't be as fast as her."

"THAT WAS **AWESOME**!"

Naruto's body went rigid.

"Uh, I mean-oh shit!"

"Not very subtle." Naruto muttered to himself, and the crack in reality created by this fic became a bit wider. "So, who's there?"

"Uhh…nobody?"

Naruto rolled his eyes and fixed his gaze on the top of the waterfall. "Oh, come on, nobody's that stupid."

"Uhh…tweet-tweet-tweeeeeet." The obviously female voice responded. "I'm a bird!"

Naruto gaped at the darkness.

"Now that's just ridiculous."

"…I could be a parrot!"

Naruto's expression became neutral. "Parrots don't answer questions."

"…damn it."

"Just come down here before I go get you…whoever you are."

Naruto's eyes followed the girl as she jumped down from rock to rock to get to the bottom of the waterfall. It was obvious by this point that she was not an ordinary girl. Looking at her clothes, Naruto wondered if all shrine maidens could do that.

In the meantime, Yuria was mentally kicking herself. At least she had the caution to hide her tails.

After giving her a thorough look from hair to toes, Naruto spoke again.

"Why do I only get to meet tiny girls, anyway?"

One second later, Yuria's right knee was buried on Naruto's face.

"How's that for tiny!"

"Fa-fast…" Naruto groaned, but quickly regain his bearings. "Wha-what the hell? You hit me!"

"Thank you, Captain Obvious!" Yuria barked as she rested her hands on her hips. "Seems like I did more brain damage than I thought."

"Wha-? I mean, don't hit me!"

"Then don't call me tiny!" Yuria frowned fiercely. "Would you like it if I called you…huh…" Yuria looked all over the boy, as if looking for anything she could make fun of. "…tch, no way, I've got nothing. Even your pants are awesome!" She said, pointing at Naruto's orange piece of clothing.

Her eyes shifted to Naruto's naked torso.

"Hmm…not too shabby, brat."

"My face's up here." Naruto muttered plainly. "And who the hell's a brat?"

"Ah, ah, just forget it already." Her face suddenly lit up. "Hey, teach me how to do that!"

"What?" Naruto said at the same time he scratched the tip of his nose. Yuria pointed at his feet.

"What you're doing right now!"

Looking down, Naruto noticed that Yuria's feet and a good part of her lower hakama were immersed. On the other side, not even Yuria's knee-kick had disturbed his water-walking, which he thought was pretty cool.

"Eh? Water-walking?"

"Yeah! Really, how do you do that? It's so cool!" As far as she knew, only River and Ocean Kitsune could pull that off. "If I could do that, well…umm…well, I wouldn't really be any stronger, but it would be awesome!"

"Hmm…" Naruto looked at his feet. "I guess it's kinda cool…"

"Kinda cool?" Yuria gaped at the boy. "You cocky brat!"

"What the-now what did I do?" Naruto complained.

"Acting all high and mighty just because you can walk on water! Let me tell you now: you're a hundred years to early to look down on me!" Yuria smirked haughtily.

Naruto rubbed his forehead. "I…I'm not following you."

"Ha!" A triumphant laugh. "That makes this my victory!" A fierce nod. "Know your place. And now, as the victor, I command you to teach me this cool trick!"

Naruto blinked. "What?" He shook his head as if trying to clear it. "Just how did you get to that-wait, what?"

Yuria frowned and offered Naruto a look of pity. "You…you're rather slow, aren't ya?"

"YOU'RE JUST TOO WEIRD!"

"Gyaah!" Yuria took a step back in outrage. "Who-WHO ARE YOU CALLING WEIRD?"

"YOU!"

"Take that back at once!"

"Like hell I will!"

"I'll kick your ass!"

Naruto blinked. "Wha-no! I'm not fighting you!"

Yuria growled and lowered her stance. "You…DON'T LOOK DOWN ON ME!"

Unfortunately for the three-tails, she forgot she was standing ankle deep in running water when she lunged at the blonde. Not only her fist did not get even close to Naruto's face, but the water resistance also caused her to lose her balance. Naruto calmly stepped aside to allow the girl to fall face-flat on the water.

"See? That was pathetic." Naruto commented.

"Ghurrublu." That was Yuria's attempt at saying "Fuck you," even as her body floated away downstream. Naruto only watched.

"Well, I COULD help her…nah."

Around five seconds later, Yuria jumped back on her feet, all the while shooting daggers at Naruto.

"Puagh!" Her carnelian eyes sought Naruto. "YOU! WHY DIDN'T YOU HELP ME?" She yelled.

Naruto blinked and tilted his head innocently. "I was supposed to?"

Boy and foxgirl stared at each other for several long moments; Yuria wearing a frown and Naruto the nicest smile.

Eventually, however, Yuria began to chuckle, and Naruto found himself chuckling, too.

"Fufufufu…bwahahahaha! Nice, NICE!" Yuria winked and nodded. "You've got spunk, boy! I like that."

Naruto snorted. "And you…you…stop talking like an old lady."

Yuria only laughed more.

Naruto smiled some more. Looking down at his slightly soaked clothes, he thought on something the short girl had said just before.

"So…my pants are awesome, huh?"

Yuria went dead serious. "Don't get too cocky, brat."

"What?" Naruto whined. "They ARE awesome! They're…you know, orange!"

Yuria's eyes widened, as if impressed by Naruto's words. "Right! Orange!"

The two laughed in unison like pirates after a successful pillaging. However, the laughter steadily diminished until it became little more than awkward chuckling from both sides.

"Umm…uhhh…why are we laughing again?"

Yuria, who had already gone silent, only shook her head in response.

After staring at each other for a few seconds, they look away rather embarrassedly.

"Huh…weird." They muttered as one.

* * *

"Tree-climbing?"

"Hmm." Naruto nodded and made a gesture towards a nearby tree. Yuria stared at him oddly.

"But I wanna walk on water! Like the Lord Jesus!"

"I have no idea who that is, but you're doing tree-climbing." Settling the matter, Naruto made a quick demonstration, running up the tree and quickly turning to look down at the girl.

"If you can't do this, there's no way in hell you'd be able to walk on water."

Naruto saw no ill in indulging the girl. It wasn't like tree and water-walking were great, ancient ninja secrets of Konoha.

"Hmm…you're not a ninja, right?"

Yuria's eyelids dropped noticeably. "That's gotta be the worst tactic to weed out an enemy spy ever conceived."

Naruto pouted. "Oh, you couldn't have just answered the damn question, could ya?"

"Heh. Shows you don't know me well enough." Yuria laughed. "But nope, I'm not a ninja."

"But you can use chakra." Naruto declared, in a strange bout of perceptiveness. "And you had no trouble climbing down here."

Yuria shrugged. "What can I say? I'm awesome like that."

"And you didn't know of water-walking until now."

"Ah, well, I knew ninjas can do it, but it's the first time I actually see it…"

_At least the first time I see a human doing it. Actually, it's the first time I see a human, period._

The three-tails remained still, unblinking, under Naruto's scrutiny…or at least what seemed like scrutiny, with that fox-like face of his.

She could feel her perspiration (or maybe it was the remains of her recent soaking). What was in his mind? Would he summon ninja friends? Would they capture her for interrogation, torture and cavity searching?

_Where the hell did that come from? _She inquired from herself.

"Hmm…oh whatever." Naruto finally declared, together with a shrug.

Yuria sweatdropped.

"Uhh…so, how do I do this?"

Cue Naruto's clumsy but fairly understandable explanation…at least to Yuria.

"So all I have to do is to send chakra to the soles of my feet and run up."

"Ahh…" Naruto scratched his head. Teaching others was really not his thing. "Well, it's just good to have a running start, while you really get the hang of it, I mean. And the chakra you have to put is really exact. If you don't use enough you'll just fall, and if you use too much…huh…umm…I forgot. But it's just bad, okay?"

"Huh." Yuria looked at the tree trunk, following Naruto's body as it fell. She knew very well that her body's chakra system was inferior to a human's, except for her tails. Of course, using her tails for transportation, while cool as hell, was also very impractical.

"Alright, chakra to my feet…so, here goes nothing! Oryaaaaaa!"

Naruto's head followed Yuria as she ran towards the tree, then up as she ran on the vertical trunk…and then down as she fell on her back.

"Ow." Naruto winced. That looked like it hurt.

Yuria showed no reaction.

"Umm…you okay?" Naruto wondered as he walked towards Yuria's prone form.

"Come…closer…" A raspy, weak voice reached Naruto's ears. The blond hastily kneeled next to the fallen Kitsune.

"O-Oi…" Naruto was a little bit worried. What if she broke her spine of something? Can that even happen in shounen manga, anyway?

"Th-The…"

"Wha…what is it?"

Yuria slowly inclined her head towards the left; towards Naruto.

"I…It seems…my wish will be fulfilled after all…" She coughed very strongly. "…I just…was tired…of this bleak eternity…"

"That's why…I'll give…I'll give you…my **Code**…my last gift…and your last curse…"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, so stop it." Naruto retorted in a flat tone. Yuria frowned for an instant, but quickly corrected herself.

"The…the treasure…is…at…bleargh…" And her head fell to the side as she closed her eyes.

Naruto quietly stared at the "corpse," his face a mask of stone.

"You know, I'm starting to think that hitting a harmless woman might not be such a bad idea."

Yuria opened her left eye. "…do I at least get points for effort?"

"…sure, whatever makes you happy." Naruto shrugged.

* * *

"Alright!" Yuria was jumping on her spot. "Tree-climbing, take two!"

"I so have to watch this."

"Hmph!" Yuria snorted at her "teacher." "You'll be worshiping me in a minute, just you see!"

"Really." Naruto was somehow amused by the girl's enthusiasm. He just found it awfully familiar.

"Yup."

Yuria had figured out that, to cope for her body's chakra circulation deficiency, she needed to use more chakra.

"Alright, more chakra, and…GO!"

Naruto quietly watched the girl as she dashed towards the tree. He winced when, at the very moment Yuria touched the trunk, she was blown away by the excessive counterforce unleashed by her own chakra.

Something that should be noted right now: Yuria's chakra control?

Not very good.

Naruto's eyes followed Yuria's small, light body as it flew over the boy's head and into the river, falling with a loud splash. A moment later, her limp body emerged from the shallow depths, floating face-down and slowly being dragged by the slow current.

"Aaaaaand there she goes again." Naruto muttered at the sight of the small girl being carried downstream.

He wondered if Kakashi-sensei had enjoyed his own blunders nearly as much.

"Puagh!" Yuria finally reacted, spitting water as she got back on her feet. It was good that the stream was very shallow. Her clothes were still completely soaked, though.

Stomping her way out of the water, Yuria shot daggers at Naruto.

"I take it THAT'S what happens when too much chakra is used." It wasn't a question. Naruto sweatdropped and scratched the right side of his head.

"'Uhh…is there an answer to that question which does not result in me suffering bodily harm?"

"Just say yes."

"Yes-OW!" Naruto dropped to clutch his right shin. "THAT'S NOT FAIR!"

"Life rarely is." Yuria declared solemnly.

She only got a snort in response, though.

Ignoring Naruto's angry eyes, the three-tails turned to meet the source of her troubles one more time.

"Alright, tree-climbing, take three! Oryaaaaaa!"

"She doesn't waste time, does she?" Sighing and muttering to himself, Naruto made the all-too familiar cross-shaped seal.

Yuria managed six full steps before her chakra failed her and gravity demanded retribution for her insolence.

"Gyaaaa…huh?"

Naruto smiled down at her.

"Hey, you're pretty light."

The Kitsune felt the arm under her knees and another wrapped under her back. "Wha…?"

"I can't have you hurting yourself on every fall, right?" Naruto explained.

"Uh…huh."

_So this is…the embrace of a man._

"Put me down."

"Sure thing."

With her feet back on solid ground, Yuria studiously stared at her trainer.

"Hmm…weren't you training or something yourself?"

Naruto shrugged. "Yeah, but someone really needs to catch your bad falls."

Yuria blushed, more out of embarrassment than anything else. "It…I…I would feel bad if I made you stop…"

"Ah, don't worry about that. That guy can handle it." Naruto quickly responded, pointing behind him with his right thumb. Moving aside to look behind the bulkier, larger Naruto, Yuria noticed a second Naruto crouched on the river surface, quietly staring at the water under his feet.

Pointing at the distant Naruto, Yuria shot an odd look at the first one.

"That…creepy experiment? Evil twin? A Gigai?"

"Shadow Clone Technique." Naruto explained, wearing an odd look of his own.

"Huuuh…" Yuria looked at the clone one more time. "…kinky."

"Huh?" Naruto was puzzled. Yuria chuckled and patted his bare chest condescendingly.

"Nothing, dear. You'll understand when you're older."

Naruto swiped the hand away. "Stop treating me like a child!"

Another chuckled from the foxgirl. "Whatever." She turned to her new nemesis, but something drew her to look down at her clothes.

"Dang, they're soaked, and heavy…and cold." Thinking about something for a few seconds, Yuria nodded to herself. "But that won't stop me, no way!"

Bursting with determination, Yuria ripped open her soaked kimono shirt.

And Naruto had an epiphany.

It was not really such a big deal. It's an epiphany every pubescent male goes through at some point or other.

The point is, that night, Naruto discovered boobs.

It wasn't that he had not seen breasts before. It was, however, the first time he actually **saw **them. The closest he had ever gotten to paying attention to a pair of breasts before this was his noticing the unbelievable size of Kotonoha's bust, and that was because, well, those are huge.

With another enticingly large bosom practically popping out on his face, Naruto had no absolutely no chance. He was pretty much smacked by reality.

Yuria had forgotten to figure out that, if her clothes were thoroughly soaked, obviously her breast bindings were faring much worse.

"Ah." That was Yuria, noticing the loose wraps that revealed her considerable bust.

It has been pointed out before, but it deserves to be given one last mention.

Eighty centimeters of bust, on an "ordinary" woman, can be described as "appealingly average."

On a girl 143-centimeter tall, well…it is only the intelligent use of bindings and a supernaturally strong and sturdy body for its size that protect Yuria from horrible, horrible back pain.

"Aww, shucks." Yuria slowly pulled off the ruined cloth strip. "I have to dry this…and I don't have any more bandaging." She growled. "I'm gonna kill that bitch."

She turned to Naruto. "Hey, you got a fire or something…" Yuria's face went flat.

"Uhh…umm…ehh…" Naruto was blinking rather erratically, as if trying to process the magnificent sight before him.

"Oi." The foxgirl called.

"Umm…ehh…wow…"

Naruto was too lost to notice the fist until it was buried in his gut.

"Guhwagh!" Clutching his poor stomach, Naruto slumped down and cowered into a fetal position, coughing saliva and bile. Yuria, half-annoyed, half-amused; looked down at the fallen shinobi.

"Got anything to say, boy?"

"…tha-" One last round of coughing. "…thank you…"

Yuria raised an eyebrow. "For the punch or for the free show?"

"Umm…both?" Naruto hesitatingly looked up. Yuria was honestly surprised, even as she covered herself with her white shirt.

"That…a surprisingly good answer, boy. Anytime, anytime." She smiled. "The punch, not the free show."

She walked away. "Now be a good boy and stay here while I get these things dry…somehow."

"Got it." Naruto responded with a throaty rasp.

* * *

In the end, Yuria quickly set up a small bonfire (a real one; she needs no Fire powers to do what can be done with enough survival skills) next to a large rock where she carefully placed the cloth strips, using small stones to keep them in place and ensure they wouldn't be blown away. Then, she hid within the forest and used Kitsune Fire to dry her kimono shirt a little; enough to not hamper or annoy her.

When she returned to the shore, she found Naruto attentively watching his clone on the river.

"What is he doing?" She asked as she stood to his left. Naruto looked at her, was startled by how the kimono shirt hugged Yuria's unbound bust, and quickly looked away at his clone, using everything he had to will his massive blush to disappear.

He was damned forever by the appeal of large breasts, however. It would prove to be both a good and a bad thing, in the approaching conflict that threatened to swallow him.

But that's a story for the expansion pack, "Wrath of the Loli Queen."

"Umm…well, it's an exercise my sensei told me to try."

The clone gently placed his hand on the uneven and ever-flowing surface, sending his chakra to establish a connection, just as if he intended to stand upside-down again. Then, he slowly, very slowly, began to raise the hand. Naruto and Yuria watched quietly how the clone pushed chakra to keep the connection despite the space, creating a hand-sized and rather irregular column of chakra. He managed about twelve centimeters before the unstable construct dispersed and diffused into the air.

Naruto sighed. "It's no use. The more I raise my hand the harder it is to keep the chakra from dispersing like that; it's a waste. It's like trying to hold water still."

"Hmm…" It did look hard to Yuria. "But, what's the point, anyway?"

Naruto shrugged. "I dunno. But she said I had to figure this out."

"She?"

"Setsuna-sensei."

Naruto did not mention that Setsuna had advised him to try it on a tree. Naruto simply was taking it to the next level, sort of like jumping straight to Lunatic difficulty in a Touhou game. Why?

Maybe it was the male's natural instinct to try to impress the female. Who knows, really?

"Hmm." Yuria turned her back to the clone, which was getting ready for another attempt. "So, you're gonna catch me if I fall?" She asked; the hint of a smile on her lips.

Naruto shrugged again. "Only if you need me to." He revealed a kunai from his leg holster. "Here. Use it to mark your progress."

"Oh, thank you." Yuria held the weapon with unusual care. Unlike Yurimi, who had an unusual fascination with the naginata, Yuria had never considered learning how to wield a weapon. It was, in fact, the first time she held a kunai.

"Well then, here I go."

Naruto walked closer to the tree, standing to the side but ready to intervene should it become necessary. "Take care."

Yuria chuckled. "I will."

And so, the girl began to practice tree-walking. Naruto found it strangely nostalgic, even if it had not been that long since he was in Yuria's shoes. He only wished he could have had someone to catch him. They quickly reached a simple routine. Yuria would run, and then fall, to be caught by Naruto. She would thank him with a foxy grin, he would let her stand on her own, and she would run up again.

While they were dying to talk about something, anything, just to break the eerie silence of the forest, they respected each other's work and dedication. Yuria did little more than grunt with every fall, and the clone worked in absolute silence. The real Naruto replayed his training with Setsuna over and over in his mind, looking for anything he could learn from it and anything he could use.

That's how they spent the next ninety minutes.

At the same time the three-tails mentally prepared herself for yet another attempt at breaking the 270-centimeter mark, a familiar sound filled Naruto's head.

**Aaaaaahhh…muuu…uhhh…mugyuu…**

"Ah."

"Here I go!"

**Mugyuu…Sayuri can't sleep…**

"Oryaaaa!" Yuria flashed past Naruto and reached the trunk.

"Hello there, Sayuri." Naruto spoke in a soft tone, completely forgetting about his new friend.

**Ah, it's onii-chan! Oniiiiiiiiiii-chan!**

Wiggle, wiggle.

"Gyah!" That's the sound of Yuria slipping.

**Nee, nee, onii-chan. Sayuri can't sleep!**

"Ge-hogh!" That's the sound of Yuria almost swallowing her tongue when her back hit the ground. Hard.

"Ah, that's too bad, Sayu-eh?" Naruto. "Ah! Oh shit!" The blond hurried to the fallen foxgirl's side. "You okay?"

"Grandma…grandma, is that you?" Yuria groaned…and then paused. "Wait, I've never met my grandma. Who the hell are you?"

**Eh?**

"Stop spouting nonsense if you're fine." Naruto complained, only to get an angry scowl.

"You were supposed to catch me! I trusted you!" She looked away. "I should have known better than to trust a brat."

"Hey!" Naruto pouted. "I-I'm sorry, okay? It's just…uhh…"

"What?" The foxgirl spat as she got back up.

**Ah! It is! It's Yuria-nee-chan! Waaaaaaaai! Yuria-nee-chan! Lookie, lookie! It's Sayuri!**

"Huh?" Naruto froze. Had she just said…? "…Yuria…nee-chan?"

It was Yuria's turn to freeze. She knew she had never told her name to this Konoha boy. And there was only one living being in this world who called her that; a somebody Yuria had not seen in almost thirteen years.

"…Sayuri?"

**Yeah! It's Sayuri! Sayuri's hear! Sayuri will show Yuria-nee-chan!**

And Yuria spontaneously combusted.

"…Sayuri." It was no longer a question.

"Uhh…the river is over there." Naruto pointed to his right.

"Thank you. Be right back."

Naruto's eyes followed the short girl as she screamed her lungs out before jumping right into the stream, the steam releasing a tremendous hissing sound. The frightening sound of her face meeting the many irregular rocks resting on the bottom showed that she had obviously forgotten it wasn't really deep in the slightest.

"Ouch." Naruto muttered. For the third time, Yuria's limp body floated downstream. "Is that the way you say hello to your family, Sayuri?"

**Sowwy…I wanted to burn the twee.**

"That's not good either!"

**Mugyuu…**

However, as she floated, Yuria's mind was working fast.

Uzumaki Naruto.

A conversation earlier that day with Yurimi and Kotonoha quickly replayed itself in Yuria's mind.

She knew now why this kid was training alone while the rest of his village slept (save for the patrols).

She remembered that Kotonoha had actually mentioned Naruto's Shadow Clone Jutsu.

She realized this was the male Yurimi had fallen head over heels for…and she still wondered why. Really, he was a nice kid, but…she just did not see it.

However…

She got back on her feet.

"Ah, she's alright-"

"Extension."

Naruto couldn't react in time to the astoundingly long black tails before they wrapped themselves around his frame, restraining both arms and legs and lifting him off the ground with ridiculous ease.

**Mugya!**

"O-Oi! What the hell?"

The tails pulled back and shortened, carrying Naruto closer to Yuria. Regardless of their size, however, they seemed to have no problem carrying his body.

"Be quiet and enjoy the trip, bro."

"Bro?"

Yuria only smirked and began to jump her way back up the waterfall, taking Naruto with her.

* * *

**CHAPTER 11 - To be continued  
**


	13. Boy Meets Foxgirls, Part Two

_**Naruto Genkyouien**_

_**- **__**ナルト**__**- **__**幻**__**脅**__**威宴**_

**Chapter Eleven: Boy Meets Foxgirl(s)**

**OR**

**The Long Night of the Two (Part Two)**

* * *

Higashiyama Mayuri did not sleep.

It was not a matter of not wanting to; she was tired, and her body demanded rest. She simply refused to.

She did not like sleeping.

Long after the matriarch declared she was retiring for the night; long after her aunts and cousins disappeared within their respective tents; long after her own mother asked her whether she wanted to go to sleep. Long after Yuria and Yuriyo had their altercation.

Long after the bonfire around which the Kitsune had eaten and dialogued had faded into a pile of ashes.

Wordlessly watching the endless sky, little Mayuri fought against the urge to sleep. It bothered her to know that, no matter how many nights of insomnia she went through, it was still just as difficult the next. A part of her wished she could fast-forward time until the next morning.

With tired, droopy eyes marred by black rings, Mayuri stared at the same old constellations she watched every single night. At least they caught her interest that particular night, as they were on slightly different positions. Still, it did not take her long to adjust her mental map of the night sky.

Mayuri's mute demeanor concealed an intellect as bright as Yurimi's, if not brighter. She was a living, walking planetarium, capable of tracing the trajectories of celestial bodies in her mind with ridiculous ease. It was as easy for her mind to picture the night sky above her as it was to picture how that same sky would look three months later. It was a prodigious skill gained from simple observation and association.

Normally, she would use the wooden supports of the shrine to lean on. On that night, without that advantage, the back of her neck rapidly began to feel the consequences. Tired, she relented and allowed herself to lie down on the grass, even if the overly comfortable position would only make her even sleepier.

Idly picking a strand of her lustrous white hair, the girl struggled not to fall asleep. Every time her eyelid dropped a bit too far, she would pull on it to jolt herself awake. The painful game lasted no more than three minutes, before, with a sigh, she gave up and dropped her left hand to the side.

It usually was not this hard. She guessed it had to do something with the weather. The night, while cold, was still warmer than what she was used to at Higashiyama. It was like a soothing blanket of warmth and comfort that dulled her senses.

Why was she so eager to come to this place? Was she that much of a masochist? What could she gain from being here?

Maybe…maybe she just wanted to conclude the death of her heart.

She could only hope to be able to sleep, once she could not feel anything anymore.

It was with thoughts like these that Higashiyama Mayuri finally succumbed to sleep, without even noticing she was doing so.

She always looked her prettiest on those first moments of sleep, when her body rested in absolute, deathly peace.

* * *

Higashiyama Yuriyo did not sleep.

It was not a matter of not wanting to; she was tired, and her body demanded rest.

She simply had too much in her mind.

She was having one of those odd moments of self-discovery; those she only allowed herself to experience whenever there was nobody looking.

Yuri would have been surprised to know it only took Yuriyo 45 minutes to regain consciousness.

Perfection, she knew, was nothing but an ideal. Nine-tailed Kitsune were supposed to be embodiments of Kitsune perfection until Sayuri kicked that notion to the curb…and set it on fire.

The very circumstances of Sayuri's promotion showed not even gods could claim to be perfect.

That's why she knew she was not perfect, either, no matter how much she'd like to pretend to. So, she had defects. So, her personality might not be of the likes of everyone.

She could blame The Void for it, and she would be right, but only to a point.

Whenever she was forced to face her shortcomings, she would simply dismiss them. So what, anyway? Yurie's a complete weirdo. Mayuri's a mute weirdo. The twins went for tacos rather than hotdogs. Yuria has absolutely no talent for anything but physical prowess. Kotonoha has a Sekai bag. Her own mother has the mind of a child. Everybody has their issues.

She was still angry. It was hard for her to let go of that boiling emotion; an element of her personality consequence of her Void blood. The humiliation she suffered at the hands of her aunt was still fresh in her mind. But she guessed it was time to do something she neither enjoyed nor chose to do often: being humble and apologize.

After all, these females, the Higashiyama, were the only family she had. In her own rude, uncaring and unaffectionate way, she loved them. And she knew they loved her, too.

Yes, even Yuria.

It would not do to be on bad terms with her precious people…erm, Kitsune.

But the one who loved Yuriyo the most was sleeping right in front of her, their noses almost touching. She also happened to be the only person to whom Yuriyo openly expressed her affection.

Yurina accepted her in a way nobody else would ever do. Yurina accepted her personality with all its shortcomings, tolerating her with saintly patience and boundless tolerance, no matter the circumstance. Even when Yuriyo lashed at her with insults for whatever reason, or when she made her do the two's combined chores. When she got her in trouble because of her own mischief, or when she harassed her in almost sexual ways (_I can't help it! She's just so damn cute!_).

Yurina could bear with her, because she accepted her. Because she believed in her. Because they had been together since the moment they were born. Because they complemented each other. Because she needed Yuriyo as much as Yuriyo needed her.

Yurina's love was as bright as the sunlight reflected on her golden hair.

Some years ago, the two made an oath. They already shared everything: clothes, books, food, bath and most of their time. They swore to also share their eventual mate (or mates).

Yurina justified it with her shyness, claiming that, despite of all their training, she would not know where to start with a male. Basically, she sought her sister as a guide on the fascinating art of love-making.

Yuriyo justified by saying that sex would be a lot more exciting that way, following with an overly explicit explanation of a 2-girls-on-1-guy threesome that made poor Yurina nosebleed and faint for all of five minutes.

Of course, they both had other, hidden reasons.

Yuriyo believed that her sister's pure heart, an unconventional and even troublesome trait for a Kitsune, was, nevertheless, something worthy of being protected. Yuriyo wanted to protect her sister and her immense capacity for love. She did not want to see that being stepped on and abused by whatever male who caught Yurina's interest.

She wondered what Yurina's secret reason might be, for she was sure there had to be one.

Within the warm comfort of their shared sleeping bag, Yuriyo watched her sister's sleeping form and admitted she was grateful to have been born Yurina's twin.

Hesitatingly, her left hand reached for Yurina's right cheek. Softly, tenderly, Yuriyo's fingers traced a line on the Darling Lily's smooth skin.

"I…I love you so much…" The half-Void whispered, holding back tears she could not explain.

Her hand froze in mid-stroke when a terrible chill coursed through her arm, lingering at the tips of her fingers. Her eyes widened in terror when she noticed her nails had taken a distinct ebony tinge.

_NO! _Yuriyo's mind screamed as she hastily pulled away from her sister. _Not her!_

Afraid of the whispers only she could hear and of the horrible, intangible force that pulled her hands towards her sister, Yuriyo slowly, quietly, abandoned the comfort of the sleeping bag and the tent altogether. Shooting one last look at her lovely sister and at her mother resting in fox form two steps away from Yurina's head, the half-Void closed the synthetic refuge behind her.

The moon and stars offered a sparse but sufficient illumination. The bonfire had long become nothing but a pile of inert ash. Unconsciously, Yuriyo wrapped her tails around herself; a negligee was not the best outfit to wear outdoors at night.

It did not take her long to realize she was not alone.

The beautiful two-tails cautiously approached her shorter, younger cousin. Yuriyo was startled when Mayuri suddenly turned her head in her direction, but gradually relaxed when she realized Yurisa's little daughter remained asleep.

It was then when Yuriyo figured out that little Mayuri was dreaming. A rather unsettling dream, considering how much she squirmed.

What she first thought a trick of the light drew Yuriyo to pay closer attention to the sleeping Kitsune's face. Was a face supposed to be so reflective?

Realizing the stupidity of that thought, the raven-haired vixen dropped on one knee to take a closer look. Mayuri's snowy skin was coated by a clear sheen of sweat.

"What the-Mayuri?" Yuriyo decided to just wake up the girl. Any dream that made you release cold sweat and shake like that was a dream not worth dreaming.

As if possessing a spring on her back, Mayuri jumped to a seated position the moment Yuriyo's hand pushed her left shoulder. While her eyes were wide open, Mayuri did not seem to acknowledge Yuriyo's presence. With speed that surprised the brunette, the little Kitsune jumped up and ran away from the camp.

"What the hell?" Yuriyo muttered at the back of the rapidly departing girl. "Sleepwalking?"

She did not hesitate to follow. She did not have to walk too far, and finding Mayuri within the darkness under the canopy of trees proved surprisingly easy, as it became a matter of following the retching sounds.

Yuriyo walked in to see the girl slumping down, her knees almost falling on the pool of her own vomit. The sounds of her raspy coughs were the first sounds Yuriyo heard from Mayuri's mouth in over thirty years.

"Everyone has their issues…"

Mayuri turned around to look in utmost terror at the witness of her weakest moment.

"…and everyone has their share of secrets, right?"

Offering an amiable smile, Yuriyo leaned closer to the little foxgirl, ignoring the acrid stench of vomit. Gently, she rubbed Mayuri's back.

"Feeling better now?"

Mayuri did not cough any further, but she did not reject Yuriyo's touch, either. She did, however, look up at her cousin with inquiring and slightly worried eyes.

"Ah, don't worry, don't worry." Yuriyo made a dismissing gesture. "If you don't want me to tell I won't tell."

Mayuri blinked.

"Wha-what?" Yuriyo made a look of mock-outrage. "I can be nice and friendly too! And I can keep secrets!"

After a moment of surprise, Mayuri hurriedly shook her head. Her worried glance did not disappear, however, and it was further emphasized by the way she grasped Yuriyo's left arm.

"You…" Yuriyo frowned. "…you want to know why I'm outside."

Mayuri nodded; her face gradually relaxing. Yuriyo chuckled.

"You're the one who's throwing up after having a nightmare and you're worrying about me. Didn't know you were that kind of fox."

The shorter Kitsune looked down, but not in embarrassment. If anything, she looked depressed. Then again, she always looked blue.

"Aw, come on, don't be like that. Let's just go back to the camp, okay?"

Mayuri stared at Yuriyo for three seconds before nodding and standing up. Yuriyo followed, but stopped to take a look at the nasty puddle.

"Ah, we should get rid of this, shouldn't we?"

Before Mayuri could intervene in any way, a tiny ball of black fire descended upon the regurgitated material. Yuriyo ignored the look she was getting from her cousin.

"Well, it's not a secret anymore, is it?" Her expression hardened a bit. "That I can reach into The Void."

Mayuri still stared.

"…oh, don't give me that look! I can at least control that little thing!"

On cue, the flame slowly withered and disappeared, taking with it all traces of Mayuri's emesis, as well as of the small patch of grass under.

"…see?"

Once the two made it back to the center of the camp, by the dead bonfire, Yuriyo drew her cousin towards her, trying to wrap them both with her two tails.

"Well, it's cold, isn't it?" She explained after noticing Mayuri's inquisitive stare. The smaller Kitsune looked ahead, at the shimmering Spirit Pagoda, and then nodded to herself.

"Ah." Yuriyo vocalized as her cousin's tails also circled her curvaceous frame at the same time a petite orange flame lit up the tips.

"Oh, thank you. I guess Kitsune Fire is better than nothing." Yuriyo mimicked the smaller foxgirl…and then paused. "Wait, you CAN use Kitsune Fire, after all…and this…this is Extension!"

Mayuri shrugged, and Yuriyo responded with a sly look.

"So, what else can you do, little one?"

The little one looked up at Yuriyo for just a second. After watching her stare at the faraway distance for a while, Yuriyo understood Mayuri had no intention to respond. Not that she really expected a response in the first place, though.

"Nee, Mayuri…"

No response. Yuriyo continued.

"Have you ever read The Codex of The Void?"

Yuriyo could have sworn Mayuri shuddered, but it did not really mean anything, even if it had really happened.

"The Void is the inevitable end of all things. It is the means as well as the conclusion. The Void is the absence of concept; it is nothingness beyond dimension, boundary or measurement."

Mayuri did not seem to mind the stronger grip Yuriyo's right hand had on her right shoulder.

"Those are the first sentences."

The little foxgirl nodded, and Yuriyo's face lightened up.

"So you have read it. I guessed as much. You like reading, I thought you would have been interested in something like that…no offense."

No response, of course. Yuriyo's face softened and she, too, looked at something far away.

"I've memorized that quote…and most of what's written there." Her hand began to trace random shapes on Mayuri's right arm. "In the end, nobody knows why The Void is so…malevolent. Maybe it's not The Void itself, maybe the Whispers come from dead gods who are not really dead; ancient beings of power who want to hasten the eventual fate of everything; who knows? It's all just theories." She looked down, at the hand resting on her left thigh. "I only know that The Void wants me to destroy."

She looked at the younger Kitsune. "Have you ever seen The Void, Mayuri?"

Mayuri froze on the spot. Yuriyo only chuckled bitterly.

"I know, bad joke. Of course you haven't."

Her small companion did not relax so much.

"I have seen The Void." Yuriyo continued. "I think…every Void Kitsune does to start using Void powers." She thought about it for a moment. "Or I guess it was just how my mind pictured The Void; it's not like I can imagine the fundamental absence of everything."

"Like I said, I don't know if it's The Void itself or a will connected to it…but it's scary." Yuriyo let go of Mayuri to wrap her arms around her legs. "It wants to consume everything…including the one I hold most dear." She shuddered. "Do you have any idea how it feels, to fight the urge to kill my own sister in her sleep **every single night**?"

"I have no idea why the urge is so strong with Yurina. I guess it's because she's part Celestial, or because she's my most precious person, or maybe even both."

She sighed.

"I need to learn how to control The Void, how to drown out the Whispers, how to make that urge go away, but who can teach me? I'll only learn Ghost techniques from the clan, and only once I get the third tail. What I can do with The Void I developed it myself."

Feeling a small hand on her right arm, Yuriyo turned right to face Mayuri. The little silver-haired foxgirl's eyes showed an unusual serenity, noticeably even despite her usual grim features.

"Are you trying to say everything will be okay?"

Mayuri nodded. Yuriyo made an odd expression of amusement.

"That's strangely optimistic of you."

Mayuri squeezed her cousin's hand in an obviously affectionate manner. Yuriyo frowned.

"Why is it that whenever I look at you I get this feeling you know something I don't?"

The younger two-tails blinked and tilted her head. Yuriyo's face went stone cold.

"Oh, you just did it. The whole blinking-and-tilting-your-head-cutely thing. You're not fair." At Mayuri's look of puzzlement, Yuriyo snorted. "I mean, really! I just opened my soul and revealed the secrets of my troubled heart to you, and you still keep that aura of mystery of yours!" She looked away in mock anger. "It pisses me off."

Mayuri looked at the back of Yuriyo's head for a few moments. Releasing a soundless sigh, she pulled Yuriyo's tails away to stand up and move in front of the half-Void. The movement obviously drew Yuriyo's attention. She was immediately drawn to Mayuri's almost pained expression, and somehow she knew her shivering body was not a consequence of the cold.

"Wha-? Uh, no, do-don't get like that!" Yuriyo made hurried dismissing gestures. "I-I was just joking, ya know."

All attempts at conciliation ended when Mayuri's right hand reached into the overly wide left sleeve of her kimono shirt.

"Huh? Are you…are you serious?"

There was a sudden, intangible change in mood that made Yuriyo shudder in both unexplainable fear and childish anticipation. While the whole conversation had carried an undeniably dark tone, there had been a sense of communion and familiarity that allowed Yuriyo to truly share her feelings and thoughts with Mayuri.

However, the cold, almost inhuman steel gaze on the little two-tails' stare while she reached into her sleeve was so surreal; it was hard for Yuriyo to believe she was looking at a two-tailed Kitsune. It was an expression that would not be out of place on the Matriarch, but it seemed just wrong on such a young girl.

Was Mayuri really going to reveal her secret? Was she truly willing to return Yuriyo's gesture with the same coin?

Mayuri really seemed to be taking her time with whatever was inside her sleeve, however. With the way her hand moved under the clothes, it was like…

_It's wrapped. Something is wrapped around her arm._

Eventually, she was done and pulled an object out.

"…prayer beads?" Somehow, it didn't look so out of context, considering Mayuri's whole "miko" look, however, Yuriyo was more interested in what remained concealed within the little girl's grasp; whatever was attached to the chain of prayer beads that hung limply off Mayuri's right hand.

Mayuri slowly opened her hand…

"HELLO FAMILY!"

"Hey, watch it-whoa!"

…and Yuria chose that precise moment to land on the camping grounds; her downwards momentum making Naruto experience a close encounter of the face-on-ground kind.

"Oww…"

**Mugyuu…**

"YURIA-SAMA HAS RETURNED!" The small three-tails yelled loudly. "AND SHE DEMANDS HER RIGHT OF GATHERING!"

She referred to the right she possessed to call for the entirety of the clan, as long as she could justify it and the matriarch actually deemed herself to answer the summons.

"NOW WAKE THE HELL UP, YOU BUNCH OF LAZY-WHOA!" Yuria had to jump out of the way of the sizable ball of black fire that almost reached her face.

"DAMN IT, YURIA!" A particularly frisky Yuriyo shouted from where she stood; two much smaller fireballs lingering on the tips of her tails. "YOU ANNOYING, LOUD BITCH! I WAS ABOUT TO-" Her eyes widening in sudden alarm, she jerked her head to look at Mayuri…who had already returned her prayer beads to their hiding place under the wide sleeve.

"DAMN IT!" Yuriyo shouted in frustration. "SHE WAS ABOUT TO SHOW ME-" The frustration made her clutch her ebony hair in rather messy and painful ways. "AARGH! SCREW APOLOGIZING! YOU **SUCK**!"

"Sheesh…" Yuria was scratching her head with one hand and clearing up her right ear with the other. "…now what's got your panties on a twist, Yuri…wait, do you even wear panties?"

That actually caught Yuriyo off-guard. Not the panties comment, of course (it's obvious she doesn't wear them), but the fact that the Yuria in front of her was completely different from the one who left the camp in a hurry less than two hours before.

She would not get the chance to comment or even think on it, though.

**Wah! The bad fire! It must burn!**

Whoosh!

All energy and frustration Yuriyo carried disappeared as if someone had dropped a bucket of water on her. Only instead of a bucket of water, it was fire.

"…oh crud, Sayuri's back." She muttered to herself before raising her voice. "Hi Sayuri."

**Hi, Riyo-chaaaan!**

Wiggle, wiggle.

It took the whole of two seconds for Yuriyo to realize the impossibility of what had just occurred. "Wait, Sayuri…?"

And that's when she noticed the human wrapped by two white-tipped black tails. Two because the third one had released him to bang on the pagoda's ectoplasm door.

"Ara, now this is interesting…" She muttered as she urged The Void to consume Sayuri's comedy fire.

Of course it was interesting. It was the first human Yuriyo had ever seen.

As for Naruto, he too had his eyes set on Yuriyo. Credit is given where it's due: between the glowing, eerie Spirit Pagoda and the scantily-clad foxgirl, Naruto actually picked the foxgirl.

It was hard not to, really, and her choice of attire was the least of the reasons. While she was about as tall as Yurimi (half a centimeter shorter, in fact), the comparison had to end there. Yurimi's beauty was something beyond what eyes could see. It resided within her nigh-emotionless carmine orbs, within her poise and elegance, within the thrilling extremes of her delicate gait and her fierce yet hidden emotions, her stone cold façade and her boiling passion; within the cold touch of her silky hands and the heavenly flame that was her tongue in his mouth.

This girl in lingerie in front of him, she was all eye-candy. There was no need for poetry, as her inhuman beauty was as obvious as the fact that one plus one equals two. From the many curves she had which Yurimi seriously lacked to the thrilling mischievousness in her eyes…

…he felt like she was stripping him naked of clothes, skin and his very soul. He wanted to avert his eyes, but the closer she approached, the stronger the rapture of her physical perfection.

"Hmmm…" Yuriyo muttered appraisingly, but the amusement in her tone and expression was blatantly obvious. "…like what you see?"

Naruto could not stop himself from developing a massive blush at this. "Wha-wha-wha-ehhh…whatever!" He mumbled, looking away in embarrassment.

"…Yuria's are bigger, anyway."

Silence.

Yuria and Yuriyo stared at Naruto with unhinged surprise on their faces, then at each other, and then back at Naruto.

"…wait, did I say that out loud?"

"Indeed you did." Twack! Naruto's face met the ground, courtesy of Yuria's tails. "And indeed they are. Thank you for noticing." Yuria nodded as she spoke, surprise soon replaced by amusement.

The difference is not so large, but it's there.

"Then why did you…?"

"Because you're being a little perv."

"But...you just…" Naruto just sighed and dropped his head in defeat. "…I'm sorry."

"Good. Make it a life lesson. You gotta learn how to talk to females, ya know." She turned to her niece. "See, Yuriyo? Even a snotty brat acknowledges the superiority of my bust."

"That's just because you're a midget."

Yuria crossed her arms under her bust. "You're just jealous."

"Pfft! You wished! Chibi!"

"Slut!"

"Failure at life!"

"Molester!"

Yuriyo gaped at the shorter Kitsune. "You…you're the one who raped me with your tails! You defiled my pure, virginal self!"

"There's nothing remotely pure about you!"

"Umm…would you mind letting me go?" Naruto mumbled. "And I'll pretend I didn't hear any of that." He added to himself.

"No way in hell." Yuria muttered matter-of-factly. She began to look around. "Where the hell is everyone? WAKE UP!"

"DON'T YELL ON MY FACE!" Yuriyo complained. "And you wonder why they're not coming. They're probably ignoring you because they WANT. TO. SLEEP."

Unfortunately for Yuriyo, she was being ignored because Yuria had noticed the other Kitsune in the clearing.

"Oh, Mayuri, you still up, huh?"

Mayuri did not even nod. It was a stupid question, anyway.

Yuria suddenly looked down at the boy wrapped in her tails. "Hey, how come Sayuri doesn't set Mayuri on fire?"

Yuriyo blinked. "You…actually make a very good point, chibi. Is it some kind of loli alliance or something?"

**Ah…um, Sayuri can't set Mayuri-chan on fire.**

"She said she can't." Naruto paused. "Wa-wait, Sayuri. You've tried?"

**Um!**

"Why?"

…**why not?**

Naruto thought about that for a moment…and then sighed. "No. I won't even bother."

"What the hell does she mean, 'she can't'?" Yuria complained, before turning towards Yuriyo. "And don't call me chibi-OW!"

The alarmed three tails hurried to put down the fireball that threatened to consume her right fox ear.

"Wha-what the hell? Fireball?" Quickly making the association, Yuria shot a glare at the source of the offense. "YURIMI!"

"Too loud."

All eyes turned to the female who emerged from one of the tents, which she shared with Kotonoha. She had replaced her astonishingly elegant kimono for a white piece with flickers of silver to match her hair. Under the moonlight, her ethereal beauty was enhanced to awe-inspiring levels.

"Why do you have to be so loud?" Yurimi insisted, her firm tone barely showing a hint of annoyance. "You interrupted my much-needed masturb-KYAAH!"

The group of females and one young male watched in stunned silence as the girl hurriedly dashed back into her tent the moment her eyes crossed with Naruto's.

After about a minute of uncomfortable quietness…

"…did she actually say 'Kyaah'?" Yuriyo muttered.

"…creepy. I mean, that was completely out of character for her. And she's a freakin' OC!" Yuria added.

"Umm…can someone, like, hit me real hard? I want to forget the last minute of my life…"

"Oh, you're such a wimp, Naruto." Yuria scolded. "But, damn, to react like that; she's got it bad…" She chuckled before muttering. "…this is gonna be amusing, then."

**Mugyuu…Sayuri couldn't say hello to Yurimi-nee-chan.**

_And by "say hello" you mean "set on fire," right?_

Naruto's eyes followed Yurimi all the way back to her tent. He did, after all, remember her parting words on their last meeting.

"Oh, Kami, this is so…" He tried to dispel the thoughts out of his head by looking at something else, but it was not like he had many choices: her captor, the scantily-clad beauty, the creepy pagoda of silvery…stuff, and…

His eyes met Mayuri's. While it was impossible for him to figure out Kitsune ages, the two silvery white tails poking out of her back helped him get an estimate. However, he was not really paying attention to such details.

"…why…"

…_why is she looking at me like that?_

Yuria's attention returning to Naruto, she noticed him and the focus of his attention. Then she scowled.

"'Oh for Inari's sake, Naruto, she's just a child."

"Eh…?" As if brought out of a trance, Naruto glanced up at the three-tails…then he picked up what she had just said. "Eh! Wai-NO! GOD! Sheesh! Why would you-NO!"

"Well, you're staring so longingly at each other; it makes one think, you know? Right, Yuriyo?" No answer. "…Yuriyo? I need you to follow up on a joke here."

"Huh?" Yuriyo was startled by the call for attention. "You say something?"

Looking back at Mayuri, she was met by the younger two-tails' usual tired and sad face. However, she knew her mind had not been playing games with her. From the moment Yuria announced herself until just a few seconds ago, Mayuri had looked positively terrified. And somehow Mayuri did not strike her as the kind of vixen who would feel so afraid by the sight of her first human.

"Ah, sure, nobody pays attention to Yuria around here. Got it." The three-tails mock-pouted and, crossing her arms under her considerable bust, looked away from her niece.

"I thought that was a given." Yuriyo commented, more out of a want to lighten the mood than to strike at Yuria.

"Bitch."

"Can you please let me go, Yuria?"

"No."

"Mugyuu…"

**Ahahaha, onii-chan, so funny!**

* * *

From behind a minuscule slit, Higashiyama Yurimi watched the captive Genin. Her knuckles were white from squeezing the life out of the plastic tent.

"Kotonoha."

"Yes, Yurimi-sama?" The busty swordswoman did not take her eyes off her beloved Makoto-kun, whom she showered with affection by means of gently caressing his bare…umm, skull.

"Why is Master here?"

"Hmm." After looking up for exactly one second, Kotonoha responded. "If I had to guess, I would say Yuria-sama brought him here."

"Very funny."

"Thank you."

A thick silence permeated the tent for several seconds.

"…anyway," Yurimi eventually continued. "I…I…how can I dare to face Master now?" What little blood which had not yet reached her pale cheeks added to the bright blush she irradiated. "I…" She dropped her tone as her emotions swarmed up to the surface. "…I was just fingering myself! While moaning his name!"

"I am quite aware of that, Yurimi-sama." Kotonoha muttered rather dryly.

Sometimes being the guardian of a pubescent Kitsune in love was not fun at all.

"I…I…do you have any idea what he's doing to me…?" Yurimi muttered in what passed as wistfully for her.

"I can imagine."

"Why does he have to be shirtless, too?" Yurimi moaned. "And wrapped in Yuria's fur like that…it's…umm…sort of…"

"Yurimi-sama rarely shares her thoughts; just why is Yurimi-sama doing so right…now…?" Kotonoha's voice came out a bit strained. However, she could not really feel angry at Yurimi. Sure, it was a bit disturbing, but Kotonoha knew better than anyone that Yurimi, at heart, was no different from any other Kitsune her age.

"In any case," Kotonoha continued. "I believe we are to present ourselves."

"How could I possibly appear in front of Master like this?" Yurimi hissed. "I am a mess, and I must stench of…" She could not finish the sentence.

"…indeed you do." The bodyguard idly commented. Yurimi rolled her eyes.

"Thank you, Kotonoha."

"You're wel-"

"Be quiet and help me." Yurimi interrupted. "I must always look my best before Master." At the same time, she revealed her elegant furisode one more time.

Kotonoha suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. "That would take too long. Besides, I highly doubt Naruto-sama will mind."

"But-"

"Yurimi-sama, Yuria-sama called for her right of gathering."

Yurimi seemed rather rigid as she walked back to the plastic "door" of the tent she shared with her bodyguard, to take another look at her chosen mate. Yuriyo, on all fours, loomed over Naruto while she rudely and continuously poked him on the face and all other parts of his body that were not under wraps. Naruto seemed torn between giving her the evil eye and glancing at her cleavage.

Holding back a growl, Yurimi pondered what to do.

"We'll…we'll wait until Mother responds to Yuria's call." Hopefully by then the sweat and…other secretions would dry out. "Now we watch."

"Very well." Kotonoha responded, more interested in the object in her lap.

"Oh, and Kotonoha?"

"Yes?"

"Stop that, it's disturbing."

Kotonoha held her precious skull against her magnificent bust. "Puu, you're so mean, Yurimi-sama, to this Kotonoha that has always supported your love-"

"Stop it."

* * *

The ruffle of dark-colored plastic drew the attention of the Kitsune (and human) in the clearing. They all turned to glance at the mop of golden hair that emerged from within the tent.

Mayuri never took her eyes off Naruto.

"Yu-Yuria-sa-ah! Onee-chan...eh?"

"Check this out, Rina!" Yuriyo excitedly called. "Yuria brought a human!"

**Rina-chan!**

Whoosh!

"Ah, right, by the way, Sayuri's back."

"I can tell, onee-chan." Yurina responded with a flat tone. Suddenly, there was a burst of activity from within the tent.

"Ha-Hawawa! Yu-Yurina! Wha-what hap-"

**Yurin-nee!**

Whoosh!

"HAWAH!"

"STOP SETTING YOUR FAMILY ON FIRE!" Naruto barked.

**Mugyuu…onii-chan's angwy…SUHPWISE!**

"WHAT THE FUCK?" The blonde boy exclaimed, taken by surprised by Sayuri's sudden warcry.

"Gyah!" Yuriyo jumped away, startled by Naruto's voice.

"Hawaa!" It should not be necessary to point out who this is.

"What the hell's wrong with you?" Yuria complained. Naruto shook his head almost desperately.

"B-But, it's Sayuri! What the hell are you doing?"

**Muuu…it didn't wohk.**

"Sayuri. What. In the Gods'. Names. Are you doing!"

**Onii-chan! Mayuri-chan doesn't catch fire! It's not fair! Mugyuu… **Sayuri pouted and crossed her tiny arms around her just-as-tiny chest. **She's a mweanie…**

"YOU call HER meanie." Naruto stated with a tired voice. "Anyway, stop it."

**Bu-but I wanna! Ah! **The proverbial light bulb. **Maybe, if I make a STWONGER fire…**

"STOP IT!"

**Mugyuu…**

"Haaa…" Naruto, with his eyes closed, sighed in mental exhaustion. Really, sometimes that little girl…

When he opened his eyes again…

"Whoa!"

_Are they out to kill me or something?_

By "they," he meant breasts. And very large ones. Not nearly close to Kotonoha size, but after those definitely the largest he had ever seen. Yurine, whose spontaneous combustion had been dispelled at some point Naruto did not notice (so was Yurina's for that fact), was leaning over his constricted form. With five tails the color of caramel, she was the oldest Kitsune Naruto had met so far.

"Hawaa…are you okay, human-san?" She murmured; the index on her lips only part of the whole expression of honest worry on her face. Naruto realized he was in the middle of an endless cycle of blushing. It could not be helped: it truly seemed that all Kitsune had been blessed by the gods of physical beauty in some way or another.

"Umm…yeah…I'm fine…" He had to look away; he simply could not keep a straight face in front of this nice, beautiful lady. "…it's…it's a little tight in here, bu-but I'm not really hurt or anything…"

"Muuu…" Yurine's cheeks swelled with air in a way that could only be described as childish. "That's not good at all! Yuria, please release him!"

While it would be very hard to feel intimidated or pressured in any way by Yurine's demand, Yuria could only sigh and put down her captive human. It was a command from an older sister, after all.

"Ah!" Yurina released a cute gasp before hiding behind her sister. She did not take her eyes from Naruto, however, looking over Yuriyo's shoulder while she hid the rapidly growing blush.

"Hmmm…hmm-hmm-hmmm…" Yuriyo licked her lips without even noticing. She had long noticed Naruto was not wearing anything over his chest, as Yuria's tails revealed his bare shoulders. That did not make the reveal any less enjoyable; she could recognize a well-built torso even if she had never seen a human male before.

The moment Naruto felt the pressure all over his body disappearing, he released a sigh of relief. As if on cue, Yurine leaned down and refocused her attention on him. Naruto almost squeaked when she patted her pants, as if dusting them.

"I-I'm really sorry…umm…" Yurine averted her eyes a bit. "Yuria-chan…she's a bit rough around the edges…"

"HEY!"

"Bu-but!" The five-tails quickly added. "She's a wonderful girl! Ple-please don't be mad at her, u-umm…" She blushed. "Anoo…I-I'm sorry, but I seem to have forgotten your name…sowwy…"

With her ears dropped and her tails wagging pathetically like that, Naruto had absolutely no chance. A woman with such a killer body had no right to act so damn cute.

"Ah…umm…it's okay…tha-thank you…" Naruto was plenty embarrassed himself, from the attention, Yurine's body and the exposure to something he was simply not used to: motherly kindness.

Naruto would not be able to explain it himself, but, in a way, Yurine reminded him of a bigger, bustier Sayuri. This was probably what drew him to raise a hand to pet the far older Kitsune's head like he had done to Sayuri the few times they had met "personally."

"Hawaaa…" Yurine's worry instantly changed to innocent bliss. Her ears slowly flapped up and down, tickled by the subtle contact of Naruto's hand, and her tails moved from side to side like a loyal dog, all the while her lovely face looked completely and utterly relaxed.

_Yup, she's just like a bigger you._

**Mugyuu…Sayuri wants onii-chan to pet her too.**

"Now that's both disturbing and amusing at the same time." Yuria idly commented, her attention more on the spirit pagoda than on the scene taking place by her feet. Just where was her mother anyway?

"Mo-mom…" A rather disturbed Yuriyo sweatdropped. "…that's kinda-"

"So nice…"

"Yeah, kinda nice…wha-?" The alarmed half-Void jerked her head to look at her twin, who was busy staring at her mother and the human, her own golden fox ears flapping in accord with Yurine's caramel colored.

Apparently Yurina had inherited more from her mother than anyone else previously thought.

The half-Celestial had plenty of mixed thoughts in her head. She was surprised and impressed by her mother who, despite her unusual mindset, did not hesitate to meet and engage in conversation with the human, and even showed concern for his well-being. Yurina guessed her mother's five tails were not only for show; Yurine must have had plenty of experience dealing with humans before she became the way she is nowadays.

Yurina, too, had worried about the boy's condition when she saw him being trapped in Yuria's tails like that, but her nervousness prevented her from acting. This nervousness only skyrocketed at the sight of his naked torso. In her mind, she was the real failure as a Kitsune, not Yuria.

But not anymore.

Yuriyo watched with wide eyes how her sweet little sister actually took the initiative to join her mother and Naruto.

"A-Ano…mo-mother…" Yurina fiddled with her index fingers while she reviewed the reports on Sayuri's captivity in her mind. Trying to do her best to not fix her eyes on Naruto's well-shaped pectorals, she faced the blonde human. "U-Uzu…Uzumaki…Naruto…right?" The last word came out pitifully weak.

The first thing Naruto noticed was Yurina's pink pajamas. They were so ordinary they just looked odd on her. They were the kind of thing he would expect Sakura to wear to sleep.

Also, well, it was getting kinda repetitive, but, yes, this foxgirl was, too, very cute.

"Um…uh, yeah." He sounded quite lame there. "Nice to meet you…umm…yeah."

"Awww…" This was Yurine's reaction when Naruto gently slowly his hand away from her head.

"Ah." Yurina had not expected her approach to make Naruto stop pampering her mother. The part of her that hoped he would use his free hand on her was promptly squashed by the mighty hammer of embarrassment.

**Onii-chan stopped petting Yurin-nee. Why did onii-chan stop?**

Naruto was surprised this blonde cutie knew his name; he had forgotten all about Ayame's occasional reports. He was also surprised by just how much the gorgeous five-tails had been enjoying his ministrations, if her cute whine and the childish pout on her face meant anything. For some reason, he was even more surprised by the blonde calling the other Kitsune "mother." Sure, it made sense by looking at the tails, but…

"Mother." He muttered. It had an odd feel in his mouth.

"Hoe?" Yurina tilted her head.

Naruto pointed at Yurine in front of him. "She's your mother."

"Um." Yurina nodded.

Yurine shamelessly grabbed Naruto's extended hand and put it on her head. Her face and wagging tails made words unnecessary.

"Now that's just amusing." Yuria commented.

**See? Yurin-nee wikes it when onii-chan pets her head, just like Sayuri!**

Naruto caught himself staring at the way Yurine's breasts were pushed together when she put her hands on the grass in front of her. Turning to Yurina, he was startled to see the daughter had, too, sat on the grass in the exact same position as her mother, which meant Naruto only shifted from one pair of breasts to another.

Sure, Yurina's are smaller, but that's pretty much like saying lions are smaller than tigers.

It did not help that the first two buttons of the pink pajamas were loose; in a way, the fact that they were supposed to be hidden made them all the more tantalizing.

Now, unlike Yurine, who has a rather narrow attention span and was only focused on getting her head petted one more time, Yurina was quite conscious of the male eyes not quite meeting hers.

"A-Ano…umm…" She shyly covered her chest with her crossed arms. "Umm…I'm sorry…"

Yes, Yurina is the kind of girl who apologizes for blocking the view of her breasts.

"Ah…agh!" Naruto squeaked, having realized he was been caught staring. Shame drove blood into his cheeks to the point he thought they would be swollen for the next week after tonight. The fact that he was doing the same kind of things he had scolded Ero-sennin for some days ago only added to the self-loathing. "So-sorry!"

A tinge of regret hit the two-tails at the sight of Naruto fixing his eyes on the grass out of embarrassment. "Ah…umm…no…it's okay…I guess…"

Yurina was not really bothered by it, just embarrassed. She was used to being told she was beautiful, but hearing it from her sister, mother and grandmother was one thing and having a male human pre-teen pretty much ogling her was something wholly different.

"…I…I guess…I was kinda…staring, too…"

Yurina is also the kind of girl who would embarrass herself to make someone else feel better.

"Eh?" Naruto looked up, to see the roles were reversed. It was Yurina's turn to fix her gaze on the grass under her, her face almost literally glowing. He eventually figured out she meant his naked torso, though. "Ah! Ah…ahaha…"

An uncomfortable silence filled the clearing, centered on the two youngsters who could have fried a few eggs with their heads. It lasted until Naruto felt a finger poking his leg.

Yurine tilted her head cutely when she got his attention, her tails animatedly beckoning him to resume his earlier actions.

"Uhh…" He sighed inwardly. "Well, it won't hurt, I guess…"

"Hawawaan…" And so Yurine returned to her little world of bliss.

**Hehehe, onii-chan's weally the best. But it's not fair!**

_Hahaha, I'm sorry, really…_

**Muuu…okay…'coz Sayuri wuvs onii-chan.**

_I know. Onii-chan loves Sayuri, too._

**Eh? Ah-ah, munyaa…**

Within her seal, Sayuri shuddered in uncontrollable bliss. It was almost as good as him being in there with her!

**Sayuri…Sayuri's so happy…**

Naruto's chuckle was restrained by a hand weakly pulling him by the fabric of his pants. "Eh?"

It was Yurina, still a blushing wreck, looking up at him with hope bright in her big carmine eyes.

_Oh, you've gotta be kidding me…like mother, like daughter?_

**It's gweat! Onii-chan makes evwybody happy! Onii-chan's the best!**

"We-well…if it's fine…" Naruto muttered shyly. He got a just-as-shy nod in response.

"O-Okay…" The boy continued. "The-Then…here I go."

"Ple-please…be gentle."

Yuria looked at Yuriyo. She was sure she had the same grimace on her face as the half-Void. "For some reason, this really pisses me off. There's so much innuendo there it's not funny."

"Shut. Up." Yuriyo growled, her eyes never leaving her sister's form.

Some distance away from the five-some, Mayuri watched Yurina stiffen at the initial contact. It did not last long, and ten seconds later she was as mellowed out as her mother. Taking her eyes off the scene, she looked down at her hands. They were still shaking.

So, he was there. Right in front of her. Uzumaki Naruto.

The only reason she did not throw up was because her stomach was already empty. She also had a killer headache.

Maybe she was a masochist, after all.

She turned around an instant before her mother emerged from the tent. Yurisa stopped halfway out, visibly surprised by finding her daughter's eyes on hers.

"Ah, Mayuri, did you hear me coming?" Yurisa offered a sleepy smile, which Mayuri did not return. She did not respond, either.

Motherly instinct told Yurisa something was wrong. "Mayuri?"

The little girl quickly hid her hands within her wide sleeves and make sure there was no sign of her inner turmoil in her face. By looking at the scene on the edge of the clearing, she ensured Yurisa's attention was drawn to it, too.

"Oh, what is…?" She blinked. An odd premonition struck her. "…human?" A sense of imminent danger. "Could it be?"

**Yurisa-nee-chan!**

There was an odd orange flicker and a sound not unlike glass breaking. Small tongues of flame ate at the spherical barrier which protected Yurisa and her daughter; a barrier seemingly made of moonlight itself.

Even Mayuri's eyes were notably wider than the usual.

"That…" Yuria muttered. "…that was surprisingly badass."

Everybody nodded. Even Mayuri. Even Yurine and Yurina, as the spell of head petting had been dispelled, just like Sayuri's fire, by Yurisa's Spectral Counterforce.

Within another tent, both Yurimi and Kotonoha shared the other's admiration.

"Fantastic defense. It seems Yurisa's senses remain as sharp as ever. A shame she refuses to train with me." Kotonoha lamented.

"Any person with an ounce of common sense would refuse to train with you."

"Pooh, you are so mean, Yurimi-sama…" She paused. "But, now that I think about it, Sayuri-sama has never set US on fire."

"Remember that Sayuri-nee-sama never aims at the people she wants to 'greet'. It just so happens that they end up with their heads on fire."

"So Sayuri-sama's aim is just that bad?"

"And we're just very fortunate. Of course, it helps if there are plenty more potential targets around you."

"I…see. Then what about Mayuri-sama?"

"Well, that's a different case. Sayuri-nee-sama wants to set Mayuri on fire because for some reason she can't. It's basically Sayuri-nee-sama being annoyingly stubborn."

"Haaa…"

**Muuu…mweanie…**

_Not again, Sayuri…_

**B-But…I was aiming at her cwothes!**

_THAT'S NOT ANY BETTER!_

**Mugyuu…**

Sayuri's not very creative with her choice of targets.

"Higashiyama Sayuri-sama!"

**Mu-giii!**

Just like he had reacted to Sayuri's primal fear of dogs, he found himself feeling Sayuri's apprehension at the visage of this new Kitsune (a four-tails) closing the distance between them with fast, firm steps. By the time she was standing between the mellow-mellow mother-daughter duo, towering above him, Naruto was sure Yurisa was at least six times bigger than him.

"What have I told you about setting your relatives on fire?" It was Yurisa with her best mother voice. Naruto could actually see Sayuri dropping her ears and flinching at the tone.

…**it's…it's not the wight way to gweet others. **Sayuri responded with what was obviously a conditioned, well-rehearsed response.

"…and?" Yurisa insisted, as if she somehow could listen to Sayuri's words.

…**and I should westwict my fire to lower vehtebwates. **A pause. **Onii-chan, I never got that paht. What's a vehtebwate?**

_Why the heck are you asking me?_

**Mugyuu…**

"Good." Yurisa nodded, satisfied for some unfathomable reason. With that matter solved, she smiled gently at her sister. "With that said, I'm…" Tears began to form in Yurisa's eyes. "I'm…I'm happy you're back with us, Sayuri…Sayuri-sama."

**Ah! Waaaaai! Yurisa-nee-chan!**

Whooosh!

_Sayuri!_

**Sayuri didn't wanna! **The little nine-tails sounded just as surprised, amusingly enough.

The Higashiyama Clan mutely stared at Yurisa's incandescent head.

"Don't. Say. A Word." The four-tails mumbled with barely restrained anger.

"…damn, I missed this." Yuria muttered.

And that was when the pagoda's door opened.

If Higashiyama Yuri had ever gone to sleep, she certainly did not show it. She was wearing a rather loose white yukata with a big blue obi, and her beautiful long hair was fancifully done in an ornate arrangement kept together by long, thin silver hairpins. Sayoko, on the other hand, showed all the obvious signs of a woman who had her sleep interrupted. Then again, she always looked like she dragged her body out of bed, so there.

She would wake up in just a moment, so this does not really matter.

"Ara, now what is this I see-"

**MAMA!**

No combination of words could ever do justice to what happened next. It was like the climax of an epic action movie gone horribly wrong.

For once, Sayuri's enthusiasm did not result in a living being set on fire, which was most fortunate: with the amount of excitement Sayuri experienced at the sight of her mother, she might have just ended up killing her.

Of course, good fortune and bad fortune often walk together.

The rest of the clan could only watch in astonishment how the spirit pagoda literally exploded, becoming a ghostly pillar of flames and sending the two best friends flying away in a most inelegant way.

This moment, however, showed a fundamental difference between Naruto and the Kitsune around him. These Kitsune had the power; power that surpassed his by far. Naruto, however, had training and, more importantly, instinct. While the others were too stunned by the sound, the heat and the sight of the explosion, Naruto acted. Credit goes to Kotonoha who also moved, but Naruto was much closer.

The Shadow Clone effortlessly caught Sayoko while the real one interposed himself in Yuri's flying path…

"Gotch-oof!"

…and got himself a faceful of two big and round things.

An entire clan of heads turned to follow Yuri's path as she dragged Naruto underneath a good twenty yards across the clearing, his back taking the punishment intended for her.

Meanwhile, the clone looked at the female in his arms. Sayoko felt extremely light and frail, like a glass doll.

"You…you okay?"

Sayoko nodded, more nervous than anything else.

**Sayoko-chan!**

Whoosh!

"Wah!" The clone reflexively backed off from the flames, effectively dropping Sayoko.

"Auuuu…" The fox-woman moaned, more from the harsh fall on her butt than from the fire that covered her head.

"Gah! Sorry!" The clone quickly apologized, but stayed clear of the immolation. Sayoko would have none of that, however.

"Sayuri…chan." Her tears were quickly consumed by the flames, too. It said a lot that she could open her mouth and speak while covered in flames. "Sayuri-chan!"

"Wah!"

The real Naruto felt the memories of his clone come to him, having being dispelled after a hug from a Kitsune on fire. He would have wondered about the stupidity of the whole thing if he weren't suffocating at the moment.

"Hmmmhmmhmph!"

"Ahahahaha, that tickles!" The matriarch of Higashiyama giggled.

"Hu-oomph!" Sick and tired of being smothered, Naruto simply grabbed the offending object and pushed it away with some effort.

"Ahn!" The seven tails moaned. "Tha-that's kinda rough…"

It was only then that Naruto chose to pay closer attention to whatever he was grabbing.

It was an itty bit too late for the epiphany, but his mind quickly reached a very notable (and very true) conclusion.

In that moment, Naruto felt the absolute and unbreakable certainty that, beyond the shadow of a doubt, there was absolutely no way in hell he would ever, EVER, see a pair of breasts larger, or even as large, as those he was grabbing.

He had seen and would see plenty of crazy shit in his life. He would actually do most of them. Those breasts, however, took everything he knew about the physical laws of nature and smothered it to blissful oblivion.

"Uhhh…" Naruto grumbled a bit dazedly. The fact that he was actually able to utter a sound beyond such a world-breaking visage shows unbelievable strength of character. "Aa…uhh…"

Yuri actually felt pity for the poor lad. Half amused, half curious, she stroked Naruto's sun-colored hair.

"Let us stand." She looked at the single Kitsune who had approached the two. "Thank you, Kotonoha." She said, taking the swordswoman's hand.

"Mistress." She then offered her hand to Naruto, only to find that the boy had gotten on his feet by himself. He still, however, looked a little dazed by the whole situation. Yuri did not fail to notice this.

"Please, Uzumaki-kun, it will not do for you to stand like that." She said, bending forwards so as to get closer to eye level, which was quite difficult considering the difference of almost 45 centimeters between the two.

Naruto found it difficult to stare at the matriarch in the face. The fact that her dangerously loose yukata made it seem like it would collapse to her feet in any moment certainly did not make things easier. He was almost sure the wide curvature of her breasts was the only thing keeping her clothes on her.

Yuria's eyes narrowed and she swallowed a lump of saliva, nodding to herself and smiling full of determination. It was time to set them up the bomb.

"Mother!"

The call did the eldest Kitsune's attention. It was the reason she had emerged from the now disappeared pagoda (ectoplasm burns VERY fast) in the first place. "Right, Yuria. You were so eager to call a meeting just now, after such an abrupt departure-"

Yuria normally would not interrupt her mother mid-speech, but she had to work with the element of surprise.

"I am Yuria, daughter of Higashiyama, fifth born of Yuri. Mine is the Crest of the Sky!"

The single sentence made everyone stiffen unpleasantly. It was a sentence structured in a form Yuria had never used, because she had never needed to. Within clan custom, the number of times in which that specific sentence needed to be used could be counted with a single hand.

Mayuri looked away, her face a poorly hidden mask of sadness and impotence.

"With my crest as witness," Yuria continued, pointing up at the dome of stars above them. "And before the eyes and ears of my matriarch and my clan, I declare!"

Most of the crowd gasped in unison. It couldn't be!

A shriek was held frozen in Yurimi's throat. _She wouldn't!_

Yuri's eyes narrowed imperceptibly.

She would.

"That this man, Uzumaki Naruto, belongs to ME! And I to him!" Slowly, regally (or as regal as her size allowed), not hiding her enjoyment of being the center of attention, Yuria stood between her mother and Naruto. "That my heart has bonded with his. That I desire him for myself. That I am ready to fight and defend my honor, for the sake of he who belongs to me, even against she who is of my blood."

"This is my claim, which I present to you, my matriarch." She finished, addressing her mother with a polite bow.

Yuri studied her third youngest daughter for a moment. To her eyes, Yuria had never looked so stunning, so fierce, so beautiful, like a lioness. It was shame that it was under these circumstances.

Her eyes grazed Naruto's face. The poor boy looked like he had a lot to say, but it was obvious the palpable tension that permeated the whole place was stopping him. He would explode, eventually, but she did not really care. That was somebody else's problem, not hers.

She did not need to look to her right to know that Yurimi's eyes were on her. Then again, the eyes of the whole clan (sans Mayuri, she could not help but notice) were on her. However, they were all staring in expectation. Yurimi was just desperate, all vestiges of her everyday mask long shattered and replaced by sheer need. Yuri could feel the eyes of her second youngest calling for her, begging her, wondering just why she was taking so long so stomp down on Yuria's claim.

Apparently, Yurimi's brilliant mind had, for once, failed her, clouded by well-founded desperation. It was obvious that Yurimi had not realized what both Yuria and Yuri knew all along.

The matriarch's expression never changed: solemn, demanding yet composed; the gaze of a queen.

"With the power bestowed upon me as Matriarch of Higashiyama, I, Yuri of the Silver Lily, declare that."

"Should your claim be challenged by she of your blood, swift punishment shall be dealt to the imprudent, as such is the power behind the right of claim."

"Should your claim be challenged by she who is not of your blood, the clan will not hesitate to stand beside you as you fight for that which is rightfully yours."

"This is my word; the word of the Matriarch. With the silence of your clan and the blessings of your ancestors, I approve of and bless your claim."

"NO!"

All eyes went to Yurimi, to witness how she fell on her knees, her legs giving in together with her fragile heart of glass. The icy cold girl was completely gone, and only a pitiful young teen Kitsune remained, her awfully thin body not unlike the puppet that has lost its strings.

"Wha…why…?" She whimpered weakly; the first tears gathering and abandoning the formerly unbreakable prison of her glacial eyes.

It is not hard to guess that Naruto was totally taken aback by this sight. The most collected and composed person he had ever met (after Haku – then again, he never played tonsil hockey with Haku, thank the gods) suddenly reduced to such a pitiful thing…it made his heart complain.

"Yu-Yuri-"

His second step towards the silver-haired Kitsune was stopped by an astoundingly strong hand grasping his right. Yuria's hold did not budge. Her body, rigid and hard as steel, did not shake a fraction of an inch, as if rooted down on the ground under her feet. Her eyes, which had never left her mother's, finally shifted towards her younger sister.

Yurimi actually shuddered.

It was not condescending or remotely mocking. It was a look of utter calm and quiet satisfaction. It was a look Yuria had been on the receiving end of many, many times. Every single time Yurimi bested her in mock combat, in fact.

Wrapping her arms around her body, Yurimi lowered her head and shriveled under her elder's gaze.

Only then did Yuria allow herself to smile.

Not only Yuriyo was allowed to be petty, after all.

"I told you I would beat you one day, Yurimi-chan."

* * *

**CHAPTER 11 END**


	14. Of Humans and Kitsune, Part One

_**Naruto Genkyouien**_

_**- **__**ナルト**__**- **__**幻**__**脅**__**威宴**_

**Chapter Twelve: Of Humans and Kitsune ****(Part One)**  


**OR**

**The Long Night of the Two, Still**

* * *

Yurimi was a Kitsune.

This single sentence might sound stupid, but it gives a lot of sense to her thoughts and actions. Above all, she is a Kitsune, with all their quirks and flaws. Not just any Kitsune, in fact. She was a proud lily of Higashiyama, one of the Great Kitsune Clans, groomed to become an exemplar of beauty.

She was elite.

Her mother had set high standards for her, and Yurimi had very high standards for herself. This young girl had a lot of pride in herself.

And it was this pride which fueled her and saved her from further humiliation.

With her eyes still hidden from her family by a few loose locks of silver hair, she commanded her breath to steadily settle down, gently guiding her heart to follow the same rhythm.

No more than seven seconds after Yuria's painful taunt, Yurimi was back in her usual groove. Mustering what little she had left of loser's dignity, she stood on her feet and returned the uneasy glances of everybody in the clearing.

Only the oldest and most perceptive among the Higashiyama Clan managed to notice the pale flicker of emotion in Yurimi's dull gaze when her eyes met Naruto's.

Deciding not to risk it, Yurimi did not open her mouth and only bowed before her clan before disappearing inside her tent for the night. She felt like an iron hand was crushing her windpipe.

Naruto followed her with his eyes every second until she disappeared within.

Just what the hell had happened?

His brain was still registering Yuria's and the Matriarch's words, as well as Yurimi's reaction. With every second, he felt his blood flowing faster and faster, in tandem with his increasing heartbeat. There was a second flow: his chakra. This new awareness of the flow of his chakra courtesy of his latest pedagogical experiences (starting with Kakashi's notes on the Hyuuga Clan more than three weeks ago, in the prelims) was starting to become a permanent noise in the back of his mind.

Regardless of anything, these two flows were the reflection of his growing anger, as his brain began to associate words with concepts and reconstruct the previous events.

**O-Onii-chan…wha…what's going on?**

Sayuri? Sayuri was just confused. She never learned the Higashiyama Claiming Rules, after all.

Meanwhile, mother and daughter looked at each other, for once, as equals. For once, Yuria could return her mother's steely gaze with a just-as-steely smile.

"Yuria," the Matriarch's voice, while gentle and conciliating, did not hide its sharp edge. Somehow her posture strongly reminded him of Yurimi herself. The fact that Yurimi's hair and eye color both matched her mother's only added to the similarity.

The three-tails did not respond. In a situation such as this, unnecessary words could be a regrettable mistake. If she did not know what to say, her best choice was to remain silent and steady.

"You must be proud of yourself," Yuri stated.

Yuria's right eyebrow twitched a bit. This was her only response. Her entire body, however, stiffened a bit when her mother closed the short distance between them. Yuri placed a hand on her daughter's right shoulder.

Yuria only felt as ease when the seven-tails smiled in motherly approval.

"It was a surprising and commendable performance for your first time outside Higashiyama. Be proud of yourself."

The much shorter foxgirl sighed and chuckled. "I am glad to see that you approve."

Yuri laughed softly and heartily. "Well, you've also just taken a big weight off my shoulders, my dear girl; how could I not be satisfied?"

Naruto could not believe his eyes and ears. That woman (fox-woman) was laughing and praising Yuria! What about her other daughter?

The black-haired Kitsune's expression hardened. "You…you are really wicked, mother."

Yuri's smile gained a tinge of sadness. "It's something I hope you will understand one day, Yuria, if you are really serious about becoming Matriarch."

The daughter snorted. "Really, don't you care about Yurimi at all…!"

Yuria was suddenly paralyzed by **something** that her mother suddenly projected. Not only had any semblance of gentleness disappeared, the very air around felt deathly cold.

"I never said I don't care, Yuria…that is why I will do this."

Naruto took a step back, appalled by the sheer force of the silver tail that struck Yuria's right cheek.

**Mugya!**

In the distance, Yurina gasped and her mother released a tiny shriek. Mayuri looked away, her tiny shoulders shaking. Commendably, only Yuria's head was jerked to the side.

Yuria's response was a bitter chuckle. "Even your sense of fairness is wicked, mother."

**Onii-chan…wha…what…Sayuri, Sayuri doesn't get it…**

Naruto mutely shook his head. There was no way he could explain whatever was going on to his little cute prisoner. If he weren't so confused himself he would have been more worried by the frantic tone of Sayuri's voice.

Only Kotonoha and Sayoko were able to notice the vestige of pain that contorted Yuri's expression for a moment there. She quickly hid it behind her gentle smile, moving her hand to ruffle her daughter's hair.

"Maybe…maybe one day you'll understand…though I'd rather you wouldn't, I must admit. Now, I'd suggest you leave for now, Yuria." The smile became mildly mischievous. "You have a mate now, after all."

It was Naruto's turn to stiffen when the Matriarch's eyes fell on him.

**Ah!**

"And speaking of him…"

Yuria stepped aside, allowing her mother to stand in front of the boy. Naruto's eyes narrowed and he took half a step back. Yuria suppressed a sad sigh.

"Hmmm…I guess…I did not make a good first impression, did I? Uzumaki Naruto-kun…ara?"

Both Kotonoha and Yuria noticed the same as the Matriarch, causing them to share questioning looks among themselves. Yuri's eyes looked a bit wider; a mild reflection of her surprise.

_The air around him…it's getting warmer…Sayuri, you…_

Her expression relaxing once again, Yuri blessed Naruto with the kind of smile only a mother can wear.

It made Naruto skip a beat and forget all about the previous events, if only for a moment.

She bowed, slowly and elegantly, her seven silver tails gently settling down with their tips caressing the ground and her loose clothes shifting noticeably, revealing even more of Yuri's more than impressive cleavage. The significance of this action did not escape the other Kitsune in the clearing. It was not every day that the Matriarch of one of the Great Clans bowed before anyone, especially a young human.

"My youngest daughter has caused you a lot of trouble, Naruto-kun. I can only offer my most sincere apologies."

**Mugyuu…Sayuri's a good girl! Sayuri's not bothewing onii-chan!**

Naruto did not respond. When his eyes once again met Yuri's, he realized she was not talking about Sayuri's troublesome personality.

In that instant, years of scorn and contempt returned to the surface of his memories. Cold gazes and angry words flooded his mind, as if attempting to carve yet another scar in his soul.

**Nee, nee, onii-chan! Tell mama Sayuri's been good! Sayuri's a good girl, wight?**

And, just like that, they were gone, and his mind was clear of negative thoughts again. Naruto blinked, as if trying to understand what had just happened, but then relaxed and chuckled to himself.

_A very good girl, of course!_

**Waaaaaai!**

Wiggle, wiggle.

"It…doesn't really matter." Naruto settled his hands on the back of his head. "It can't really be helped, right?" He paused. "But I guess Old Man Hokage and the rest of the village could use an apology or two…"

Yuri blinked this time, visibly taken aback by the boy's apparent disregard. Only for a moment, though, and she quickly replaced her surprise with mild amusement.

"My, aren't you quite the interesting young human…" Looking aside as if deep in thought, Yuri paused. "Now that I think about it, I just lost my pagoda." Her smile became a bit wider. She never took her eyes off Naruto. "Yuria, you think I could-"

"Don't even joke about it," Yuria stated flatly.

"You're no fun." Yuri clasped her hands together in front of her chest; her face suspiciously amiable. It only reminded Naruto that he was supposed to be angry at this woman.

"Now, now, let's settle down for the night. I would love for us to meet again tomorrow, Naruto-kun; let's say…for dinner?" Her smile softened once more. "I am sure there is plenty for us to discuss…and I would like to meet my daughter again after so long, of course."

**Ah! Mama…Sayuri…Sayuri also wants to meet mama and Sayoko-chan…**

Despite his swirling emotions, Naruto remembered this was, after all, Sayuri's mother. He would not be the one to keep a mother separated from her progeny.

Then again, considering the latest developments, he considered he had the right to take Yuri's mothering skills with a grain of salt.

"Umm…sure." He had the day free, after all, according to Setsuna. He still intended to train, though. Like a man possessed. Like Rock Lee.

"Alright then." Yuria began to walk away with a rather brisk pace. "Let's get moving, Naruto."

**Ah, we're weaving now.**

Yuria did not see the glare the blonde shot at her. Pretty much everyone else did, though.

Kotonoha and the Matriarch exchanged glances. Yuri nodded. Kotonoha bowed and walked after the human-Kitsune couple.

"Mayuri-chan?"

Everybody followed Yurisa's voice, wondering just what the silent girl was up to now. Even Yuria and Naruto stopped the departure, and Yurina did not fail to notice that her sister looked unusually interested. Most anticlimactically, however, Mayuri had simply decided to retire for the night, quickly disappearing within the tent she shared with her mother.

"Hnn." Dismissing the short interruption, Yuria resumed her march, approaching Yurine and her daughters in her way.

"Never imagined you had it in you, chibi."

Yuria stopped to shoot the Succubus Lily a wicked smirk. "Getting praise from you doesn't really make me happy, Yuriyo."

"Whatever."

The three-tails looked at the other two members of that branch of the family. "Yurine-nee-san, Yurina-chan."

"Ah…" Yurina's only response was to look away apprehensively, while her mother only offered Yuria a soft smile as she waved her goodbye. Yuria held back a sigh. She realized not everyone was favorably impressed by her little stunt. With that thought, she walked past the three and towards the edge of the clearing, not paying attention to Naruto who was now right behind her.

"See you later, shorty," Yuriyo said to Naruto as he walked past her. "I'll be counting on you to show me around town."

The young Genin turned to face the two-tails, but quickly looked away when he got a reminder of Yuriyo's stimulating choice of night wardrobe. "Uh, umm…yeah."

Yuriyo chuckled. Seriously, this boy was just too easy to read.

Naruto shot glances at the other two, managing to muster a goodbye smile. He had no reason to be mad at them, after all, and they seemed like nice girls, both mother and daughter…albeit a little weird. Even now Yurine was happily waving goodbye with both hands, her tails madly wagging from side to side as if letting him know that she was already looking forward to their next head-petting session. This somehow amused Sayuri.

**Hehehe, Yurin-nee weally wikes onii-chan! That's so gweat!**

"Ah!" Yurina gasped cutely and lowered her head, hiding her eyes under her golden bangs. "Ah…umm…anoo…bye-bye…"

Naruto blinked for a second. That whole attitude was strangely familiar; he just could not pick out from where. In the end, he dismissed the thought and smiled at the girl. "Um, see ya."

"Um," Yurina responded as she got even redder, cueing Yuriyo's eye-roll.

With that, Yuria and her mate disappeared within the darkness of the forest, quietly followed from a distance by Kotonoha. The Kitsune followed them with their eyes, staring at the darkness for a while even after the three had been swallowed by shadows. It would be Yuri who would interrupt the heavy silence that followed their departure.

"Well well, I guess I have to make a new pagoda now."

**Bye-bye, evwyone!**

Whoosh!

"Auuuu…"

"Oh, for Inari's sake—are you okay, Sayoko-san?"

"Auuuu…"

* * *

The first thing Ayame did when she returned "home" was to notice Naruto's absence. While a part of her wondered what Naruto could be doing out so late, another part told her he was probably training or something. Besides, Setsuna was gone, so she had no reason to worry for now. Also, Naruto's absence worked to her benefit for once.

She had made a short stop by her temporarily deserted home. It was good to see a pair of shinobi standing guard around the area, watching in case some funny guy tried to loot Teuchi's and Ayame's few valuables. Of course, they let her enter her house to retrieve the item she sought.

Sitting on the couch, she eyed the nondescript, varnished wooden box. She had not really thought about it in years. The only reason she had brought it to Konoha with her was because of her mother's and Kotonoha's insistence.

"It's rightfully yours," they said. "There's no reason for it to stay if you're not here anymore."

However, with Setsuna threatening to do…whatever it is she intended to do (which just couldn't be good), Kokoro simply could not remain idle. She was completely useless in a combat situation as long as she was in Ayame's body, but that did not mean she could just stay silent and watch while the crazy loli harmed everything she held dear.

Within the box rested a family heirloom. A gift from Inari-sama himself to her mother's mother.

It was time for it to see the light again…as much as she loathed the idea.

Opening the thin cover of the box…Ayame grimaced.

"Kami, it's just as tacky as the last time I saw it."

**That's an awfully rude thing to say, my Master.**

Silence.

Ayame wordlessly stared at the object within the padded red walls of the wooden box.

"…you talk," she finally muttered, and then she blinked. "And in English, to boot."

**So do you, Master.**

"No, I'm talking in Japanese."

**I'm certain you aren't…ah, I get it now.**

"THE HELL!" Kokoro jumped to her feet, flipping the box over and sending its single content to the floor.

**Ow.**

"You talk! YOU TALK!" Ayame screamed. "Since when do you talk?"

**Since ever.**

"And WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU TELL ME BEFORE?"

**You ne-**

"If you say I never asked I swear to all Eight Million Gods I'll break you."

**Ah! Umm, uhh…well, Master was so skilled and powerful by herself; I guessed she did not need my counsel at all, ahahaha-URK!**

Ayame picked the stick with far more strength that she needed. It was quite the oddly shaped scepter. Its white surface ended on one side with a wider, pink skewed cone with two flat, pink-edged white wings on the sides. This incomplete cone was connected to a ring-shaped neck with gold studs, which itself was connected to a strange, flat, two-pronged, pink-edged white structure. A hole in the middle housed a small, blood red, tear-shaped jewel.

"Whatever." Kokoro concluded. No use dwelling on the past. "So, Miss Smartass Stick, would you happen to have a name?"

**Raising Hea—OW.**

"LIKE HELL THAT'S YOUR NAME!" Ayame shouted at the stick she had just thrown to the floor.

**Kaleidost—OOF!**

"Wrong. Answer." Ayame growled as her right foot threatened to make a stick-shaped hole on the floor.

**Excali—BUAGH!**

"THAT'S NOT EVEN A WAND!"

In the end, the wand introduced itself as "Heart of Justice," strongly refusing Kokoro's request for an immediate name change.

**Master, I must say you have radically changed since the last time I saw you. Just what did you do to your hair?**

Kokoro rolled her eyes. "Oh shut it. This isn't my real body. I'm taking care of it for a while."

**I see. I must present my deepest apologies, but I must say it would not be a good idea for Master to use me anymore.**

"Yeah, yeah, I know. This body's too weak to fight, anyway."

**Is that so?**

Kokoro frowned. "Wait, just what were you talking about?"

**Well, I have to say Master's already a bit too old to be playing magical gir—LURGHKH!**

"DIE."

While the magical wand groaned and moaned in pain somewhere by a corner of the room, Kokoro stretched her (Ayame's) arms and sprawled herself on the couch. Tiredness was getting to her.

"I have no intention to become Magical Heart ever again." She declared. "But, really, who can I pass the baton to?"

**Master does not have offspring yet?**

"No," Kokoro grumpily declared. "And it's not going to happen anytime soon."

**I see. In any case, I will trust Master's judgment. However, I am compelled to say I would prefer a certain minimum amount of latent potential. A young girl with previous magical girl experience would be-**

"Aren't you picky?" Kokoro complained. "Where the hell am I going to find somebody like…?" Her eyes brightened as the proverbial light bulb was lit. "…heh. Heheheheh…"

**Master, you're scaring me.**

"Why would you be? You should feel most fortunate…fufufufufu…ahahahaha…"

If it were capable of independent motion, Heart of Justice would have inched away from Ayame very slowly.

* * *

Naruto was not the only Genin who was out training that night. However, unlike our favorite, this particular Genin did not have the stress of the incoming finals on her shoulders.

Tenten trained for the fundamental purpose of training. She wanted to become stronger. She no longer wanted to be the girl who is defeated in the space between manga frames. Since she spent her days helping Neji perfect his "Absolute Defense," she spent the nights attempting to improve her own skills.

Truth is, she has already figured out three different ways to defeat Neji's Kaiten but, if Neji can't figure them out himself, then he deserves to die.

Well…maybe not die…just get beat up a little bit.

However, she was reaching a dead end. It was not like she could improve her accuracy beyond "10 out of 10."

Thinking in retrospective, maybe that's where her name comes from. Her parents must be seers.

But anyway, the point is, Tenten is in the middle of a dilemma. Her precision is already top-notch. Does that mean that any chances at improvement are reduced to increasing the number of projectiles (both conventional and unconventional) stored in her scrolls?

And the explosive tags. Never forget the exploding tags.

Full power total destruction.

So, the lovely lotus blossom of Team Gai was meditating on this, her latest predicament, while leaning against a tree, when a strange sound drew her attention.

While the light from the moon and the stars was not scarce, Tenten had also made a small fire and brought two lamps to improve her visibility in the dead of night, as well as not make her training session a complete waste of time. However, the source of the sound remained invisible to her. It was an unusual sound, like the hum of high power lines.

Then, there was a sudden discharge.

"Ah!" Tenten gasped. An arc of lightning traced an irregular path in the air, around ten meters away. It was soon followed by a second one, and then a third one.

The smell of ozone was becoming stronger. Tenten watched in muted awe how an increasing number of lightning surges emerging out of nowhere coalesced together, creating a messy mesh of energy. The lightning ball became denser and denser until it reached critical mass, and then everything went white. Tenten shrieked as a shockwave struck her down.

It took the young teen around ten or fifteen seconds to make sure it was safe to open her eyes again. Even after doing to, it took a few more seconds for the spots to fade off her vision.

"Wha-what the hell…eh?"

She was not alone anymore. Standing on the center of a circle of charred grass, right where the crazy lightning out of nowhere had gathered and exploded, there was a naked girl. Sorta.

Naked girls do not normally have ears and nine tails.

The girl was crouched down on the spot, her golden tails wrapped around her in some sort of furry cocoon. Two brown-tipped fox-like ears twitched intermittently, reacting to the remnants of electric charge in the air. Slowly, smoothly, the female stood on her feet, revealing her breathtaking beauty. She was around ten centimeters taller than Tenten, or maybe a bit more, and her body seemed to have been sculpted by a master, with both pronounced and delicate curves in all the right places.

Later that night, when she got the chance to think about it, Tenten would conclude that those were the kind of curves that could make a woman gay.

Big eyes like rubies scanned the forest around her with a smooth, neutral gaze. Her tails tenderly caressed and hugged her skin.

Soon enough, her eyes found Tenten, and the young Genin skipped a beat. Whether it was terror or awe will remain unclear.

Tenten's legs felt like they were made of lead. On the other side, the nine-tailed apparition calmly approached with very short, very feminine steps. Her golden tails shone under the lights provided by the canopy of stars above her, creating a wreath of radiance that further magnified her goddess-like appearance.

With trembling hands, Tenten drew a feeble defense. The nine-tailed goddess shot a cold glance at the kunai in the girl's right hand, quickly dismissing it to return her attention to the girl herself.

And then, she spoke.

With a huge smile on her face.

"Ne, ne, gimme your clothes."

And the illusion of AWESOMENESS was killed with a rusty spork.

"Huh?" Tenten made an odd face. "Hell no!"

The foxgirl's ears drooped down as she pouted.

"Mugyuu…"

"Mugyuu?"

"Mugyuu…gimme your clothes!"

Tenten shrieked when she found herself tackled by a bigger and far more voluptuous female.

"WAH! Wait! Ah! Get off me—KYAH! WHERE ARE YOU TOUCHIN-AH! MY SHIRT! GET! OFF-HYAAAN!"

* * *

Yuria's smile was the perfect mirror of satisfaction. Stretching her arms, she groaned placidly as she felt the strain on her muscles.

"Aaaah, that was fascinatingly satisfying," she admitted. "But I gotta say I feel a little sorry for Yurimi…" Her smile got noticeably wider. "…just a little."

"Congratulations on your success, Yuria-sama."

"Oh, Kotonoha, you're here." Yuria sounded truly surprised, but she did not turn her head to look at the bodyguard. "Thank you! It's much appreciated."

"As someone who knows the feeling of utterly crushing your opposition, I must say I understand the significance of your success."

"Ok, now you're creeping me out," Yuria stated in a flat tone. "Why are you here anyway?"

"Right now there is nothing I can do for Yurimi-sama. I have decided I can be of more use to Naruto-sama, and Yuri-sama agrees."

"Huh…you still can serve Naruto?"

"Despite what just happened; Naruto-sama is still Yurimi-sama's chosen mate."

"I see." Then she did turn. "So, Naruto! We going to your place now-huh?" She frowned. "Why are you giving me that look?"

Naruto, whose ire had been increasing by the minute as he listened in unstable silence, finally seemed to reach the surprisingly ample boundary of his patience. It is apparent that this boundary had grown in considerable amounts in the few days he had spent in the company of Sayuri and the other Kitsune. However, as he closed the distance between him and Yuria with a fierce stride, it was obvious he had more than a few things to say.

"What…" His voice started as a growl, which grew in intensity with ever following word. "…what the hell was THAT!"

It was not a question.

"Hmm…about time," Kotonoha muttered to herself and proceeded to watch the exchange.

"What?" Yuria shrugged. "Didn't get it? Well, long story short, you're off-limits to anyone else in my clan. That's about it."

**Mu-nii?**

"Sans Sayuri-sama," Kotonoha idly commented. Yuria made an odd face.

"…well, yeah, but that's not really an issue."

**Ah, so I can stay with onii-chan! Waaaaai!**

Needless to say, wiggle wiggle.

"Wha…" Suddenly, something clicked. "Yurimi…"

"Heeeh…" Yuria's smile became more of a calculating smirk as she looked up at Naruto's expression. "So Yurimi's crush is not a one-sided thing…curious, but not entirely unexpected. I guess a day is plenty enough for her to seduce you." She chuckled. "Well, this only makes my victory all the more sweet."

Naruto followed Yuria's distancing back in muted astonishment, his brain quickly processing the mess of information he was being forced to deal with. It all went back to Yurimi.

The Yurimi who said she loved him. The one he shared his first kiss with. The girl who desired him with an intensity that both frightened and electrified him.

Yurimi wanted him, and…as much as it bothered him…he had wanted her too.

"Why?" His tone was soft, almost pleading. This time it was a question.

Yuria shrugged.

"Why what?"

Naruto's eyes hardened. "Why did you do that?" His question came out as a furious exclamation. "You don't even…" He caught himself for a moment there, but quickly let his anger and frustration take over any potential embarrassment. "You don't even want me!"

**I want onii-chan! I want to be with onii-chan!**

"True, true…" Yuria nodded calmly. "I mean, sure, I think you're a cool guy and stuff, really. I like you, but we won't be doing the hanky-panky any time soon."

**Mugyuu? Hanky-panky?**

"Yuria-sama, that sounds rather lame…" Kotonoha muttered.

"Then why did you do it?" Naruto insisted.

"Isn't it obvious?" Yuria responded. "Because she wanted you."

Naruto did nothing but stare, swallowing a lump of saliva as if truly needing to digest the words. He stared at Yuria as if he could not quite believe the source of those words was that little busty foxgirl.

"Wha…wha…"

**Onii-chan?**

Yuria looked over Naruto's shoulder. "What's up with him?"

Kotonoha smiled placidly, almost compassionately. "Give him a few moments."

"HOW COULD YOU!"

**Mugii!**

"There you go," Kotonoha declared.

"How could you do something like this? To her!"

Yuria shrugged. She just didn't get it. "She wanted you. I took you from her. I think it's easy to understand."

"Bu-bu-I GET THAT! WHY? Why would you want to do that?"

The three-tails eyed Naruto as if he were a complete retard. "She wanted you. I got you before she did. Now she can't have you. It's my win."

Naruto's tense body, driven rigid by his anger, suddenly went limp. "Your…win?"

**Wha…onii-chan? Sayuri doesn't get it.**

Yuria smiled and nodded. "Yup. I beat her, fair and square." Her small body shuddered with excitement. "I'll never get tired of saying that."

"Bu-but…you hurt her…" Naruto muttered weakly.

**Eh? Huht? Who's huht?**

"Losing tends to hurt, yes," Yuria idly commented before looking away. "I should know about that…"

"But it's…that's…" Naruto did not know how to press the point on this unusually thick-headed girl. At long last, Naruto had found his match. "…it's just NOT NICE!"

Naruto's brain and body went into full alert. So did Kotonoha. Yuria had changed, and with her the entire atmosphere of the forest.

"Not nice?" She muttered, and Naruto shuddered.

"Is there anything wrong, Naruto-sama?" Kotonoha inquired.

"She just reminded me of Setsuna…" Naruto muttered, shaking his head. "That's just not good, no matter how much I lik-tolerate! Tolerate. Setsuna."

"Hmmm…is that so." Behind Naruto, Kotonoha concealed her mirth behind the side of her right hand.

Apparently, Naruto can be tsundere, too.

"Not NICE," Yuria repeated, and the intensity of that last word brought all attention back to her. Naruto took a step back when Yuria approached, and he soon had to take several more when it became obvious she had no intention to stop. Kotonoha calmly stepped out of the way of the two, allowing Yuria to pin the taller boy against a nearby tree.

**Mu-nii? Yuria-nee-chan's angwy? Why's Yuria-nee-chan angwy, onii-chan?**

"I'll tell you what's not nice," Yuria growled. "Every single defeat before tonight. Not nice." Her eyes narrowed menacingly. "You know nothing about me, boy. Spare me your lecture about 'being nice'."

Yuria intended to turn her back to Naruto and walk away, until a hand clasped her left shoulder and prevented all motion.

Naruto ignored the strong shaking he felt under his fingers.

"You HURT Yurimi," he said, his tone as fierce and threatening as Yuria just before.

The blonde backed away against the tree before the angry lashing tails could swat his arm away. The anarchic sway of the three furry appendices beautifully complemented the mask of poorly restrained anger.

"And what about ME?" She yelled, eager to release entire decades of frustration. "What about all the times she defeated me? Yurimi! Sixty years younger than me! SIXTY!"

"You could never understand…how could you? Just a human…how could you understand the feeling…?"

A low-pitched growl escaped through Yuria's gritted teeth. For the very first time, Naruto saw her sharp canines as the threatening weapons they are intended to be.

"How could you understand how I feel every single time I look up at those eyes…those eyes that see me as inferior? Those insufferable, cold eyes, looking down on me, like I'm not worth her time! How can you understand what I feel when I notice how Mother looks at Yurimi?"

Yuria stretched her arms to the sides. "Higashiyama Yurimi, the great genius! Learning the Ghost Step at the age of 148, just by looking at it! The highest potential for Ghost jutsu ever witnessed! So talented at anything and everything! The one Kitsune all the Great Clans are keeping an eye on!"

She turned around, as if addressing an invisible audience. "And then there's Yuriyo, who'll probably become the best seductress the clan has ever produced! And my youngest sister, who just happens to be A FRICKIN' NINE-TAILS!"

**They're pwetty…**

Even Sayuri was taken aback by her sister's explosion.

Yuria's eyes returned to Naruto, and both he and Kotonoha saw what Yuri had always seen in her third youngest daughter. Such intensity, it was truly beautiful. Most regrettably, the beauty was marred by the rictus of anger and the tears forming in her carnelian irises.

"How could you understand…I've been deemed a failure by EVERYONE! My sisters, my nieces, my mother, my CLAN! BY THE ENTIRE KITSUNE SPECIES!"

Her right hand reached for the hem of her kimono shirt, gripping with excessive force. Naruto gulped, carefully keeping his eyes on Yuria's. While he certainly would not mind another glimpse of glorious cleavage, he knew better than to lose focus on the situation at hand.

"I am Higashiyama Yuria, the loser who can't even use Ghost techniques! The untalented brat who cannot make a decent illusion! The useless Kitsune who couldn't even charm a druggie! A work mule at best, that's Higashiyama Yuria!"

Any semblance of shame or pride was long gone. Yuria had no qualms about showing her tears to a silly human.

"The pathetic Kitsune…unwanted by every male…"

Dropping her head, Yuria hid her eyes from Naruto's and Kotonoha's sight. Her small shoulders shuddered pitifully. Naruto did not open his mouth or react in any way. He knew his role in this scene.

"I needed this…I DESERVED THIS! I WANTED THIS MORE THAN ANYTHING!"

Naruto could not stop himself this time. "But…she's your sister…"

"She's my RIVAL!" Yuria yelled at Naruto's face, inching her face closer to his. "You're NOT taking this victory from ME!" Her expression looked pained for some reason, as the intensity of her fury dwindled and dissipated unexpectedly. "Even if I…if I…"

Restraining herself from saying anything else, Yuria turned around and walked away at a brisk pace, talking as the distance restored her confidence.

"Don't measure me with your lowly human standards. You know nothing about The Kitsune Way…you know nothing about Yurimi…about me…you can't understand—"

"I understand."

Yuria stopped, her head turning enough to offer her left profile to the boy behind her. Naruto returned the fierce, irate look with unusual solemnity.

"I…understand."

The three-tails stared at him for several tense seconds, attempting to read Naruto's expression, searching for traces of insincerity or weakness. Whatever she found there, she kept to herself.

"…tch."

Naruto watched Yuria's back until it disappeared in the darkness. A moment later, he felt Kotonoha's impressively quiet steps reaching him.

"Ne, Kotonoha-san…"

"Hmm?"

"Am I wrong here?"

The comforting hand on his left shoulder was more than welcome.

"This…is not a matter of being right or wrong, Naruto-sama," Kotonoha began. "She's right to a point, however: she is a Kitsune. You are a human. We…we are just different. You can't understand. You're not supposed to."

Naruto's eyes were fixed in the darkness.

"But…what if I want to?"

Kotonoha looked down at the boy. His face was an amalgam of confusion and sadness. Those words and that face earned him several points with the four-tailed bodyguard.

"Then I'd say you're already on the right path, Naruto-sama. I would ask you to be careful, however. Humans and Kitsune…relationships tend to be very painful…for the human, I mean."

"You don't say…" Naruto mumbled, carefully eyeing the leather bag Kotonoha always carried with her. The taller fox-woman did notice, however, and Naruto soon found himself in the midst of a "group hug."

"Now, now, Makoto-kun and I are very happy together, so don't lose hope, okay?" Kotonoha happily commented. Naruto did not know whether to appreciate the faceful of 106 centimeters of bust or feel utterly freaked out by the feel of soft leather on his right cheek.

_Gee, I feel so much better now. _Naruto's mind mumbled sarcastically.

**Mugyuu…Sayuri wants to hug onii-chan too…**

_Heheh, sorry._

"Naruto-sama," Kotonoha continued, not yet releasing Naruto from her embrace. "Yurimi-sama has never looked down on Yuria-sama. Yurimi-sama…truly hopes for Yuria-sama to become a strong Kitsune."

"I know," Naruto mumbled, making himself comfortable.

"I hope you understand why I did not say this to Yuria-sama."

"She wouldn't believe you."

Kotonoha nodded.

"Don't worry about that." Naruto smiled. "Leave it to me, Kotonoha-san."

"Hu-humm…" The swordswoman revealed a smile of her own. "I'll leave it to you then, Naruto-sama. And please, do skip honorifics when addressing me." A finger under his chin forced Naruto to look up at her face. "Kotonoha's just fine."

Naruto couldn't stop himself from blushing brightly. With his head resting on such voluptuous bust and his face so close to that wondrous smile, it was hard not to be mesmerized.

"Ko…Kotonoha."

"Good." The woman nodded in satisfaction. However, the chuckle that followed made him feel a bit uneasy.

"So Naruto-sama's a breast man after all?" A mock-pity face. "That's so bad for Yurimi-sama…and for Setsuna, too."

The crimson blush on Naruto's face deeply contrasted with his overly stern expression.

"You do that on purpose, don't you?"

"What?"

"Messing with people's heads."

Kotonoha laughed heartily. "I have no idea what you are talking about, Naruto-sama. I am nothing but a faithful servant." She ruffled the boy's blond hair, much to his chagrin. "Now, I better let go of Naruto-sama before Makoto-kun gets jealous."

Naruto sweatdropped. "Right."

With his body free to move, Naruto looked away from Kotonoha, to the darkness where Yuria had disappeared into.

**Onii-chan's a bweast man? Muu…what's a bweast man? Onii-chan doesn't have bweasts…**

Naruto sweatdropped again. "Just…just forget it, Sayuri."

**Mugyuu…**

With that said, Naruto had to point out something that itched in the back of his mind for a while.

"Ne, Kotonoha-sa…Kotonoha."

He got the loveliest of smiles in return. "Yes, Naruto-sama?"

"Does Yuria even know which way to go anyway?"

A mild chuckle. "No, I believe she does not."

Naruto facepalmed.

* * *

Expectedly, they found Yuria waiting for them not too far from where she had left them, waiting while wearing a face that was half pout, half scowl.

"Don't say a word."

Naruto smiled gently. "Nah, too easy. Now, let's go; my clone's been waiting all this time."

Indeed, the clone Naruto had made quite some time ago was calmly waiting for them just where they had left him. He was no longer training.

"'sup," the clone greeted.

"We're back."

"And on your own two feet this time, I see."

"Har har," The original barked. "So, any progress?"

The smirk on the clone's face said everything that needed to be said. Still, he spoke. "An idea, but you can check it for yourself."

And then he was gone in an explosion of white smoke, at the same time Naruto's face brightened with realization.

"Oh…not bad." Soon enough he had a grin of his own. "Yosh, I'll get this done and blow Setsuna away!"

"Oh my, so eager to impress her…" Kotonoha pointed out with a musical giggle. "…so very cute, Naruto-sama."

"Eh!" It was more of a squeak than anything else. "Wha-wha-you-wha-no-BE QUIET!"

Naruto has at least two points in Tsundere.

"Ufufufufu, as your wish, Naruto-sama."

"Who's this Setsuna?"

Naruto and Kotonoha shared a look. The fox-woman tilted her head; her large eyes dark pools of mirth. Naruto narrowed his gaze. Women are truly evil, he noted.

"Yes, you may talk, Kotonoha."

"Thank you, Naruto-sama." She turned to address Yuria. "Kiyoura Setsuna. An old friend of mine."

"Friend she says…" Naruto mumbled. It was not really news, but Kotonoha, Naruto noticed, had more than a few screws loose.

"Huuh…" Yuria mumbled, not really interested, but a bit surprised that Naruto knew Kitsune outside Higashiyama. "So, what now?"

Naruto's eyes hardened, even as a smirk formed on his face. It greatly accentuated his vulpine features.

"Well, Yuria…can I call you Yuria, anyway?"

The three-tails shrugged. "Suit yourself."

"Cool. Anyway, Yuria."

The foxgirl narrowed her gaze. She somehow did not like the way he pronounced her name.

"This…well, this whole thing…it just can't stay like this."

Yuria held back a sigh. "Gosh…still going on with that…" She placed her hands on her waist. "Look, boy—"

"Be quiet."

Yuria actually took a step back. For a second there, she could swear his eyes had changed. Were his canines always that long? They were as sharp as hers!

"You told me to spare you the 'nice' spiel. I throw those words back at you. Spare me the 'lowly human' crap. I am human, you are Kitsune; I get it. I fucking get it."

Yuria's tails went still in alarm due to the fierce, threatening glare she was receiving.

"I just don't give a damn."

Yuria gritted her teeth. Who does he think he's talking to?

"I won't have you talking to me like that. I won't have YOU looking down on me like that!" Naruto hissed. "A brat that lashes at others to ignore her own weakness! A brat that runs away when someone tries to argue with her!"

"Hmmm…" Kotonoha muttered to herself as she leaned against a nearby tree. "Is it really appropriate for you of all people to say that, Naruto-sama?" Her voice was soft, meant to be heard only by herself. "Or maybe, because it's you…"

"Wha…wha…" Yuria's body was a tsunami of turmoil: the clenching of her hands, the gritting of her teeth, the way her tails shivered and pointed at the sky above them. "You BASTARD!"

"Yeah, me bastard," Naruto spat, his voice carrying acidity he did not know he was capable of making. "But, really, I got it. Words won't really work with you, ne?"

"Teme…"

"It's like looking at a mirror…" Kotonoha paused. "A gender-bending mirror."

"So, let's solve our…umm…what's the word I'm looking for here, Kotonoha?"

"Discrepancies? Differences?"

"Yeah, those. We'll solve those the way I know best."

It was Yuria's turn to tense when she realized the many subtle changes that told her Naruto's stance, despite how relaxed it might seem, was in fact a combat stance, ready to spring into action in any moment.

"Why don't you beat the crap out this 'lowly human', hmm? If you're so angry."

While she almost took the bait and jump to smash her fist on his cocky face, Yuria managed to stop herself. There had to be a catch somewhere.

Unfortunately for her, there wasn't.

"Well, for the record, I tried to be courteous. Ladies first and all that crap."

**Mu-gyah!**

Even Kotonoha winced at the sight of Yuria's small body being lifted off the ground by the raw force of Naruto's right straight. The rough impact of her body with the ground did not hurt nearly as much. A mixture of shame and the conglomerate of tears blurring her vision prevented from looking up at Naruto, whose face was the very epitome of coldness. Yurimi would have wetted her underwear on the spot…if she actually wore underwear, that is.

"How am I supposed to swallow all that 'lowly human' bullshit if you're so weak, Yuria?"

"Ba-bastard…" Yuria voice trembled; her body still shaken by the strike, even as she tried to sit up on the grass.

"Right back at you," Naruto spat. "You HURT Yurimi! Your SISTER! My…my…heck, I don't know what she is to me, but she's important! And you HURT her!" His voice had become a ferocious roar at this point. "At MY EXPENSE! You USED ME, YURIA! And I'm supposed to take it like a good little puppy because I'm 'just a human'? I say FUCK YOU!"

**O-Onii-chan…**

"You. Used. Me. And I…I…" Naruto gritted his teeth, as what he was about to say truly pained him. "…I had really liked…hanging out with you…and then you pull off THIS CRAP!"

He stomped a step forwards and Yuria almost squeaked.

"I didn't take this crap from that bastard, Mizuki! I didn't take this crap from Setsuna! And I'm sure as hell not taking this crap from YOU!" Naruto allowed a few seconds for his voice to settle down. "That's why I'm going to kick your ass, again and again, until you figure it out."

"Fi-figure what out?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Well, that's the whole point, isn't it? Now, fight!"

This time Yuria managed to roll away from Naruto's heel drop. However, the young ninja did not relent and immediately went after his target like a hungry tiger.

The battle was on.

Kotonoha yawned and sat under a tree, placing her trusty bag by her side. "This is going to take a while…"

She wondered what would happen first: Yuria figuring "it" out or Sayuri intervening.

* * *

Tenten and Naruto were not the only ones training at a time they should be sleeping. There was a third shinobi occupying his time with physical work. Unlike the other two, he had decided not to leave his house. He could do one-handed pushups within the comfort of his bedroom, anyway.

Unlike the two, this particular shinobi was not a Genin. He was a Jounin.

His name is Maito Gai. Let's go with katakana for this one. No "Might Guy" in this story.

While the thought of this particular shinobi staying up late to do pushups would not really surprise anyone, the truth is that Guy rarely stayed up late when not in a mission that demanded so. Whenever he could, he calculated for exactly seven hours of sleep. However, the Noble Green Beast had found a reason to stay up late for additional training.

Strangely enough, it started with Jiraiya.

The Toad Hermit, smut author and pervert extraordinary also happens to be a master of the most powerful art of information gathering. Gai knew the Sannin had returned to Konoha at the behest of the Sandaime. Gai had yet to meet him–he had no reason to do so, though–, but earlier that day he had found a small note in his mailbox.

_She has her sights on Konoha._

Challenging Kakashi was basically a hobby, as well as a means to an end. Trying to rile up the exasperatingly "hip" Jounin inspired Gai to put an effort on things, as well as drive his students to do the same. Gai did not really expect Kakashi to go along with his challenges; the scarecrow was a necessary counterpart to his own overwhelming youthfulness.

Gai had an excellent mission record. In the last eight or so years, he had only failed a handful of missions (of course, in this job, a handful is a lot). Every single of these failures, however, was because of HER.

Her one true nemesis.

They had first met when he was around 18 or so, in one of his last missions as a Chuunin. A certain noble had found a rather valuable, ancient scroll amidst his numerous possessions, and decided to generously donate it to a temple. Gai was part of the three-Chuunin team in charge of transporting this scroll to its new home.

Her preemptive strike was as swift as it was effective, quickly scattering and separating the team. Before Gai had time to react, there was a flash and all of a sudden one of his teammates lay dead, his chest and back a smoking, charred mess.

She toyed with him, always staying a good distance away and forcing him to focus on dodging her precise ranged strikes. Whenever he increased his speed she would simply do the same. When he opened the Pain Gate she released a mighty jutsu as a distraction to get away. His other teammate also survived, but lost the scroll to her masked minion.

He did not get her name that first time, but they eventually met again. And again. And yet again, as if fated to fight each other. Sometimes their meetings were completely coincidental; her purpose completely unrelated to whatever mission he was assigned to. But they still fought, and she always got away. At first, Gai noticed, she made her retreat whenever he opened four or five Gates, and Gai figured out that was the limit of her speed. That changed in the last two years, when she proved capable to somehow match his speed even with the Limit Gate released.

Since the very moment he first saw her, Gai knew she was up to no good. He just had to look at those clothes! They looked evil! And those strange words she mumbled at times obviously belonged to some antediluvian, profane language. For these reasons, Gai had requested Jiraiya to try to track her movements, to allow the Jounin to ready himself for their eventual next encounter.

Jiraiya's note was short and concise. If that was the only thing the Toad Hermit could tell him, it meant she was careful and secretive. Gai did not expect any less. The point remained, however: SHE had her sights on Konoha. For what reason, neither Gai nor Jiraiya knew. What Gai did know, however, was that she HAD to be stopped.

Some people, Gai believed, were simply beyond redemption.

He allowed the bitter memories and the ominous feeling that chilled his heart to fuel his might and drive his pushups. With a fierce, determined face completely at odds with the one he usually showed to his students and peers, Gai readied himself to face his destiny.

"Doctor S…"

* * *

Kotonoha was paying closer attention to the fight than she had initially expected.

"You're making this too easy for me, Yuria!"

"Shut up already—YAGH!"

The swordswoman winced a bit at the sight of Yuria being sent to the ground yet one more time. It had happened quite often already.

It just did not make sense to her. It was not supposed to be this simple.

Naruto was not supposed to be able to utterly humiliate Yuria the way he was doing so.

Had somebody asked her to, Kotonoha would have placed her bet on Yuria. She might be a psycho yandere, but she was also a skilled swordswoman. She was able to analyze the skills of two fighters and derive the evolution of their encounter based on their likely performances.

Yuria was both faster and stronger than Naruto, no way around it. While most Kitsune were naturally faster than most humans, Yuria was also one of the strongest people Kotonoha had ever met, even without the aid of chakra reinforcement jutsu. Also, in addition to her arms and legs, Yuria had three tails she could (and knew how to) use in combat.

On the other side, Naruto's Taijutsu, crappy as it might be, was already better than Yuria's, whose knowledge of combat technique was simply inexistent. In addition, Naruto had the instinct which can only come from real combat experience, something no amount of log-punching could give to the three-tails. Naruto also had proficiency with projectile weapons, but those were not really useful against Yuria's decent tail-based defense.

A battle between the two, Kotonoha had inferred, would eventually become a battle of attrition, which would lead to Yuria's victory. After all, Yuria was the one opponent who could actually outdo Naruto both in physical might and chakra capacity (not taking Sayuri into account, of course).

However, the actual battle and her prediction were dramatically different. For this reason, Kotonoha's slightly contracted pupils followed Naruto's single actions with a mixture of awe and unease.

_What…what did Setsuna do to this boy?_

It was not a fight. It was a cat toying with the hopeless, desperate mouse before killing it.

Yuria was still both stronger and faster, with or without chakra. The riverside was littered with small craters made by Yuria's fists and tails. However, Naruto's eyes and body seemed to be able to read and react to each and every single of Yuria's movements with fluid ease. Yuria's attacks were like an open scroll to the boy.

On a side note, Yuria's "Tail Rock Breaker" was truly frightening. Ineffective, yes, but frightening.

In addition, and this was something Kotonoha was mentally kicking herself for not thinking of it, Naruto had an additional advantage. Yuria's speed and agility were superior, yes, but they were fundamentally limited to two dimensions. The young Kitsune was witnessing firsthand the usefulness of both tree- and water-walking. Trees allowed Naruto an additional dimension to his evasive and offensive maneuvers, forcing Yuria to watch out for attacks from above as well. Water-walking made things even worse for the foxgirl, who could not follow Naruto into the river, which meant she could only reach him with Extension.

Kotonoha had both overestimated Yuria and underestimated Naruto. The girl's attacks were too straightforward and easy to defend against, even with three additional "limbs" to work with. Naruto's incredible mobility kept Yuria on her toes; the boy completely dominated the battlefield: Yuria had yet to land a hit. The few times she thought she got him, she was met by a broken log, much to her increasing frustration.

So, yes, Naruto was winning. But there were two additional reasons Kotonoha could declare Naruto's defeat a thorough humiliation.

First, he had yet to use his trademark Shadow Clones. So far it had been all Naruto, dancing around Yuria's strikes with almost ridiculous ease.

Secondly, Naruto was using Yuria for an experiment.

After a high jump, Yuria whipped one of her tails at the young ninja, who pillowed the attack with his left shin. Before Yuria could respond or even ready herself to land, the same leg shot forward and impacted her straight on her solar plexus, making her gasp in agonic asphyxia before being sent once again to the ground.

"_Riposte,_" Kotonoha muttered.

Naruto dodged an attack with a back-flip. Instead of retreating, he used his chakra-strengthened upper body to push both legs forwards, slamming them on Yuria's lower torso; the impact releasing a thunderous boom.

"_Lance_."

Naruto went for a straight kick. Yuria easily blocked it with a tail, only to see that it was stuck to the sole of Naruto's foot with his chakra. She yelped when the blonde pulled her towards him with that same leg, and the next thing she felt was a resounding right hook to her face.

"_Point d'arrêt._"

A tail thrust aimed at Naruto's face was pushed upwards by Naruto's rising kick. While Yuria followed the path of her deviated attack with her eyes, Naruto went with the momentum of his parry to drop the heel of the raised leg on Yuria's right shoulder.

"_Attaque au Fer_."

Kotonoha could almost hear Setsuna whispering the French words while Naruto pulled off the moves. It was quite subtle, and Naruto still had a ways to go, but his intentions were obvious.

He wanted to copy Setsuna's Taijutsu.

There was a certain irony to that; something Kotonoha did not fail to notice. In another situation, she would have giggled at the whole thing. She fully intended to tease the boy whenever she got the chance: it was so amusing to watch him go all _tsun-tsun_ whenever she mentioned his newest sensei.

While he still was leagues away from matching Setsuna's speed, and he lacked the ability to add lightning or Void Fire to his kicks, he made up for it by adding loads of chakra for frightening damage potential. Honestly, with the way he was stomping Yuria, it was obvious the only reason she was not dead yet was because Naruto did not want her dead.

After yet another futile attack by Yuria and a subsequent beat-down by Naruto, the girl was sprawled on the grass for then hundredth time. The young ninja looked almost bored.

"Well, I have to agree with you; you ARE weak."

* * *

Higashiyama Sayuri was no stranger to combat and training. In the space of little over a year between the day she gained her second tail and became a full-fledged Kitsune and the day she was sealed into Naruto, she had several opportunities to watch her relatives undergo combat training in different ways. Maybe even before, but her memories of her hundred years as an ordinary fox were fuzzy at best.

She had watched Yurimi practice with the naginata under Himeyuri's and Kotonoha's careful glance. She had watched Yuria wearing out rows of thick logs (and her fists) for days on end. She had enjoyed watching Yurisa and Chiyuri engage in complicated illusory battles; artistic clashes of illusion against illusion, with both fox-women struggling to pierce the other's veil on reality. She had watched Yurimi defeat Yuria in battle, years before the younger learned the Ghost Step, simply by using Yuria's superior strength against her…plus a well-placed illusion here and there. She had watched the fantastic clashes between Kotonoha and Himeyuri; katana versus naginata; the only way Kotonoha could defeat a Kitsune two tails stronger than her.

However, all these battles lacked something fundamental. It was obvious, but Sayuri never really thought about these things.

Much more recently; as recently as this afternoon, she watched Naruto fight Setsuna. A LOT.

It was sort of an eye opener. It made her sisters' training look like silly children's games. It was fast-paced. It was furious and chaotic. It was a blur of motion, of exchanged fists and kicks, of lightning and that fugly, fugly black fire. And, most important of all, it was painful.

Nobody in the shrine had ever gotten badly hurt in a fight. Lilies were not supposed to seriously harm each other.

Naruto had cried, screamed and cursed in pain and agony so many, many times. Sayuri, while disconnected from his pain receptors as he requested, squirmed and trembled within her jail every time Naruto received a nasty blow.

However, once it was over, Sayuri realized Naruto did not mind. He was not angry; in fact, he seemed grateful. Somehow, beyond all the pain, he was learning something from fighting Setsuna. Sayuri could tell how much he was looking forward to his next lecture.

Sayuri thought it was weird. How could anyone enjoy fighting, hurting others and being hurt?

Weird.

Then again, she did not understand many things about humans, and, if this was what her onii-chan wanted, Sayuri would help.

Anyway.

While at first it scared her, Sayuri eventually got used to Naruto fighting Setsuna. They were two weirdoes who liked fighting, so Sayuri guessed it was good.

There was absolutely nothing good about the fight taking place just now.

"Onii-chan…"

Why? Sayuri wondered.

Why did they have to fight?

Her dearest onii-chan and her favorite sister, why did they have to fight?

"Onii-chan…Yuria-nee-chan…"

Her dearest onii-chan, who saved her from the loneliness and monotony of her imprisonment.

"Onii-chan…"

Her favorite Yuria-nee-chan, who always had time to play with her.

"Yuria-nee-chan…"

Her onii-chan…he made her so happy…thinking about him, listening to him, feeling his rough hands on her tails and his nails gently scratching behind her ears…her happiness knew no end. It was an endless bliss ever since she met her onii-chan…

…except when he called her ugly. That was mean. That's why she burned him.

"Stop…"

Yuria-nee-chan always helped her put out her fires…or at least she tried.

She wasn't very good at it.

In the end they'd always have to wait for Kotonoha's water jutsu or the elder lilies' dispelling techniques. However, while everyone else scolded her and complained about her fire, Yuria would simply shrug and laugh at the whole thing.

Sayuri loved Yuria. For that reason, Sayuri always listened to her older sister when she said "you've burned enough."

…well, she listened most of the time. Sometimes the temptation was just too strong.

"Pwease…"

This is why Sayuri could not bear the sight of two of her favorite people fight. Sayoko was the third element of this trinity, between Yuria, who was well-cemented on the third place, and her new favorite person in the whole world, her onii-chan. Her mother was carefully placed fourth.

This wasn't a nice fight. It wasn't training. It wasn't learning. There was only violence and pain.

Yuria was in much pain. Her mother always stopped her spars with Yurimi before they could get truly violent; she deemed the difference between their skills obvious enough, not requiring any "serious" fighting from their part.

Naruto was beating her like nobody had done before. For the first time, physical pain was truly added to the wounds to her pride.

"Stop…" Sayuri whispered again, her tiny hands wiping loose tears.

* * *

"Well, I have to agree with you; you ARE weak," Naruto taunted the beyond-defeated three-tails.

"Uh-ugh…" Yuria could not articulate anything beyond garbled grunts and moans. What did she need to do for this nightmare to be over?

Yuria flinched when Naruto moved a step towards her, something Naruto did not fail to notice. "And now you're afraid of me."

This brought forth a reaction.

Afraid? She was afraid? Of a HUMAN?

Her eyes wide open could only stare at the grass and the base of trees a few meters away. However, those same eyes were not looking anywhere but within, at the core of the soul of one Higashiyama Yuria.

"_I am Higashiyama Yuria! The infinite greatness of the sky that reaches far beyond your grasp: that is my Crest!"_

"_I will become the next matriarch! I will show you how worthy I am!"_

"_I will become stronger…the strongest! The greatest! Where there is a will, there is a way! As long as I work hard, as long as I never stop, as long as I believe…"_

"The-there's no way…this Yuria…will cower before the likes of you…"

Naruto had to admit it: he was more than impressed.

Her bruised, battered form struggling to get back up, with fists clenched, shoulders shaking and gritted teeth, was awe-inspiring. He smiled at the sight of her eyes; those fiery eyes that declared a silent challenge.

"You…you're really…"

"What?" Yuria growled.

Naruto's cheeks brightened a bit, but he quickly shook the disturbance away. "No, nothing."

His face quickly regained its previous firmness and coldness.

"Yuria, if you have so much determination, so much drive…then why are you so weak?"

Yuria flinched at that last word. "I-I'm not…"

"I thought we had gotten past that stage."

"I-I train everyday! Harder than anyone else!" The three-tails argued, her voice almost pleading.

"Then it's obvious your training doesn't work!" Naruto insisted. "Your fists are strong! Your kicks are strong! Your tails are scary strong! But it's all worthless if you can't even touch me! You know nothing about fighting!"

Naruto's eyes shifted to the side, meeting Kotonoha's. When he sent the swordswoman a guilty wink, the four-tails had to stiffen a chuckle.

Even Naruto was not dense enough to not see the resemblance. The frustration, the sadness, the might, the willingness to move forward, the rebellious gaze, the fire in her eyes…

_This will work. We can make it work._

"Uuuh…" Yuria glowered under the weight of Naruto's accusing words. Did he think she didn't know that?

"Then what am I supposed to do?" The foxgirl cried.

"FIGHT!" Naruto shouted. "Fight until you find the answer!"

**STOP!**

"Uwagh!" Both human and Kitsune cried when the space between them ignited and exploded into a perfect sphere of hellish flames. With speed born of decades of practice, Kotonoha departed from her seated stance, catching Yuria in midair and preventing a particularly nasty impact with the ground. Naruto had some trouble, but he somehow managed to fall on both hands and feet without harm.

"Ugh…wha…" Yuria moaned.

**STOP! No moar! Fighting's bad! Onii-chan…and Yuria-nee-chan…fighting…is bad! Sayuri…Sayuri won't…Sayuri won't let you fight anymoar!**

Both Yuria and Kotonoha stiffened. A tree dangerously close to their present location had spontaneously combusted.

**Uh-uuuh…mugyuu…muu…onii-chan…stop it…uuuuh…mugyuu…**

Sighing, Naruto chose to sit down on the grass, stretching his tired arms and legs for good measure.

"Wha…wha?" Yuria muttered at the same time Kotonoha gently placed her back on solid ground. "Sayuri?"

"Hmm." Naruto nodded. "It seems even Sayuri can see how pointless this is, so we better stop. Wouldn't want her to burn us, right?" His glance shifted to his belly and the seal that contained her. "I don't want to make Sayuri cry anymore."

**Uuuh…mugyuu…onii-chan…**

"Po-pointless…" The short Kitsune growled; deaf to the rest of Naruto's words. The boy looked back up at her.

"Why do you fight?"

"Eh?" Yuria was taken by surprise by the sudden question.

"Why do you fight?" Naruto repeated. "You must have a reason; I know I do."

"We-well…" Yuria looked down for a second, as if thinking about it. "…well!" Crossing her arms in front of her bountiful chest in a well rehearsed gesture, she responded. "To become the next Matriarch, of course!"

Naruto chuckled. He felt weird, being on the other side of, well, that. It looked kinda silly, now that he thought about it.

"Why? Why do you want to become the Matriarch…whatever that means?"

"Well of course you wouldn't know!" Yuria snorted. "Higashiyama is one of the Twelve Great Kitsune Clans. The Matriarch of Higashiyama is one of the strongest and most respected Kitsune!"

"Hmm…I see."

Letting his body fall backwards, Naruto rested on the soft grass, his eyes fixated on the sky above them. Flickering wisps of flame from Yuria's bonfire (which the clone had apparently taken care of while they were gone) made random pirouettes in the air above his head.

"You know, I've been thinking about it…" He started. "We've been doing this the wrong way."

"Huh?"

"Really…there's no way I'll become Hokage if I'm not respected. I have to be acknowledged by everyone…before I get a chance to be Hokage."

"It's the same with you. It's not like becoming the Matriarch will suddenly make you worthy of respect. To be acknowledged and respected by all Kitsune…that will make you worthy of becoming the Matriarch."

Kotonoha nodded behind Yuria. That such a simple idea had eluded these two for so long…it was sad.

"I still want to become Hokage, though," Naruto added. "But it doesn't have to do with gaining respect anymore. I have an even more important reason now."

_Right, Haku?_

Turning his head to the right, Naruto's eyes met Yuria. She looked a bit lost, as if unsure of what to say about Naruto's latest declarations.

"Train with me."

"Eh?" Yuria blinked twice.

"Train with me." Naruto shrugged and rested his hands behind his head. "If whatever Kitsune training you were doing all this time doesn't work…"

"No, I wouldn't really call it 'Kitsune training'…" Kotonoha mumbled.

"…then let's see if ninja-training does the job." Naruto raised an eyebrow invitingly. "So, you up to it?"

It was not everyday Yuria received that kind of offer, so it took her some time to compute what she had just heard.

"Ninja…training…" It sounded so unbelievably awesome. Still, she felt nervous for some reason. "I…I don't know…"

"Oh come on, being shy doesn't suit you." Naruto chuckled at that. Well, it certainly did not suit him. "Or maybe the training humans do is too lowly for the great Yuria-sama?"

"Shu-shut up," a rather irate and embarrassed three-tails spat back.

"I think it's a wonderful idea," Kotonoha intervened, clasping her hands together. "Since you'll be spending a lot of time together from now on, it would be a nice way to get to know each other."

"You JUST had to put it like that, didn't you?" Yuria muttered at the bodyguard.

"I'd say I already know her plenty enough…" Naruto muttered to himself.

"You said something?"

"Not in the slightest," the blonde quickly responded to the shorter girl's bark. He noticed her approaching footsteps.

"Do I get to learn badass ninja techniques?"

"Hmm…" Naruto pretended to ponder the question. "I dunno…they might be too lowly for the likes of-oof!"

Yuria lifted her tail off Naruto's gut. "I said stop it already."

"O-Okay…" Naruto rubbed his stomach while he moved into a seated position. "Well, with that settled…Kotonoha? Could you do something for me?"

"Ara?"

* * *

**CHAPTER 12 - To be continued  
**


	15. Of Humans and Kitsune, Part Two

**Author's Note: **you...actually thought Naruto would take revenge on Yuria, or kill her like some of you suggested in your reviews? It just so happens that the protagonist is Uzumaki Naruto, and, well, he's nicer than you and me. Shippuden is the finest example of that. Too nice for his own good, that Naruto. So, yes: you might not forgive Yuria, but Naruto will. And Yuria's here to stay. Poor guy, his life is just one mess after another.

You see, idiotically nice and all, I like the guy. That's why I'm willing to write thousands and thousands of words about him. Then again, my Naruto is not precisely identical to canon Naruto-that one wouldn't know romance if it punched him on the face. My Naruto is actually surprisingly sensible. Let's blame Sayuri for that. If you are looking for a Naruto who takes no shit from anyone, well, there are plenty of stories like that in this website. They generally involve unnatural power growths, modifications of personality which border on brain-washing and mental disorders, and copious amounts of character bashing. They should be easy to find.

...damn, I'm an asshole (*chuckles*).

* * *

_**Naruto Genkyouien**_

_**- **__**ナルト**__**- **__**幻**__**脅**__**威宴**_

**Chapter Twelve: Of Humans and Kitsune (Part Two)  
**

**OR**

**The End of the Two's Long Night  
**

* * *

"ONII-CHAN! YURIA-NEE-CHAN! Waaaaaa-"

Yuria blinked a few times at the sight of the bright display of sparks released by Sayuri's contact with the seal. Naruto and Kotonoha sighed together.

"Mugyuu…"

"Let me guess." Yuria looked at her mate. "This happens every time?"

"I think I don't need to answer that question," Naruto mumbled. The Kitsune sighed and chuckled.

"Same old Bunny…"

"Huh?"

Yuria was the first to walk past the thick bars. Resting her weight on one knee, she gently ruffled her sister's hair. The lack of static was yet another proof that the seal's attack was not really electrical in nature.

"Hey there, little one. Haven't gone crazy with fire while you were on your own, have you?" Yuria greeted her long lost sister, her voice, to her surprise, cracking a bit.

Naruto sweatdropped. He really hoped Sayuri would not answer that question. Kotonoha's hand on his left shoulder was a comforting and welcome gesture. Was that her left boob on his right temple?

"Ah…Yuria-nee-chan…Yuria-nee-chan!"

The three-tails was a bit startled by the hug, but it was the sound of Sayuri's sobs that really got to her.

Seizing her sister in a crushing hug, Yuria allowed her own tears to wash Sayuri's hair.

"Sayuri…"

Naruto watched from a distance. It was melancholic in a way. This was what family was supposed to be about. It was good to know Yuria did understand and appreciate what she had.

"Family, huh…"

A strong, feminine hand pulled him to his right.

Yup, definitely her boob.

"Now, now, Naruto-sama, this is no time to get emo."

Naruto actually brought a hand to his heart. "I'd never-oh…"

There was no chance for further words. Caught in her warm embrace, with her hands enclosing him from behind and the back of his head resting on two wonderful pillows, Naruto did not stand a chance.

"Please do not forget, we are your family now, Naruto-sama. Sayuri-sama, Yurimi-sama, Yuria-sama, Kokoro-chan, and this Kotonoha."

A few steps away, Yuria and Sayuri, both with tearful faces, smiled at each other. Their shared joy was almost tangible.

Naruto felt her chin resting on the crown of his head. "Please allow me to be a tiny part of your happiness, Naruto-sama."

"Ah…"

He didn't stand a chance. Those words and that embrace held something he had experience only in his happiest, yet saddest dreams. The feel of the body that all but screamed "woman," together with her soft, amiable voice…

Naruto wondered if this is how it felt, having a mother.

"Eh?"

His body remained perfectly still, the better to maximize the feel of the single tear that had escaped the confines of his eye.

"Koto…no…"

"Oi, Kotonoha. Please don't pull any moves on my mate."

Still with Sayuri in her arms, Yuria was shooting suspicious glances at the two. Naruto quickly wiped away the tear before anybody noticed.

"Ahahaha~" Kotonoha laughed playfully. "I'd never do something like that, Yuria-sama." She said, patting her bag for good measure. "I think Naruto-sama triggers my motherly instinct."

Naruto blushed. Yuria raised an eyebrow.

"You HAVE motherly instinct?"

"Muu, I'm hurt, Yuria-sama."

"Right, right…" Yuria rolled her eyes.

"Why do you even care, anyway?" Naruto inquired as he walked closer to the sisters. Kotonoha's left arm remained wrapped around him.

Yuria narrowed her gaze. "Just because I claimed you on a whim doesn't mean I'm just gonna let anyone take what's mine. It's pride, Naruto, pride!"

"Huuh, whatever."

The little intermission allowed Sayuri to settle down a bit, as well as to remember the latest events.

"Ah, wight! Mou, Yuria-nee-chan!"

"Huh?" Yuria reacted at Sayuri grasping her kimono shirt with her tiny hand.

"Yuria-nee-chan was fighting onii-chan! Yuria-nee-chan no baka! Baka-baka-baka-baka-baka! Mugii!"

The other three could only watch in amusement how Sayuri's tiny fists drummed on Yuria's chest while the little foxgirl angrily pouted with the most adorable face.

"Mugyuu…I should burn you."

A moment of silence.

"Oi."

Twack.

"Ita-! Mugyuu…"

Yuria rubbed her knuckles against Sayuri's scalp. "Aren't you one cocky little Kitsune, huh? Huh?"

"Mugii! Yuria-nee-chan, stop it! Mugyuu…"

Naruto and Kotonoha watched as Sayuri futilely tried to sneak away from Yuria's playful bullying, only to entangle herself in a mess of golden tails.

"Yuria-sama has always been the sister Sayuri's been closest to, even more than her blood sister," Kotonoha explained.

"Onii-chan!"

Sayuri had managed to get away from Yuria, which was easily explainable by the fact that Yuria was on fire.

"Oniiiiiiiii-chan!"

"Oof!" Naruto quickly enclosed his arms around the little girl after she lunged at him, wrapping her fur-covered legs around his waist. His butt fell on the floor, allowing Sayuri to comfortably sit on his lap. Kotonoha hurried to put off the flames that covered Yuria.

"Onii-chan! Pet me!" The little goddess requested with bright and shiny eyes. Naruto was almost blinded by the cute. However, a promise was a promise, and this was the reason he had requested Kotonoha to bring him inside the seal, other than letting Yuria meet her sister, of course.

"Right, right…"

"Mugya!" Sayuri stiffened when she felt Naruto's left hand fall on one of her tails and the right hand reaching behind her left ear. Then he began scratching and caressing, and she forgot everything else. "Mu-nyaa…"

"Now I have seen everything," Yuria muttered at the sight of the mightiest of Kitsune turned a puddle of goo under Naruto's ministrations.

"Jealous?"

"Kotonoha, I order you to shut up."

The guardian stiffened a chuckle. "Hai hai, Yuria-sama."

Yuria ignored the swordswoman. "But, really, thirteen years and you haven't changed at all, Bunny."

Naruto actually felt Sayuri's fur bristle and her body tense up on his lap.

"Sayuri's not Bunny! Mugii!"

"Bunny?"

"Yuria-sama's pet name for Sayuri-sama," Kotonoha explained. "I think it's adorable."

"Sayuri's not Bunny!" The nine tails repeated.

"Why Bunny?"

"Mugiii! Onii-cha-ah-ah-munyaa…" Sayuri's irritation was easily dispelled by a few well-placed ear scratches.

"Haven't you seen her fox form?" Yuria asked while wearing an amused smirk. Naruto only shuddered.

"Uhh…" He dropped his head in defeat. That was one memory he'd rather not have. "Yeah…"

"Then you know why she's Bunny." Yuria seemed to be enjoying this conversation. She made her ears twitch to make her point. "See? Bunny-Foo-Foo!"

"Ah!" Naruto nodded. "I see, I see!" He scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, but at that time I was too busy staring at her evil, evil eyes."

Yuria chuckled. "Yeah, that happens."

Kotonoha sweatdropped. It was impressive how the simple act of Naruto pampering Sayuri was enough from preventing her from going into a pyro rampage after listening to their comments. Kotonoha assumed Sayuri probably was not even listening to them.

She was, though. Most fortunately, the pleasure Naruto was making her feel far overwhelmed any emotion their comments on her fox form could elicit.

"Mu-nyaa…onii-chan, faster…"

"Hai, hai…" Naruto complied, proceeding to focus on Sayuri and use faster strokes.

"Haaa…Sayuri, feels so good…"

"Ne, Kotonoha…" Yuria muttered so that only Kotonoha by her side would hear.

"What is it, Yuria-sama?" The four-tails leaned closer to keep the conversation private.

"Is there something wrong with me if I feel a little disturbed by this?"

"Not in the slightest."

Yuria mused for a few seconds. "…how about aroused?"

"…that I cannot answer, Yuria-sama."

Yuria and Kotonoha wordlessly watched Naruto's affectionate ministrations.

* * *

"Waaaa, Konoha! It's been so long…ah, I remember this place!"

"I'm cold…" Tenten moaned as she slowly walked the long trek towards her home, with the most unusual company. At the moment, the only think protecting her modesty was a very good Henge. Still, she could swear she had caught a few ANBU patrols staring.

In front of her, this weird…girl, acted way too much like a child, her fascinated gaze looking at anything and everything. She had won the little scuffle and was now wearing Tenten's clothes, and it was obvious they did not fit her. The pants were too short and the shirt looked like it was about to be ripped open by the blonde bombshell's far more prominent bust. She had tied her golden hair in two very long ponytails and, of course, hidden her tails.

"Nine tails…" Tenten muttered to herself. There was an odd taste in her mouth when she pronounced that. Could it be…?

They had walked in complete silence all this time; Tenten quietly studying this stranger, looking for anything that could give her any idea of what to do next. The ANBU had already noticed them, of course, but they did not seem to pay much attention to the blonde beauty, beyond noticing her enticing looks, further enhanced by her clothes several sizes too small.

Of course, they had not seen her tails.

"Wasn't it around here…?" The girl was reading the names of the different businesses. "Onii-chan comes around here to buy meat, I remember now!" Her poise seemed to falter for a moment. "Mugyuu, who destroyed this part again? Was it me?"

"Oi."

"Mugyuu?"

The girl's cute questioning look (with index finger on her lip for good measure) did not make Tenten falter. Her expression remained that of a hardened shinobi. Strangely, she was not scared, even if everything told her she should be.

"Are you…are you Kyuubi?"

The girl blinked once and replied with the loveliest smile. "Um! I'm Sayuri! I have nine tails! They are pretty!"

Wiggle, wiggle.

Tenten was frozen on the spot. "The Kyuubi…the Kyuubi? The Kyuubi which attacked Konoha thirteen years ago?"

Sayuri pouted. "Muuu, I was chasin' my-ah!" Her words were interrupted by a gasp.

Tenten blinked. "Wha…what?"

After two seconds of silence, Sayuri groaned and lashed her arms to the sides. "Aaah, mou! Sayuri screwed up!"

A poof of smoke marked the appearance of a folded piece of paper. "Mugyuu…Mayuri-chan's gonna get mad…"

Carefully, cautiously, Tenten approached the taller girl, who seemed intent on unfolding the piece of paper. She leaned close enough to read too, unconsciously reading out loud.

"Things you absolutely must not do."

"Number one: Don't. Burn. Anything. In capital, bold letters. And multiple underlines."

Sayuri had the decency to look embarrassed.

"Mugyuu…it's not like I still go around burning everything that strikes my fancy—SHINY RED FIRE TRUCK!"

"Truck…" Tenten sweatdropped. Sayuri was busy staring excitedly through the glass window of a toy store. The weapons mistress went back to reading the paper she had managed to seize when the foxgirl dropped it.

"Number Two: Do not kill anybody other than the intended target." Tenten's eyes narrowed. "You're here to kill someone."

"Number three, number three!" Sayuri replied, her eyes still on the toys beyond the glass. Tenten read the next bullet.

"Number Three: Do not reveal the name of the intended target to anyone but the Matriarch."

"Um! I'm going to burn a really creepy and bad guy!" Sayuri finally turned to her new friend. "I'm not going to do anything bad; Sayuri's a good girl!"

"Huh…" Then again, this was the Kyuubi from thirteen years ago…wasn't it supposed to be dead? And be huge and nasty and all that.

Tenten went back to reading. She guessed she could address her questions one at a time.

"Who's this Matriarch anyway?"

"Ah, that's Yuri-mama. Sayuri's mom; she's really beautiful! More than Sayuri!"

Not very modest, this Sayuri is.

"Uhh…your…mom…huh." Tenten did not know what to think. Kyuubi's mother. She had never really considered such a thing. "Ah…umm…uhh…number four."

"Do not reveal how far in the future you come from. In fact, restrain yourself from making any references to events in our timeline."

"Number Four-B: Don't reveal your current age."

"Sayuri's young and pretty." The Kitsune declared happily and proudly, finally turning away from the toy store.

"…right. Number Five: Do not mate and/or allow mating events outside the established timeline. I'd rather we keep the family tree the way it is right now. And the author's running out of Yuri-names." Tenten blinked. "The author?"

"Ah, ah, forget that, forget that!" Sayuri made a few, albeit desperate, dismissing gestures. "Next!"

"No, wait, you're not getting off that easily." Tenten firmly complained. "What's this about mating? Does it mean what I think it means?" She inquired, trying her best to ignore the creeping blush growing on her cheeks.

Sayuri nodded. "Um! It means I can't let things change in a way that would prevent Koyuri-chan and Yurin-chan from being born…" She brought her right index to her lips, thinking. "And I guess that should also include Kizuna-chan-GAH!" The nine-tails quickly covered her mouth. "Number four! Number four! Mugii!" Came out in a muffled voice.

Tenten looked oddly at the time-traveler. She had to be in presence of the weirdest (and probably clumsiest) woman/Kitsune/whatever in existence.

"Alright…Number Six: Do not reveal to anybody the means by which you got there."

Sayuri made a zipping motion on her lips. Tenten moved to the next point.

"Number Seven: Do not talk about your 'attack' on Konoha."

After a few seconds of silence, Tenten turned to Sayuri, who was already pouting.

"Mugyuu…Mayuri-chan's gonna get angry at me…she's scary when she's mad."

"I'll show you angry…" Tenten growled, and Sayuri seemed to drop to a further level of miserable.

"Mugyuu…"

Tenten sighed. Why did she get the feeling she would not sleep that night?

* * *

"Nee, Yuria," Naruto called. The group had been quiet for a while, the focus of attention being Naruto's hands that gently drove Sayuri to a world of absolute bliss.

"Hmm?"

"I've been wanting to ask…" He hesitated. Sayuri purred.

"That was a horrid grammar mistake, but whatever." Yuria lightly splashed her on the water that flooded the entire seal-realm. Seriously, what was all this water doing there? "Ask away."

"You…don't you feel sorry for Yurimi?"

Their eyes met, and Naruto saw in those carnelian gems a melancholy that deeply contrasted with the rest of her looks and her relaxed posture, seated on the floor as she was (just like everyone else).

Kotonoha was elegantly seated exactly two steps behind Yuria and one to the left, but Naruto preferred not to look at her. She had decided to take out Makoto-kun, which now rested on her lap, with her hands holding it by the temples with almost-touching gentleness.

It was all kinds of creepy.

"Naruto."

He had seen Yuria feeling angry, mirthful, playful, joyful and frustrated so far. It was the first time he saw such a serious expression on her face. It was not the look of determination he had admired when she refused to give in to his taunts and his beating; it was a look that let him know they were about to discuss something important.

"Even if Yurimi's current feelings are real, which is something I can't confirm just yet, just how long do you think those feelings will last?"

Naruto was stunned by the sudden question, eliciting a whiny moan from the nine-tails curled up on his lap. He quickly resuming his strokes, but no words came out of his mouth.

Even as Naruto dropped his head in reflection, Yuria continued.

"It comes again to you being human and Yurimi being Kitsune. Think about it: in forty years you'll probably be dead."

Naruto winced.

"Yurimi? She won't even have her third tail yet."

"You get it now, Naruto? A single human is too short-lived to catch our interest for long. And I'll be the first to admit Kitsune tend to have rather short attention spans." She looked at her younger sister, resting blissfully on Naruto's lap. "Even Sayuri's attachment to you won't last long. Forty years? Try twenty, if you manage to live that long. Kitsune rarely are interested in humans past their prime."

"This isn't a sappy love story. Humans and Kitsune are not meant to live happily together forever after. Things tend to go wrong: insecurities, jealousy and heated desires take over…and things like that happen. Things not meant to happen."

The two looked at Kotonoha.

"Aaaaaaaand who is it?" Kotonoha gleefully called for her "love" at the same time she covered the skull's empty eye sockets with her hands; her beautiful, long hair draping down on the barren bone.

A plutonic silence permeated the cage, disrupted only by Sayuri's occasional purrs and moans.

"…Kotonoha."

The guardian raised her head. "Yes, Naruto-sama?"

"…he doesn't have eyes."

"It's all part of the challenge," The busty Kitsune explained, leading to yet another uncomfortable silence.

Wearing a distant, sagely look, Yuria shook her head as she turned back to Naruto. "Not meant to happen."

Naruto had to take about a minute of his life to let those previous moments fade into the darkest recesses of his memories. Only then he did move back on topic.

"Just why are you telling me this?" Naruto inquired, looking serious but, strangely enough, not particularly troubled after Yuria's spiel.

The three-tails shrugged. "I guess I'm trying to say that this whole deal isn't really as important as you think."

Naruto's glance sharpened. "Who are you to say that?"

Yuria stiffened a bit. There was it again, that dangerous edge to Naruto's voice. The first time she heard it, it had led to a rather nasty beatdown. She'd rather avoid that.

"I don't know about the future. Honestly, I don't care. But, really, if you tell me that Yurimi's going to stay with me for twenty years, twenty years of friendship, loyalty and companionship…damn, I think I'd be thrilled."

Kotonoha stopped her love-love games to set her eyes on Naruto. That was the lonely orphan speaking; the boy who desperately clung to whatever bond he could forge.

Naruto looked down, at his lovely tenant. "I know Sayuri won't be with me forever. Heck, nobody wants her free from this seal more than I do. But, until that happens, we should try to enjoy our time together, right?" He gently traced the edge of Sayuri's ears, making them twitch in response. "I mean, she was alone in this place for almost thirteen years…"

He looked back at Yuria. "I know nothing about the future. What I know is that Yurimi is important to me. And I want to believe I'm important to her, right NOW."

Then, he pouted. "You're just dodging my question."

Yuria shot the blond a tired look. "Sheesh, it's so hard to talk with you…too damn pushy."

"Right back at you," two voices said at the same time. Kotonoha and Naruto shared a look and a few chuckles, making Yuria roll her eyes.

"What Naruto-sama should realize," Kotonoha pointed out. "…is that it is not unusual for siblings to have these sort of conflicts. It is not rare for a sibling to try to take something the other has, or for siblings to try to one-up each other. Most unfortunately, family circumstances have led Yuria-sama to taking this competition to a rather…complicated level."

"I'd love it if you didn't talk as if I weren't here."

"I did no such thing." Kotonoha's face was pure mock-hurt.

Naruto sighed and made a rather bitter-looking smile. "I guess it would be better if I actually had an idea of this whole 'claiming' thing you pulled off."

Yuria blinked. "Hmm…yeah, that's actually true."

"Naruto-sama certainly deserves to know the details, Yuria-sama."

The shorter Kitsune crossed her arms on her chest and nodded. "Um, true, true…but I'm not really good at explaining things…that's more Yurisa's thing."

"If you do not mind, I would be elated to properly explain the Higashiyama Claiming Ritual to Naruto-sama," Kotonoha offered, together with a delighted smile.

"Really?" Yuria looked quite pleased. "Great! Go ahead, Kotonoha."

The swordswoman's face brightened considerably, at the same time her smile reached dangerous extents. "Wonderful! This will be most interesting…ufufufu…"

"Wow." Yuria's shoulders slumped down dejectedly. All of a sudden she had a worried expression. "She hasn't done anything and I'm already regretting it."

* * *

"Okay, let me get this straight."

Seated across from each other on Tenten's bed, the kunoichi and the fox demigoddess got acquainted with each other. Tenten had changed to pajamas. Sayuri had gotten rid of Tenten's clothes.

By burning them.

Nine large, fluffy golden tails swayed from side to side in an almost hypnotic manner.

"Your name's Sayuri."

"Higashiyama Sayuri, um!" She nodded eagerly.

"You're the nine-tailed fox."

"Yup, I got nine tails! They're pretty!"

Wiggle, wiggle.

"And you came from the future."

"Yup! I come from sometime in the future…ah." Sayuri smiled sweetly. "Number four."

"…right." Tenten closed her eyes for a moment. She had to order the avalanche of questions flooding her head. "Aren't you supposed to be dead?"

"Eh?" The nine-tails tilted her head cutely. "Bu-but, Sayuri can't be dead, 'coz if Sayuri were dead then she wouldn't be alive, and if Sayuri weren't alive she wouldn't be here…and Sayuri would have never met onii-chan and onii-chan would have never met Sayuri's family and Mayuri-chan would have never—mugii! Number four! NUMBER FOUR!" Sayuri shook her head until she was dizzy. "Mugyuu…so, Sayuri's alive."

Tenten rubbed her temples. "Uuugh…I meant…I thought the Fourth Hokage killed you thirteen years ago."

"Ah? No! No! Sayuri was sealed inside onii-chan by Shinigami-sama and onii-chan's papa!" She paused. "Oh, but onii-chan's papa is…mugyuu…I'm confused—gah! NUMBER SEVEN!" Sayuri made and adorable pout. "Mugyuu…Panpan-chan, you meanie…"

"It's Tenten," The kunoichi corrected coldly. Annoyed as she was, the information she had just received was much more important. The Kyuubi had not been killed, but sealed inside…

"The Fourth's…child?"

As far as she knew the Yondaime had not left any offspring. Something like that should be common knowledge. "Just how many people know about this…"

She guessed the Hokage at least had to know. Besides the village leader, who else could be privy to this huge secret?

Tenten looked at her companion. "Sayuri…um…san. Is that okay? Sayuri-san?"

Sayuri shrugged.

"Alright, Sayuri-san…who is this 'onii-chan'?"

The Kitsune's face brightened into the most wonderful of smiles, and Tenten realized they had reached Sayuri's favorite topic of conversation.

"Ah! Onii-chan! Onii-chan is Sayuri's onii-chan! Sayuri loves onii-chan very very very very, veeeeeery much! Onii-chan is Sayuri's favorite person, 'cause onii-chan's nice, and strong, and kind, and when onii-chan touches Sayuri, Sayuri feels gooooooood…" The nine-tails wiped a bit of drool off the side of her mouth. "Onii-chan…onii-chan makes Sayuri so ha-ppy…"

"Uh…umm…that's…good to know." Tenten was slightly disturbed by the passion in the Kitsune's words, but she also couldn't shake the blush off her cheeks. "This…he's a human, right? The Fourth's son."

"Um! Onii-chan's human…" Sayuri seemed to think about that for a moment. "Well, I guess he WAS human…" She scratched her head. "…that's confusing…but it doesn't matter! Onii-chan's onii-chan! Sayuri's onii-chan! And Sayuri loves onii-chan the most, that's why onii-chan's Sayuri's husband!"

Tenten was absolutely sure no person should ever have to hear the word "onii-chan" so many times in a row.

"Wait, husband?"

"Um! Husband-onii-chan! Onii-danna!" Another pause. "Well, Sayuri didn't really do the claiming, but Sayuri doesn't really care about that; Sayuri can be with onii-chan whenever she wants! Being a nine-tails is the best! So onii-chan is Sayuri's husband!"

Sayuri clasped her hands together, making a rather loud sound.

"So, Sayuri has to meet onii-chan! And the younger Sayuri! And Yuri-mama, too! Sayuri has an important mission!"

"I…see…I think." Still, Sayuri had not answered the critical question. "You say you can find this 'onii-chan'? He's here, in Konoha?"

"Um!" Sayuri nodded. "Where else could he be?" She blinked. "Wait, Sayuri came to the right time, right? Before the festival and the tournament thingy? Onii-chan hasn't fought the Hyuuga boy yet, right? Nee, Tonton-chan?"

Tenten, however, was completely disconnected from reality. Her mind was sharp enough to connect the dots. The "tournament thingy" could only be the Chuunin Exam finals. Only one of the finalists could bear a resemblance to the Fourth. Neji's opponent.

"Na…Naruto…"

"Mugyuu? Onii-chan?" Sayuri's eyes widened in alarm. She did not like the look on Tenten's face. "Something happened to onii-chan? Did the timeline already change?" She grabbed Tenten's shoulders, but the girl did not react. "Ne, don't tell Sayuri she screwed up already! Sayuri hasn't done anything yet!" She began shaking Tenten. "Nee, tell me!"

"Naruto…Yondaime's…son…"

"Nee, listen to me!"

"…the Kyuubi's…husband…" Tenten's eyes were lost in mental images only she could see.

"Mugyuu…Bunbun-chan…tell me!" Sayuri whined pathetically.

"Heheh…heheheheh…" a broken kunoichi chuckled rather disturbingly.

* * *

Kotonoha had been about to initiate her explanation when the perking of two ears caught the attention of two Kitsune and a human.

Sayuri, who, until just a moment before was seemingly a prisoner of pleasure, completely disconnected from the reality surrounding her, suddenly became a little furry bundle of activity.

"Hmm? Hmm?" With unsettling speed, the little nine-tails uncurled herself and shifted to a seated position on Naruto's lap, all the while looking up at the blonde Genin with a sunny smile.

"Ne? Ne? Onii-chan?"

There was something mildly unsettling in the way she wagged her tails. This sudden burst of activity spelled nothing good.

"Umm…what…what is it, Sayuri?"

"You're gonna talk about mating, right? Right?" She looked quite excited by the prospect. "Sayuri doesn't know about mating! Sayuri will listen, too!"

There was a heavy, uncomfortable silence. Yuria could swear she heard crows cawing somewhere.

"Uhh…this is uncomfortable."

Sayuri pouted. "Sayuri's not uncomfortable."

"I didn't mean you, Sayuri," Naruto quickly clarified, scratching her left ear for good measure.

"Oh my," Kotonoha muttered. She did not think it appropriate to discuss these things with a Kitsune who hadn't even had "The Talk." However, should Sayuri state it as an order…

"Umm…Sayuri…" A very uncomfortable Naruto began. "I don't think you're ready to know about this stuff…"

"But Sayuri wants to know!" The foxgirl insisted. "Sayuri has to know evwything about mating for when Sayuri mates with onii-chan!"

Naruto froze.

"Oh MY." That was Kotonoha.

"Pfft!" Yuria had to clasp her hands on her mouth to stop herself. This was beyond precious.

Naruto just wanted to die on the spot. He suddenly didn't like the idea of the little naked foxgirl clinging to him that much.

"Sayuri, well…I…I'm happy you feel this way…kinda…well…umm…sheesh…" He shot heated looks at the two females in front of him. "Help me out you two!"

"But you're doing such a wonderful job, Naruto-sama…" Kotonoha gracefully hid her mirth with the side of her kimono sleeve.

"You go, bro," a smirking Yuria added; using for the second time what would become one of her two endearing terms for Naruto.

"I hate you two."

Kotonoha gasped. "Oh! Naruto-sama, you hurt me so!" She hugged her beloved skull. "Makoto-kun, I'm in desperate need of your succor."

Naruto groaned. Sayuri was eagerly waiting for her lesson on mating. Yuria chuckled and shook her head.

"Damn, you're good, Kotonoha." Looking at Naruto, she offered him a sweet smile. "Check this out. Hey, Bunny."

"I'm not Bunny!"

"Yeah sure, whatever." Yuria chuckled. "Anyway, what's that behind you?"

"Eh?" Sayuri blinked. "Behind Sayuri? I don't see any—TAILS!"

The three followed Sayuri as she rolled her way all over the cage, fruitlessly trying to catch her many twitchy tails with her tiny mouth. Eventually, she disappeared within the darkness deep within.

"Whoa," Naruto muttered. "She's gone. How big is this place anyway?"

"Hmm." Yuria nodded to herself, satisfied. "Good to see it still works."

"That was…interesting," Kotonoha commented. Yuria nodded proudly one more time.

"It's the best way to distract her, you see. I'm the only one who has figured it out; that's why I could stop her pyro rampages so easily. Ah, good times." Yuria truly seemed to be enjoying whatever memories she was replaying. "I remember, just before she got caught, I told her that watching her chase her tails in Giant Form would be the most awesome thing ever, but then she…" Yuria's smile gradually faded as she came to terms with what she had just said. "…uh-oh."

"Oh dear." Kotonoha covered her mouth with her right hand.

Naruto, whose jaw was about to dislocate, was pointing at the short three-tails with a trembling finger.

"It…it…"

"Oh crud."

"**IT WAS YOU!**"

"Gah! So lou—gyaaah! Get off me! GET! OFF! ME! OW! MY TAILS! STOP PULLING MY TAILS!"

"SHUT UP! It's your fault we're in this mess! I'm gonna shove those tails of yours up your ass!"

"What a horrible mental image, Naruto-sama…" Kotonoha mumbled, as she watched the human and the foxgirl wrestle. Yuria had managed to wrap a tail around Naruto's neck.

"Ack! Ack! You! Little! Pain in the ass!" A choking Naruto reached with his free hand for whatever part of Yuria he could grab.

"Kyah!"

The battle stopped right there. Yuria's cry had been unusually high-pitched. Unfortunately for Naruto, the three-tails wasn't up for a truce.

"GACK! Can't…breathe…"

"MY BOOB! YOU SQUEEZED MY FUCKING BOOB! IT FUCKING **HURT**! YOU DID THAT ON PURPOSE, DIDN'T YA?"

A fist descended upon the crown of Yuria's head. With that, Naruto was free.

"MAYBE!" The young ninja proclaimed proudly. Then he tackled Yuria.

"Ge-hogh!" A blob of saliva escaped Yuria's mouth when the whole weight of Naruto impacted her stomach. A second later, they were a mess of limbs and tails on the floor once again.

"Get off me you PSYCHO!"

"SHUT UP! Spanking worked on Setsuna, maybe it will work on YOU!"

The battle came to a halt once more, this time Yuria being the one stunned on the spot.

"What…the fuck?"

Naruto looked down at Yuria, who looked half-scared, half-utterly grossed out. He blinked. Then he replayed the last five seconds in his mind. Then he blinked again.

"Oh crap, I said that out loud, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did, Naruto-sama." Kotonoha's playful voice reached Naruto's ears. For once, the busty swords-mistress was making absolutely no effort to hide her amusement.

"Uhh…" All of Naruto's blood was rapidly gathering in his face. "Uhh…you didn't hear anything!"

"Sure we didn't, you perv," Yuria mumbled under him.

"Wha-I'm not!" Naruto cried almost desperately. He then decided to channel this embarrassment and turn it into anger. "SHUT UP!"

"You shut up, you immoral animal!" Yuria retorted. "Ero-ninja!"

"Gah!" Naruto actually felt an acute pain in his chest. His embarrassment was reaching critical levels, leading to the activations of his tsundere protocols. "I-I-I-I'm NOT!" He claimed. "And in any case I wouldn't be interested in the likes of YOU!"

"Oh, pu-LEASE!" Yuria spat back. "This is nothing but a big excuse for you to GROPE MY BOOBS! You LOVE them and you KNOW it!"

"I do NOT!"

Despite his words, Naruto found himself shifting his eyes a bit under Yuria's face. The recent struggles have somehow loosened her clothes enough to give a teasingly delicious hint of the glorious cleavage Naruto knew Yuria possessed.

A glint of Yuria's eye made Naruto force his eyes away from the visual delight.

"Perv." Yuria's quiet tone was almost triumphant. So was her smirk. Naruto developed a shade of red Hinata was still not privy to.

"I-I-I'M NOT A PERV!" He suddenly was struck by a thought. "Kotonoha's are bigger, and you don't see me trying to grope hers!"

"Oh my." The four-tails actually blushed a little after that. She covered the skull's external acoustic meatus. "I'm pretty sure he's joking, Makoto-kun, no need to get defensive."

After shooting an odd look at the other woman, Yuria presented her counterpoint. "Of course not even you are as stupid as to do that! We both know Kotonoha's nuts!"

"Hey!" Despite the complaint, Kotonoha did not seem particularly insulted by Yuria's words.

"Grrr…" The boy's glance narrowed, his eyes showing his thirst for payback. "I'll get you for this!"

"Gyah!" Yuria cried when she realized Naruto was trying to grapple her. "Stop! Kyaaah! Kotonoha! Help me! I'm gonna get raped!"

"OH SHUT UP!"

Kotonoha seemed quite content with just watching. "My, they're such good friends already. Yuri-sama will be so glad, ufufufufu…"

* * *

"Ahem." Kotonoha cleared her throat. "Umm…Naruto-sama."

"Yes? Hurry up with the explanation before Sayuri returns."

The pichi-pachi of Sayuri's frantic tail-chasing could still be heard somewhere within the darkness.

"Umm…is it really alright to leave Yuria-sama like that?"

Naruto shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

"You hogtied her with her own tails."

"That I did."

"And you used the cloth of your headband as a gag."

"Mmmmph! MMMMMGHH!"

"Yup." Naruto smiled in satisfaction as the muffled sound of Yuria's calls filled his ears. "It's like music to my ears…or ramen to my mouth."

"Isn't that cloth rather, you know…dirty?"

"And sweaty. VERY sweaty." Naruto chuckled.

"BWLBMMMBPHLEGH!"

"See, now you're just saying random letters put together," Naruto said to the rather-green-in-the-face Yuria. He turned to the bodyguard. "Kotonoha, please."

Shooting an apologetic look at the other Kitsune, Kotonoha did as told. "Very well, the Higashiyama Claiming Ritual."

"It's basically a mechanism to prevent internal clan conflicts. Apparently, in the past, cases of two or even more clan members going after the same male were not uncommon. These kinds of situations among Kitsune can easily lead to conflict and violence. To prevent the clan from falling apart due to the libido of its females, Yuri-sama's grandmother devised the claiming rules. At least this is what I was told by Yuri-sama herself."

"In its simplest form, it can be described as a formalized version of 'First Come, First Serve.' The first female to declare her intention to make a particular male her mate gets dibs on him. This is what happened tonight: Yuria-sama staked her claim before Yurimi-sama, therefore she gets to have you. As simple as that."

"Now, these claiming rules belong exclusively to the Higashiyama Clan. They don't stop any other Kitsune from attempting to seduce the claimed male. This is where the other benefit of the claiming shows up. If the claiming Kitsune is forced to compete with another Kitsune for a mate she claimed before the clan, the clan is promise-bound to aid the claiming Kitsune in any way possible."

"What if the other person is a human?"

Kotonoha's face was almost condescending. "A Kitsune should not have any trouble dealing with a pesky human."

The smile on her face as she patted the leather bag by her side was quite unsettling.

"Mmmmmmm…" Yuria moaned.

"Now, the claiming is easy to settle if only the Kitsune making the claim has an interest on the male being claimed. Of course, if another clan member wants the male for herself she can dispute the claim. In these cases, it's the Matriarch who decides who gets the mate. This is what happened this time. Yuri-sama decided Yuria-sama could take Naruto-sama as her mate instead of Yurimi-sama."

"Why would she do that?" Naruto reached the root of the problem. "Yuria doesn't even want me; she just did this to get at Yurimi!"

"Um-um-um-um-OW!"

Naruto pulled away the arm he had used to smack Yuria's head. "You stop chuckling behind the gag!"

Kotonoha held back a chuckle of her own. "Exactly. This is the very reason Yuria-sama's actions are so worthy of praise…" Naruto did not precisely look proud. "…from a Kitsune point of view, of course."

"Yuria-sama made her claim with the absolute, 100% certainty that, no matter whether Yurimi or anyone else disputed the claim, Matriarch Yuri-sama would approve of it."

Yuria nodded.

"Why?" Naruto insisted.

"Well…" Kotonoha paused for a moment. She needed to think her next sentences thoroughly… "Ah, who am I kidding? It's because Yuria-sama's an undesirable Kitsune."

"Urk."

Yuria had finally realized why Kotonoha had been so eager to explain this.

"Eh?" Naruto uttered.

"Yuria-sama is already two hundred and eighteen years old, Naruto-sama. At her age, for Yuria-sama not to have mated yet at least once is nothing short of outrageous. This is not only due to Yuria-sama's own reluctance to mate, but because she is not deemed attractive within the standards expected from a Higashiyama female."

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?"

"She's too short."

"Urk."

"Minuscule."

"Urk."

"Depressingly tiny."

"Blerk."

"A chibi who would make any male uncomfortable."

"Ugh…"

Naruto calmly removed the arrows that appeared out of nowhere to strike Yuria's hogtied body. Yuria made a solemn oath to the heavens to get Kotonoha for that, one day.

"For the past sixty or so years, every male Yuri-sama has presented Yuria-sama to has rejected her. Then Yuria-sama, too, rejects them, obviously as some sort of denial mechanism."

Yuria was foaming by this point. Naruto was quietly absorbing the info.

"At this point you could say Yuri-sama is desperate. Like it is to all animals and youkai, reproduction and perpetuation of the species is important to us Kitsune. Therefore, a Kitsune like Yuria-sama who just won't mate, for one reason or another, is basically a failure."

If looks could kill, Kotonoha would have joined the afterlife a while ago already.

"Yuria-sama, for the first time tonight, showed a willingness to mate and selected a male on her own. There was absolutely no way Yuri-sama would have wasted this unique opportunity. On the other side, there are other families which have already shown an interest in presenting their own males before Yurimi-sama, who hasn't even undergone full maturity. It will be easy for Yurimi-sama to find a mate in a few years, when her body's ready for offspring."

"It's not hard to understand why Yuri-sama did what she did, approving Yuria-sama's claim."

"Hmm…" Naruto nodded; his head low in meditation. Kotonoha was intrigued by this most unusual expression on the boy's face. It certainly added a few years to his otherwise childish appearance. "Question time."

"Please ask away."

"Well, even if Yuria and I…well…had children…would they really be Kitsune?"

Naruto couldn't believe he was having this conversation. Even Yuria was shooting him odd looks now.

"Good question," Kotonoha admitted. "No, they would only be half-Kitsune. Then again, Yuri-sama does not really expect Yuria-sama to have children just yet. She only wants Yuria-sama to have the first sexual experience she so desperately needs."

"Haaa…umm…I…I see…" Naruto noted, his cheeks flushing to impossible levels. Shyly, his eyes glanced to the side, only to look away when he noticed Yuria was returning the glance with a similar blush on her face.

Kotonoha thought it was the most adorable thing she had ever seen.

"Bu-bu-but, ANYWAY!" Naruto continued. "I mean, Yuria just did this to get at Yurimi, right? She could just dismiss the claim now that she's got what she wants!"

At this, Yuria nodded eagerly…until she noticed the blatantly **carnivorous** smile Kotonoha was wearing. A heavy weight was dropped to the pit of her stomach. Now THAT couldn't mean anything good.

"Well, Naruto-sama…" the positively gleeful four-tails began. "…what you must know is that there's an additional clause in the Clan's Claiming Laws, precisely to prevent such things from happening…"

Kotonoha's smile only became wider when she noticed the growing look of alarm on Yuria's face, followed by the bound foxgirl to groan and bang her head against the floor. Repeatedly.

"…which, as both Yuri-sama and I suspected, Yuria-sama had forgotten until just now." A mild chuckle. "Ufufufu…Yuria-sama, did you really think you could outwit your honorable mother so easily?"

A trail of formless sounds leaked through the cloth-gag, all of them throw at the swordswoman.

"Now, now, such language is unbecoming from a lily of Higashiyama."

"Alright, now's when you tell me what the hell's going on…" Naruto muttered. His danger sense was telling him he was not going to like this.

"Mmmmfffmmmph!" Yuria…well, pleaded, desperately shaking her head and shooting wide-eyed glances at Kotonoha. Her cheeks, which had been wearing a prominent blush, were now as pale as Yurimi's.

"Yuria-sama, you kindly asked me to explain your clan's rules to Naruto-sama here; what kind of servant would I be if I withheld such important information at this point?"

"Bifth."

"What Yuria-sama forgot to take into account, Naruto-sama…" Kotonoha explained. "…is that Higashiyama law clearly states that the claimant and the claimed must mate at least once before the claim can be dismissed."

The four-tails' smile was saccharine sweet.

"Which means, Naruto-sama, that, unless Yuria-sama intends to remain chaste her entire life, Naruto-sama WILL be Yuria-sama's first."

The heavy silence that invaded the room was broken only by the distant splashes that could still be heard from deep within the cage. Sayuri was still busy chasing her tails, apparently.

Kotonoha calmly returned Naruto's flat stare with a lovely smile.

Yuria gasped in relief when Naruto's left hand reached for the cloth that rendered her unable of proper speech and relieved her of it.

"Haaa…thank Inari…"

Crack.

The relief was short-lived. Looking up (as her arms and legs were still bound by her own tails –how the hell did he pull that off, anyway? –), she realized the sound came from Naruto's knuckles.

"Umm…so…yeah, we're screwed. Didn't really think this through, did I?"

"No." Naruto's voice was icy cold. He still was not looking at Yuria. "No, you did not."

"Ehehehe…" Yuria sweatdropped. "…yeah. My bad. I'm sorry, really…so…no hard feelings?"

Crack.

Yuria shuddered. "Eh…ehehe…umm…I'll let you grope my boobs again?"

"SHUT UP!"

"Gyaaaa!"

"YOUR ASS IS MINE!" Naruto's last words before he lunged at her.

"In more than one way, Naruto-sama," Kotonoha duly noted.

* * *

About half an hour later, the trio reached Naruto's apartment. It took only a few minutes for Naruto to utterly and thoroughly kick Yuria's ass. Surprisingly quick, Kotonoha noted.

She had expected him to have a lot of pent up anger to release.

It became clear that he was not done relieving himself when, with a subdued tone and attitude, he declared they were going home for the day. After a few minutes of finding Sayuri, untangling her out of the mess she had made of herself with her own tails and promising her there would be further petting the next day, Kotonoha brought Naruto and Yuria out of the seal. After that, Naruto had wordlessly led the way home.

Kotonoha was obliged to carry Yuria. Naruto had turned her into one whole, swollen mess.

Once they arrived, the first thing that came to notice was Ayame's absence. While this worried Naruto somewhat, Kotonoha quickly dismissed his preoccupation.

"My sister can take care of herself."

After that, Naruto could not help but notice Yuria looking all over the place.

"What?" Naruto sounded rather annoyed. "Is it too ugly for Yuria-sama?"

Yuria avoided Naruto's rancorous eyes. "Actually, it's…it has something…" She looked all around but in Naruto's direction. "…I don't know how to say it. It's…homely?"

"What Yuria-sama is trying to say, Naruto-sama…" Kotonoha interjected. "…is that, if she lived on her own, her home would look a lot like this one." She paused. "Only messier, of course, since my sister cleaned it for you."

"Do you always have to put things in the worst way possible, Kotonoha?"

"This Kotonoha does nothing but her very best every day, Yuria-sama."

Yuria groaned and buried her face on the four-tails left shoulder.

"…whatever," the only male in the room blurted out.

The two Kitsune followed the boy with their eyes only. He sat on the couch and immediately buried his face in his hands, releasing a long sigh in the process.

Once it became clear that he would not say anything else and that he was just tired, Kotonoha took Yuria to the single bedroom in the residence.

"This is…?" Yuria inquired as she was placed on the bed.

"The only bed in this apartment, Yuria-sama."

There was a silent exchange as the two stared at each other. In the end, Yuria sighed and relaxed on the old mattress.

"Why are the legs broken?"

"If I am not mistaken, because of Yurimi-sama."

"Yurimi? But Naruto's probably heavier than…oh. OH."

"Indeed." Kotonoha's single comment on Yuria's quickly reddening face.

"Damn she's bold."

A whole minute passed before one of them opened her mouth again.

"I screwed up, didn't I?"

Kotonoha offered a gentle smile. "All over this wide world, hundreds–no, thousands of humans have been used, abused and manipulated by youkai." Then she guiltily looked away. "Of course, most youkai who do that are mighty enough not to fear retaliation."

"Ugh."

"And even then most try to keep their identity incognito to prevent such retaliation."

"Ugh."

"And youkai tend to be smart and thorough enough to make sure their mischief does not come back to bite them later."

"Ok, ok, I got it!" Yuria groaned, defeated.

"In any case, my point is that Yuria-sama has not done anything unusual. It's what youkai do. It's the way things are. Yuria-sama could have done it better, true, but I guess you had to start somewhere."

"Really…" Yuria said, almost in a whisper. "…then…then why do I feel so bad? Why does it hurt? Here." She placed her right hand on the left side of her chest.

"Well, he actually punched your left breast, Yuria-sama."

"That's not what I meant," Yuria flatly corrected.

"Of course not. Well…as for your question…I think…I think Yuria-sama already knows the answer."

"Hmm…" The tired, beaten three-tails closed her eyes, replaying the eventful night in her mind.

"Naruto…he's a good person."

Kotonoha smiled and nodded. "That he is."

"He could have killed me."

"Well, I would have stopped him," Kotonoha admitted. "But I understand Yuria-sama's point. His retaliation is in no way proportional to the suffering you and the clan as a whole have caused him. Naruto-sama…he has an unbelievable capacity to accept others."

After half a minute or so of silence, Kotonoha, who had been seated on the edge of the bed this whole time, finally decided to stand up. That was when Yuria spoke yet again.

"I think…I think I might understand why Yurimi's interested in him…just a little."

Kotonoha released a tiny, almost unnoticeable chuckle. "It's a start. Now, I believe Naruto-sama and I still need to discuss a few things, so, if you excuse me…"

"Kotonoha."

"Yes?"

"Could you…could you tell him I'm sorry?"

Kotonoha immediately shook her head. "Apologies should not be given by proxy, Yuria-sama."

Yuria's hopeful gaze became bitter, and she quickly turned her head away from Kotonoha, who stared at the smaller girl's back for a few seconds before walking over to the door.

She managed to hear the first sob before closing the door.

* * *

Naruto was waiting on his two feet, standing on the very middle of the living room.

"Come," he said. He was halfway to the main entrance when a dull sound behind him drew his attention.

Kotonoha had placed her bag on the sofa. It was the very first time Naruto had seen her let go of the thing, save for when they sparred.

"There's no point in Makoto-kun to come, is there? I don't want to disturb his rest."

Naruto stared at the beautiful woman for a while, unsure of what to say. "Uhh…okay."

A few minutes later the two were on the rooftop of the apartment building that housed Naruto (and now Yuria).

"May I ask why we have come to this place?" Kotonoha inquired as she wove an illusion to prevent discovery by ANBU patrols. It was obvious Naruto had not considered the possibility.

"I don't want her to overhear," Naruto quickly answered, obviously referring to Yuria. "Or Ayame-nee-chan when she comes back." His tense expression softened slightly. "And I happen to like the view."

"Sayuri-sama?"

"Disconnected."

Kotonoha joined Naruto by the edge of the building. There was, of course, a tall fence preventing any stupid accidents. Beyond the mesh, an ample view of the Konoha landscape extended before their eyes.

"'You left the bedroom door open on purpose," Naruto declared.

"How careless of me." Kotonoha "scolded" herself with a smile.

Naruto snorted; a failed attempt and concealing his amusement. He thought Kotonoha had the oddest sense of humor. Frighteningly enough, he was starting to get it, and even enjoy it.

"So…" he began. "…I have no say in any of this?"

"The Higashiyama Claiming Rules bind only the females of the Higashiyama Clan. Since, generally, the claimant has seduced the male before the claiming itself is done; acceptance from the male is normally not a problem."

Her eyes moved from the scenery in front of her to the boy by her side. "Yuria-sama's done it backwards. Now she needs to mate with you if she wants to break the claim without getting in trouble with her mother and her clan."

"Not gonna happen," Naruto declared. "She doesn't want me, and she sure as hell can't expect me to want her like that after this!"

Kotonoha shrugged. "Then she's just made things harder for her. The clan won't help her with this: a Kitsune who cannot satisfy her mate is as much a failure as the one who cannot find a mate in the first place."

"That's harsh."

"Feeling sorry for Yuria-sama?"

"Not in the slightest."

"There you go."

Naruto raised an eyebrow and finally returned Kotonoha's gaze on him. "You don't seem too bothered by this."

"What can I say? It's not my problem." It was her turn to avert her gaze, back to the nightscape. "While I don't see Yuria's intentions as wrong, her execution was simply awful. Yuria-sama is an adult…even if she still does not act like one. Now she has to learn that actions have consequences. It's why Yuri-sama did not stop her in the first place."

Back to looking at Naruto. "I won't ask you to forgive her, Naruto-sama, but, please, accept her in your home. Now that she's claimed you, she has nowhere to go. I doubt Yuri-sama will accept her back in the shrine until she has successfully dismissed the claim."

"And who knows how long that will take."

Kotonoha's shrug and smile were both echoes of the pity she felt for the third youngest of Yuri's daughters. "Like I said, the rules bind the Higashiyama females only. They state that only Yuria can mate with you; any other of them would need Yuria's permission. You are still free to reject Yuria, or to engage in an intimate relationship with any other female, human or Kitsune or whatever." She playfully ruffled Naruto's hair. "If anything, maybe once Naruto-sama gains some experience with women, you might consider mating with Yuria-sama, if only out of pity."

Naruto made an odd face.

"The good thing is that Naruto-sama's in luck. Yuria-sama's enchantments are depressingly bad, so there's almost no chance she will try to charm you into having sex with her."

The boy blinked. "Well THAT was one thing I hadn't considered yet. Thank you."

"I aim to please."

Yet another odd face from Naruto. "Is it weird that, besides Yurimi, you're the nicest Kitsune I've met so far?"

"I am flattered and honored by your praise, but I must ask you not to dismiss Yuria-sama just yet." Kotonoha beamed. "She's a wonderful girl, she's just…"

"Like me."

"…ahahaha…" The four-tails sweatdropped. "I intended to say she's made a series of wrong choices tonight."

Naruto chuckled. "…whatever." His expression hardened one more time. "I just wanted to make things clear. I won't be 'just another human' to you Kitsune. I refuse to."

Kotonoha nodded. "I would expect no less from you, Naruto-sama."

"Good to know!" With those words, a smile returned to Naruto's face. "Let's go back-ah! Kotonoha! Where are you going to sleep? I-I don't have-ah."

One more time, he was caught in the taller woman's warm embrace. "I don't deserve such kindness, Naruto-sama. Allow me to assure you that it won't be an issue."

Naruto did not return the hug. He did not try to pull away from it, either.

"Why do you always hug me?"

"Hmm, I don't know…maybe because you're overdue almost thirteen years of hugs?"

To that, Naruto could not respond. This is probably why he did not say anything about Kotonoha resting her right hand on the back of his head.

What seemed to be yet another of her displays of motherly affection was, however, the casting of a rather complicated jutsu.

_I hope you don't mind this silly Kotonoha's little present, Naruto-sama. Now, I wonder who it'll be, hmm? Ufufufu…_

* * *

Closing the door behind him, Naruto retired to his bedroom for the night. With easiness born of familiarity he made to his bed, where the closeness made the outline of Yuria's small body obvious on the bed. She had her back to him, and all but her head was covered by the sheets.

He joined her after taking off his socks, pants and jacket, lying with his back barely touching hers.

_This is uncomfortable_. Naruto thought. He did not mean sharing the bed…yet. He meant the silence, and the weight of Yuria's presence.

Realizing he would not be able to get a decent sleep unless he dispelled this awkward tension, he prepared himself for yet another uncomfortable conversation…that is, if Yuria was still awake.

"Yuria…you still awake?"

He waited for a whole minute, without response. Sighing and readying himself for an unpleasant night, Naruto took as much of the sheets as possible and closed his eyes.

Still the uneasiness remained. He realized he'd have to at least say the words, even if Yuria would not listen.

"Yuria…I…I'm so-"

"I'm sorry."

His eyes jolted open. That cracked, irregular, voice. Was she crying?

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

Naruto felt a really uncomfortable pain in his chest. She was crying.

"I-I thought it would be easy! That I would just pull off the claim and that would be it, but I screwed up, and now I made this huge mess and I have no idea what to do anymore, 'cause I didn't really want a mate…I'm not ready for a mate!"

She had said all that with a single breath, Naruto was sure.

"I thought it was such a great idea; I thought it was easy but I screwed up even this, and now I hurt Yurimi and Mother and everyone else must think I'm even more of a failure now and Yuriyo burned my things so I have nothing…nothing else…"

Naruto turned around to face Yuria's back. It had been hard to follow her stream of words.

"…I'll be good."

"Eh?"

Naruto was startled when Yuria turned around to face him, too. The closeness allowed him to see the grief in her face, even in the dark.

"I'll be good from now on, I promise! I-I know how to take care of things! I can cook, and I always do laundry at the shrine so I…I…I can take care of you, and…and…I can be a good woman…"

The words of a desperate woman. They made Naruto sick to the bottom of his stomach.

"…so, so…please…please don't hate me! I'm sorry! I-I didn't want things to end up like this! Please don't hate me! Please don't hurt me! Please, don't throw me out! I…I…I don't know what to do anymo-kyah!"

Naruto had to stop her. He needed to stop her. If he didn't stop her, he was sure, he would regret it for the rest of his life. Watching this woman, this Kitsune who was so much like him, degrade herself like this…it was beyond disgusting.

Watching her terrified eyes as he held her left shoulder; it was horrible. She was afraid of him. Him!

"Stop it."

"Ah…aah…uuuh…" The shivering foxgirl sobbed quietly, lowered her head to avoid Naruto's steel gaze.

"The angry Yuria!"

She stiffened.

"The angry, rebellious Yuria…the one that stood back up on the forest…the one that stood up even after taking a beating…that Yuria was awesome! Very, very awesome!" Naruto paused; he could feel his face heating up. "A-And…kinda…well, kinda pretty, too…"

Her head jolted back up, carnelian eyes seeking blue. Neither seemed aware of just how close their faces were.

"I…I don't need someone to cook for me…or to wash my clothes, or clean my room…I don't need any of that."

In an instant, terror and hopelessness reclaimed Yuria's expression.

"Bu-but…sometimes…I…" Naruto forced a smile. It was shy and gentle. "…I admit this place feels quite lonely."

"Do you…do you remember, before I realized you were a Kitsune? Before I found out who you really were?" His smiled softened and became natural. "We…we were having fun, right?"

Yuria nodded weakly. Somehow, it felt like his words were lifting her spirit from the muck it was drowning in.

"I…I'm not angry with you anymore. I don't WANT to be angry with you anymore. To be so angry at a girl, to hit a girl, it's just wrong!" Naruto claimed effusively. "So…so, let's go back to that! I-I want to have fun with you like that again! I…I want to be friends with you like that again."

Yuria kept nodding, with more and more emotion.

"Let's train together, like I told you we would, and let's become strong! Become strong, so that you have nothing to be ashamed of anymore…so that you don't have to do stupid things like tonight anymore…so that we don't have to feel like this anymore…"

Yuria nodded eagerly. Of course she wanted that!

She almost managed a smile before the weight of her mistakes came back to haunt her.

"Bu-but…wha-what about the claim-"

"Forget about that!" Naruto hissed, waving his hand as if trying to dispel the notion out of thin air. "You don't want me anyway, so you don't have to even think about that!" His expression softened once more. "That's my problem now."

"But…I…"

"You just stop crying; it's the only thing I'll ask of you." He paused. "Well, that, and a little help with training, too. You're not the only one who needs to get stronger, you know."

Yuria nodded yet again. She would have probably done anything he asked of her in that moment. Well, almost anything.

"Um…anytime." She smiled shyly, as if unsure of whether it was a good idea to smile in front of Naruto.

"Good." His soft, gentle expression hardened a bit, making Yuria's smile fade, too. "I…I'm sorry. For hitting you. I-I was angry, and…and…well…"

"It's…it's okay. I kinda deserved it," Yuria admitted.

"But it was wrong," Naruto insisted, ever chivalrous…in his own, Naruto-ish way. "I swear I won't do it again…" He paused. "…unless you're like Setsuna and you're into that stuff, 'cause apparently I'm pretty good at it and I'm definitely saying way too much here."

"Yes," Yuria stated. "Yes, you are. And no, I'm not into that. You could try your luck with Yurimi, though…" She noted. "…and Yuriyo. Definitely Yuriyo. She'd probably love that. She's kinky like that."

It took several seconds of staring for them to realize the other was smiling. This only led to further smiling and an additional round of chuckling.

"…let's be friends, Yuria."

The girl nodded for the last time that night. "Let's be good buddies."

"Good night." And Naruto turned his head face up. Even after closing his eyes, he could still feel Yuria's eyes on him. It was weird, and a bit embarrassing.

However, no amount of awareness could have prepared him for the soft, oh so very soft feel of her lips on his left cheek.

His entire body shuddered, as a thrilling current flowed down his spinal cord and back up. "Uh…uh…wha?"

"Eh?" Yuria mumbled. She apparently was not expecting to need a justification. "Ah, we-well…we-we-we're a couple now…sorta…and we're friends…sorta…so I thought it might be nice, but…umm…good night!"

A rustle of sheets later, the foxgirl had her back turned to him. Naruto blinked a few times before deciding to just let it go this time.

It wasn't like it felt bad or anything, after all.

With that, finally, the long night of the two was over. It was harsh in many ways but, in the end, the two could sleep with smiles on their faces.

They could only hope the next day would not be as eventful.

* * *

**CHAPTER 12 END**


	16. Interlude: The Loli's Burning Crusade

_**Naruto Genkyouien**_

- ナルト- 幻脅威宴

**Interlude: The Loli's (Burning) Crusade**

* * *

"Zzzzzzz…"

Careful not to make a sound, he stared at her sleeping form.

"Zzzzzzz…"

Not having bothered to undress or change clothes before sleeping, wrapped in her fluffy black tails and curled up into a tiny white ball, she looked like a porcelain masterpiece; a doll trapped in a very crude dollhouse, resting on a bed much too large for her. The little noises that occasionally escaped her delicately parted lips made him want to hug her to death; it was just too adorable. And when she scrunched up her tiny nose like a chipmunk, he almost had a nosebleed on the spot.

Watching her sleep was such a delight to him.

"Haaa, she's just too cute…" He whispered to himself. "I wanna take her home…" He paused. "Wait, we're already home—"

A petite hand covered his field of vision, which was limited to begin with due to his choice of attire.

"Shut up and die."

"UGYAAAAAAAAH!"

Having lightning shoved down your throat happens to hurt. A lot.

Being comedy lightning, however, it was not lethal.

Tobi was not so sure that was a good thing.

Setsuna woke up with a bad mood. And bad hair, but mostly with a bad mood.

Then again, she was on a bad mood most of the time, so Tobi was already used to watching her mumble incoherencies as she fixed up her shoulder-length hair. Due to the lack of furniture in the secluded lair, it was up to him to hold the rhomboidal mirror with which the four-tailed Kitsune aided herself. She had already concealed her vulpine features, being one to prefer a fully human figure.

Always trying to be helpful, the masked Uchiha often offered several suggestions aimed at improving her everyday mood. He always got an unhealthy dose of lightning for his efforts, but he was perseverant if anything.

_Grandma Setsuna is still so young, and beautiful! _He thought to herself. _She should find herself a good man; someone who can make her happy!_

He would be more than willing to "weed out" those suitors not worthy of the magnificence of Kiyoura Setsuna-sama.

Tobi nodded to himself. Maybe this trip to Konoha would be a nice change of pace. He doubted Setsuna would be interested in getting laid, as she was going there for business, but at the very least he wanted her to enjoy herself for a little while.

Such a cute woman should not be scowling all the time.

"What are you doing, moron? You're moving the mirror."

"Ah! My bad."

"So, is there any particular reason you disturbed my sleep, or were you just being an incestuous creep?"

"Eh? Ah, no, nothing like that," Madara dismissed the insulting words with a wave of his left hand. "It's just that Itachi-kun and Kisame-kun are waiting outside."

The brush stopped in mid-swipe. "Say that again?"

"It's just that Itachi-kun and Kisame-kun are waiting outside."

Silence followed.

Setsuna sharply looked up at Madara's masked face.

Tobi tilted his head in silent inquiry.

Setsuna raised her right eyebrow.

"…please don't hurt me?"

Give the guy credit for trying.

"_Bon mot_!" Setsuna hissed at the smoking heap that was Tobi after she jumped to her feet and hurried towards the crumbling armoire. "Hurry up and help me put this on!"

The tiny femme struggled against the impractically large robe, the just-as-impractically-large breastplate with the obviously-as-impractically-large shoulderpads.

"Ugh…this thing…so heavy…"

"Mou…" Tobi argued as he helped the much shorter Setsuna lift the outrageous attire. "Why does Setsuna-sama wear this heavy thing, anyway?"

Setsuna rolled her eyes as if Tobi had said the stupidest thing.

"Because it looks cool. And evil. Like me. _C'est évident_."

Tobi blinked behind the mask. "Oh…kaaaay."

"Anyway," Setsuna continued after she looked around for the bigass red ribbons she wore as her alternate persona. With the weight of the metal chest- and shoulder-plates on her, she wobbled more than walked, in a manner that would have reminded Madara of a penguin, if there were any penguins in this setting. "How did you convince Uchiha Itachi to come?"

"Oh-oh!" Tobi clapped excitedly. "It was rather ingenious, if I may say so myself."

Setsuna frowned at her servant's proud but childish tone.

"You see, first I told them there was someone giving out free T-shirts, but they didn't bite."

It took everything she had to suppress the oh-so-tempting sigh.

"Then I had a sudden stroke of GENIUS! You see, Itachi-kun has this weird habit of telling people to live unsightly lives…but then he kills them, so it doesn't really make any sense, but anyway!"

"I told him there was a REALLY unsightly person who wanted to meet him. I think I also mentioned the Sharingan at some point." Setsuna could see a sparkle within the single eyehole on the right side of the mask. "Anyway, it worked! Aren't I grea-ahaagh!"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING UNSIGHTLY?"

These two make the world's most violent tsukkomi duet.

* * *

Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame calmly followed the 'Junior Akatsuki' they knew only as Tobi. Lines of identical torches caught flame as they walked past, offering scarce illumination to the cavernous passage.

Tobi wore a very smug smile behind his mask. Like his mistress, he had a penchant for flair and fanfare. He was sure Itachi could see the 'sparks' of chakra fields reacting to their presence and triggering contingent releases of minute amounts of Fire-nature chakra. The most beautiful Fuuinjutsu for the most banal of reasons.

Unlike Itachi, who had his eyes set on the darkness ahead of them, Kisame was not really into the whole mood of the place.

"Uhh…why are we here again?"

"There's someone here who wishes to meet you," Tobi declared; his voice unusually grave.

"And why should we meet with this person anyway?" Kisame insisted.

Behind his offhand manner of speaking hid the mistrusting, sharp S-rank shinobi who did not like his current situation. They were being led by a complete idiot to who-knows-where, for no apparent reason! Just how out of character was that?

They were supposed to be HARDCORE BADASSES™. HARDCORE BADASSES™ do not listen to anyone, specially masked bumbling idiots.

"Hmm…"' Madara actually pondered the question. "…because she wants you to meet her?"

"What kind of answer is—wait, 'she'?"

Tobi said no more.

Eventually, they made it to what seemed to be the end of the cave. An almost perfectly circular room was split into two by a very thick red curtain. The rocky floor under their feet raised almost a feet under the curtain, as if the space beyond acted as a stage of sorts. The room was very well illuminated, however, the poor ventilation and the array of torches made the heat rather uncomfortable. The dancing flames allowed the two rogue shinobi to see an oddly shaped silhouette behind the curtain. Their unchanging expressions did not betray their alertness.

"Be awed by her; the shadow that lurks behind the dawn; the master that controls the strings of him whom you call 'Leader'."

Both cloaked males reacted at the obvious significance of those words. Even Itachi narrowed his eyes in a perceptible manner, his pupils following Tobi's steps as he walked towards the curtain. Kisame was ready to go slashy at any time.

"She is the answer to all of your questions, Itachi-kun."

Kisame made an odd face at the honorific. Itachi did not react.

"She's the embodiment of the True Uchiha Way."

Itachi blinked. Kisame did NOT like that blink. It was so un-Itachi-ish it terrified him.

The right hand reached for the thick, dark cloth.

"The mighty! The magnanimous! The marvelous! The beautiful! The glorious!"

With a rather exaggerated motion and a single swipe of his arm, Tobi opened the curtain.

"**DOCTOR S!**"

"_Bonjour_," Setsuna greeted, her voice muffled by the overly tall neck that covered the bottom half of her face. Turning to look at Tobi to her left, she was showered with multicolored confetti.

"…where did you get that from?"

"Fuuinjutsu," Tobi stated plainly.

"…uh…huh."

Looking back at the two S-rank nins, she found exactly what she expected. Itachi, as usual, displayed an enviable skill at hiding his emotions and thoughts. Kisame's half-open-mouthed look, on the other side, made him look kinda silly.

Setsuna raised an eyebrow almost unnoticeably, as if wordlessly saying "well?"

That's when Kisame said the words that must not be said.

"…damn you're tiny—"

"DIE!"

"WHOA!"

Kisame barely sidestepped the line of lightning that slithered past him in a split instant. Only HARDCORE BADASS™ S-rank reflexes allowed Kisame to do that…and the fact that it was implicitly-slow comedy lightning.

"That was fast!" The tall swordsman acknowledged, visibly impressed by the lightning shot. Setsuna's dilated pupils were drilling a hole on Kisame's head.

"You…dodged it…" she hissed.

"Well, duh! What, you were expecting me to just take it?" Kisame spat back like an angry teenager.

"You dodged it…"

"Yeah, well, live with it."

"GYAAAAAAAH!"

"Oh snap!"

Next moment, the shark shinobi was leaping all over the circular cavern, shrieking like a deranged man as he dodged an endless barrage of lightning bolts.

"DIE! DIE, DIE, DIE YOU DISGUSTING FISH FREAK!"

"OI, I RESENT—WHOA!"

It made for a rather ridiculous scene, really: the tall, muscular, visibly powerful S-rank shinobi jumping around to get away from the little girl who very slowly chased after him in clothes far too bulky and heavy for her size. Setsuna truly looked like a really big penguin, wobbling all over the place.

"I'M GONNA MAKE SOUP WITH YOU!" Whoosh, lightning bolt. "INSOLENT!" One bolt from each hand. "HOW DARE YOU LOOK DOWN ON ME! AT LEAST I'M GOOD-LOOKING, YOU VOMIT-INDUCING SHIT-SPAWN!"

It had nothing to do with Setsuna's chase; really, at the speed she moved it would be fundamentally impossible for her to catch Kisame. Fortunately for the loli, her lightning bolts were leagues more effective and they were gradually moving Kisame to a position where he would be unable to evade.

Incredibly enough, not even a single lightning bolt got close to harming Tobi or Itachi.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE I WAS INSULTED LIKE THAT, **AGAIN**!" Flurry of lightning bolts. Kisame stumbled. "BUT AT LEAST **HE** HAD DECENT LOOKS! YOU WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO SEX UP A NYMPHO TWO-TAILS ON A RAMEN-HIGH, YOU DISGRACE OF NATURE!"

"Ara?" Tobi tilted his head. "Who are you talking about, mistress?"

"Eh?"

Kisame found a moment of peace when the electric assault came to an abrupt end. The smell of ozone was strong in the small confined space.

Setsuna, however, was retracing her words, her face glowing redder and redder as she realized just how much she had blurted out.

"Ah-aaaaa-I di-di—didn't…I didn't…I MEANT NOBODY!" she squeaked.

"UGYAAAAAAA!" Tobi really sucks at dodging these lightning thingies. It might have something to do with overreliance on haxx-absolute defense techniques.

Kisame, however, could not possibly care about electrified bozos or tsun-tsun lolis. He only saw a chance, and he took it. Samehada in hand, he went for the robed girl and struck with a mighty slash.

"Ah-"

Setsuna's single utterance right before the scaled weapon ripped through her clothes and her fair skin with brutality.

The two Akatsuki and the masked Uchiha wordlessly watched the small form of Doctor S stumble down to a rocky bed, her dark blue robe torn and bloodied.

"Now that was too ea-"

Kisame could say no more before his entire body was consumed by black flame. He would have easily recognized it as the same as Itachi's signature technique if he weren't so busy screaming in unbelievable agony as every single lipid molecule in his body was driven to combustion. The wave of black flame that erupted from Setsuna's body enveloped the entire room from ground to ceiling in an instant, leaving absolutely no time for evasion or defenses. Neither Tobi nor Itachi had time to react before they, too, were swallowed by the flames, their brains exploding in unbelievable pain as their bodies were consumed faster than it should be possible.

And then there were no flames.

There was only Itachi, standing in the middle of the room, where he always had been; Tobi, seated on the ground to the left by the curtain; and Kisame, sprawled on the ground, with the intact form of Doctor S seated on his stomach. He had a horrible headache, but there was no doubt in his mind of what had just occurred.

"Genjutsu?" He muttered to himself. That was impossible! He was a HARDCORE BADASS™! "No way I would fall in an illusion so—gyaaaaah!"

Itachi and Tobi winced as one. Call it Uchiha synchronicity.

"Kukukukuku." There was a huge, dastardly evil smirk on Setsuna's face behind the concealing clothes. Her voice, however, had returned to its sinisterly quiet tone. "Why didn't you dodge that? Come on, dodge it."

"Guaaaaagh!" Kisame grunted when Setsuna gently placed her hand on his clothed chest, shoving who-knows-how-many volts of electricity into his body.

"Dodge it." Poke. "Why aren't you dodging it?" Poke, poke. "Come on, show me what you're made of, hot stuff." Poke. "Come on." Poke.

"Ha!" Setsuna barked triumphantly when there was nothing left but a drooling blue mass on the floor under her. "Serves your right."

"Don't mess with The Doctor, _imbecile_. _Bon mot_!"

"Mistress is a very sore loser…" Madara mumbled.

"REGRET THOSE WORDS!"

Lightning bolt!

"Mugyuu—"

Whoosh!

"Waaaah, I'm on fire again!"

Setsuna sighed. "_Idiot_." She paused. "But, seriously, what's up with that?"

* * *

**Mama, lookie, lookie…the forest's on fire again…so pwetty…heheheh…zzzzzzzzz…**

On the warm comfort of his bed, Naruto chuckled. "Sheesh, even her dreams…you're scary, Sayuri."

The warmth of the new day interrupted his slumber, but he had every intention of going back to sleep. After training for an entire day in Setsuna's Izanami and all the crazy stuff that happened the previous night (plus the extra training), he felt he more than deserved it!

"Alright, gotta sleep—OW!"

"Shut uuuup...so annoying…"

Naruto shot an odd look at his resting companion. With her right leg sprawled on his own, her right arm wrapped around his chest and her head nestled in his right pectoral, she slept placidly and peacefully.

"Now look at her. A few hours and she already acts like she owns the damn place. But I hafta say those tails are awfully convenient; at least she's not hogging the sheets—OW!"

"…mmm…pillows don't talk—zzzzzz…"

* * *

Back on her side of the cavern, beyond the curtain, Setsuna could face the two shinobi without having to raise her head. Itachi's own eyes never left her, not even sparing a glance to his partner, who was releasing small trails of smoke from his overcooked body.

"Very well, let us start again. My name is Doctor S."

"There's no way in hell that's your—"

"_Silence_!"

"Ugiiiiiii!" After many doses of lightning, Kisame's senses were too dulled to even think of trying to dodge.

"Do you DARE interrupt The Doctor?"

"No ma'am."

"Good." The evil mastermind cleared her throat. "You have been summoned here because I have decided it is time for you to work directly under my command."

Setsuna continued before any of the two could ask what she meant by that. Not that they intended to do so: Kisame did not want to be deep-fried and Itachi…well, is Itachi.

"It is of no importance whether you work for the fool, Pain, or for me. I know you have no interest in the crap that moron's been feeding you with all this time."

Her eyes met Itachi's. "I can assure you, however, that you will be interested in my personal agenda, Uchiha Itachi-kun."

The Uchiha mass murderer raised an eyebrow almost imperceptibly, as if saying "Really? Try me."

Setsuna's lips curved a millimeter under the tall neck. "At the main temple of the Nakano Shrine, on the far right side, under the seventh tatami mat," she repeated the directions Madara had once given her. "I take it you read what was there, did you not?"

Itachi's face contorted in a cold glare, which just as suddenly relaxed back to his usual unfeeling sharpness. However, the single moment of emotion did not escape the other three.

"Now, now, just what were you trying to do, Itachi-kun?" Her low tone made the mockery almost acidic. "Trap me in a Genjutsu? Maybe you intend to kill me?"

"Fool. You already witnessed my illusion, and you still believe you catch match me? Do not disappoint me with your stupidity, **boy**."

Itachi's eyes narrowed dangerously. The three black tomoe in his blood red orbs began to shift and merge together. Setsuna snorted.

"Don't bother. Even if you use your eyes, your illusions are still inferior to mine. And I'll prove it to you now."

Setsuna positively smirked. It was beautifully evil.

"I never moved off your blue-skinned companion, you see."

Itachi blinked. In that split instant, Setsuna disappeared from her standing position. Everything was, indeed, the way it had been just a bit over a minute before.

Kisame, sprawled on the floor like he had been all this time, dejectedly glanced at his torturer.

"Why me?"

The Doctor shrugged, her heavy silver breastplate shaking roughly by the motion. "_C'est la vie_."

"Huh?"

Setsuna rolled her eyes. "I said, 'shut the fuck up'."

Poke.

"UGYAAAAAAH!"

* * *

Once again, Kisame was standing next to Itachi, and Setsuna was on her "stage," Tobi a step behind and to the left like a good dog.

"Okay, so let's make this clear," Kisame grumbled more than said. "This is NOT another Genjutsu, right?"

"No, this is not Genjutsu…or is it?" Setsuna teased.

"Taaa-ta-ran-tan! Taa-ta-ran-tan-taa-aaaaaaaagh!"

Setsuna did not say a word; she just blasted Tobi with lightning.

"Mou…" the masked Uchiha complained. "…now you're just doing that for no reason—ooooooooagh!"

"DON'T QUESTION MY METHODS!"

After making sure Tobi would not open his mouth for a while, Setsuna returned to the matter at hand.

"Where was I? Ah, yes, the Uchiha scroll. If you are wondering how I know of it, then you can keep wondering. The important thing is the contents of that scroll."

"You read it, didn't you? The history of the Uchiha Clan: its glorious past and its disgusting decadence."

She chuckled.

"Very well, allow me to fill the gaps in your knowledge. By the time I'm done, you will realize you must obey me and only me, if you have not done so yet." Setsuna's glance became challenging. "I thought you were a true Uchiha, that you abided to the True Uchiha Way. So far you have been nothing but a disappointment."

Kisame, much to his alarm, noticed the most unusual thing. For a second there, Itachi's right hand trembled. A drop of sweat trickled down the right side of his pretty-boy face, and the tall shark-man did not think it was because of the heat.

And so, Setsuna began her story.

"About 140 years ago, there was a man. His name was Itou Makoto."

"Thinking back, he was a jerk. And an idiot, too, but I guess at that time I was an idiot myself. In any case, I fell in love with this man. And, at some point, he loved me too. Or so I chose to believe."

Setsuna made a pause.

"I'm surprised. Are you not going to comment on the fact that I was alive 140 years ago?"

"Haaaai, requesting permission to speak, Doctor S-samaaaa." With a monotonous tone, Kisame spoke and raised his right hand like a boy in a classroom.

"_S'il vous plaît_."

"What?"

"Just talk already."

"Two things. One, I was afraid to do so because then you'd think I called you old and shoot your lightning at me."

"Fair enough. And second?"

"Kakuzu."

"Ah, _touché_." Setsuna nodded. "By the way,"

Lightning bolt!

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAEEEEEEE?"

"_C'est pas grave_," Setsuna dismissed the moaning nin. "Now, I shall continue."

"While I was certainly an idiot to fall for him, that idiocy, most fortunately, did not extend to other levels. At that point, I was nearing the end of research spanning two whole decades. However, my life was crushed and turned upside down."

"I was consumed by hatred. Hatred towards myself, for succumbing to that lowly man's wiles. Hatred towards my best friend, for succumbing to mindless jealously and doubt to the point of murdering the man both of us loved. Hatred towards **that woman**, for succumbing to madness and slaying my best friend…and hatred towards **that man**, for toying and stepping on the feelings of so many women…and for leaving me with child."

She shook her head slowly, as if to dispel the wisps of memory creeping up the edges of her mind.

"I swore never to give in to weakness again. To never let my mind, my body and my heart waver. I abandoned myself to my research…and finished it. A jutsu so powerful it would permanently rewrite my genetic code and give me the ultimate power: the eye which can dominate the weak and claim their pride and strengths to make them my own."

"The Geass?"

"The Sharingan, you idiot!"

Kisame was actually pushed back several feet by the lightning bolt that struck him. "GUWAAAAGH!"

"_Bien fait_!" Setsuna spat. Itachi carefully raised a hand.

"Umm…if I may?"

"Yes?"

"He was not the one who said that."

Setsuna blinked…and then looked at Tobi, who was blowing raspberries at his descendant.

"Mou, Itachi-kun, you mweanie!"

"Ah." Setsuna blinked, and then shot a look at the fallen Kisame. "My bad."

"Mugyuu…"

Whoosh.

Setsuna blinked at the sight of Kisame undergoing spontaneous combustion. "Okay, now it's just getting ridiculous."

* * *

**I'll set the world on fire…and the Biscuit Hammer too…zzzzzz…'coz I'm the Pwincess-ssoaaah…munya-munya…zzzzzzz…**

"Okay, now you're not making any sense, Sayur—oof!"

Naruto twitched. There was a fist lodged on his right cheek. His new roommate was quite rowdy in the bed…and not in the good way.

"Huuuuuh…what'cha gonna do, spin-kick me? Silly honorary Britanian homo…hmmm…zzzzzzz…"

Naruto twitched some more. "I get it. It's a Kitsune thing, isn't it?"

* * *

Two pairs of eyes stared at each other, their respective tomoe swirling in reverse synchronicity. Itachi did not take his eyes off Doctor S, as if someone staring at her like a creep would somehow reveal the fallacy.

"They're real, Itachi-kun," Setsuna murmured with her usual bored tone, muffled under her overly large clothes. "You are looking at the original Sharingan."

For once, Itachi allowed his curiosity to take over him.

"Is this the reason you have lived for so long? Does the Sharingan…?"

"HA!" Setsuna barked. "An eye that grants you immortality? How ridiculous is that? What's next: the Sharingan can control Nine-Tailed Kitsune?"

"Mou…" Tobi pouted. "You don't have to rub it on my face like that…"

Yes, Setsuna had already shared that little tidbit with him.

"No, Itachi-kun. If you want eternal youth, you'll have to look for it on your own."

"Hnn," Itachi dismissed the words with the trademark Uchiha 'hnn'.

"Very well, shall I continue?" Setsuna declared, spreading her arms wide under her robes.

"A few months after using the Sharingan Jutsu, I gave birth to a daughter, whom I named Hatsuna. She never developed a Sharingan of her own, but I knew she carried the genetic code for the eye. I decided to find her a husband; I wanted to see if her children would carry the Sharingan."

"Of course, I would not cede my daughter to just any man. I picked the young heir of an upstart Shinobi clan. I chose them precisely because they were eager and ambitious, but there was another, even more important reason."

"Hatsuna, you see…she was my splitting image."

Itachi's eyes widened a bit, as he understood exactly what Setsuna meant by that. Kisame shot uneasy glances at the two, unsettled by the fact that they seemed to understand each other in a way he still could not figure out, beyond the fact that they shared the same eyes.

"It would be easy for your daughter to seduce that man…if he was an Uchiha."

"YES!" Setsuna roared triumphantly. "Precisely, Itachi-kun! Your ancestor fell head over heels for my daughter!"

Itachi nodded. "It is the True Uchiha Way."

"Okay, and just what is that supposed to mean?" Kisame questioned.

"IT MEANS EXACTLY THAT!" The Doctor exclaimed, her red pupils glowing with glee. "THE UCHIHA CLAN WAS A CLAN OF PROUD, SHAMELESS PEDOS!"

"Aaaah…" Kisame let his right fist rest on his open left palm. "That does explain every—wait, WHAT?"

"It is the True Uchiha Way," Itachi repeated.

Kisame only gaped.

"A clan ruled by men with an undying passion for short girls and flat chests…they were PERFECT." Setsuna was grinning as she spoke. "After generations of careful selection and inbreeding, they had ensured that every single female within their ranks was a delicious loli."

"Wait…" Kisame almost pleaded.

"'At my behest, Hatsuna gave birth to as many children as possible. One after the other, they grew and, at some point during their ninja training, awakened their Bloodline Limit. The elders of the clan did not fail to seize this new, 'mysterious' power, and did not hesitate to mate these gifted children with as many males and females within the clan as possible, spreading the Sharingan genes throughout the clan."

"With the power of those eyes, the Uchiha Clan became mighty and glorious! Even the strongest Shinobi, Senju Hashirama, preferred to make peace with the Uchiha Clan rather than have them as his enemies!"

Truly, Setsuna was reveling in the weight of the memory of her greatest success.

"They were my greatest success! A clan of joyful lolis and lolicons, brought together and given power with the blessing of my blood!"

"You have got to be kidding me," Kisame muttered, wearing a face of disgust.

A sob.

The shark-man's face looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

"It was…" Sob. "…it was so beautiful…"

Kisame's face lost all trace of emotion.

"Dear Gods, Itachi's crying."

"Yes, it was beautiful," Setsuna agreed. "It was peaceful. It was perfect. But you know what happened."

"The Uchiha Clan settled down in Konoha. Immediately, they began to work on seizing as much control over village matters as possible. When Uchiha Madara's own ambition led him to betray Konoha and be defeated by the First Hokage, the clan found itself in a desperate need to regain the respect and trust of the rest of the village."

"It was more of a tie…" Tobi mumbled to himself.

"Swallowing their pride, they began to forging alliances and offer favors to the other clans. Of course, there was one particular clan the Uchihas were especially wary of."

Setsuna's eyes glowed with unbridled fury.

"The Hyuuga Clan…the disgraceful brood of that accursed woman…"

"Ugh…"

Kisame raised an eyebrow at this. The teary eyes had disappeared, and Itachi now looked positively sick. He had even covered his mouth with his right hand.

"I can never forget…" He hissed. "…those women…those disgusting things dangling down their chests…"

Kisame twitched. He was smart enough to figure that one out.

"You have got to be kidding me."

"Yes, Itachi-kun. Your fellow Uchiha were corrupted by mingling with the Hyuuga and the other people of Konoha. They began to lust after those disgusting, enormous breasts."

Itachi retched. "Damn…them…"

"Oh Gods, you're serious," Kisame muttered dejectedly.

Even Tobi seemed unusually stiff; silently lamenting the degradation of his once pure clan.

"However, the loli genes were already firmly imprinted within the clan. For that reason, they resorted to the most ruin of practices."

"Don't say it!" Itachi growled, his bloodshot eyes begging Setsuna to stop revealing the dark tale of his family.

"Yes, I know. Human experimentation." Setsuna's face looked almost compassionate. "Even your mother was tainted, wasn't she?"

"Uuuuuhh…" Itachi covered his face with his hand, to hide the rictus of disgust and shame that possessed him.

"They…they…"

"Itachi…" Kisame was actually worried. His partner had shown more emotion in the last few minutes than in all the years he had known him.

A tear gently trailed down the young Uchiha's right cheek.

"…they gave her BIG BOOBS!" With that single lament, Itachi fell down on his knees and began to cry inconsolably.

"Oh Gods." Kisame facepalmed.

* * *

It had been a true challenge, but she had accomplished it…

…nah, who was she kidding? It was a walk in the park, but damn it was fun!

She had cleared the trash and, after dealing with the last Sister of Torment, she calmly stepped into the chamber of the fallen prince. He was, certainly, a shadow of his former, glorious self; consumed by his thirst for power and his misguided, distorted love for his people.

He greeted her with a snarl.

"Don't look so smug! I know what you're thinking, but Tempest Keep was merely a setback. Did you honestly believe I would trust the future to some blind, half-night elf mongrel?"

His quiet laughter filled the lifeless walls of the Magisters' Terrace.

"Oh no, no, no, he was merely an instrument, a stepping stone to a much larger plan!"

The Blood Mage smirked, revealing putrid teeth and a hideous, darkened tongue. He was challenging her.

"It has all led to this...and this time, you will not inter—"

Whoosh.

"GAH! I'M ON FIRE! YOU INTERRUPTED MY MONOLOGUE AND SET ME ON FIRE! AAAAAAAAAHHH!"

The little foxgirl grinned gleefully at the sight of the once powerful mage running in circles and screaming in terror, crying for the aid of his demonic liege. With this, she had proved herself as the greatest fire mage in Azeroth!

"Yay! Felomin ashal!"

Wiggle, wiggle.

* * *

**Heheheheh…burn, Kael'thas, burn…waaaai….zzzzzzz…**

Naruto sighed. "I don't know who you are, Kael'thas-san, but I extend my deepest condolences to you."

"Unnn…mmmm…."

Naruto, who had been staring at the ceiling for the last forty minutes or so, look down at the female next to him. Their eyes met.

"Naruto."

"What?"

Next thing he knew, there was a hand buried in his face.

"You're annoying."

Naruto actually got a bit angry at that. It would have been far worse if he weren't so damn tired.

"It's you and Sayuri who don't let me sleep at all!" he complained with a hiss, pushing off the offending hand. "It's too warm and uncomfortable with you all over me!"

"Is that some sort of weird plot to get me to take off my clothes?"

"NO!" Naruto paid no heed to the red tinge he knew had gathered on his cheeks. "I'm just used to sleeping alone!" He paused. "And how can you be so comfortable sleeping with me, anyway? We barely know each other!"

"Hmm…" The foxgirl blinked. "You know, you make a very good point." Relaxing once more, she cuddled against Naruto's right side. "I'll ponder it when I wake up."

"Oi." Naruto began to push the girl away. "I said, get off!"

"Ahhh, leave me alone!"

"I will when you get off me!"

"You should be grateful! How many of your friends can brag to have share a bed with a total cutie?"

"Oh stuff it!" Naruto added his legs to the struggle. "Go bother them instead!"

"Ah!" A mock gasp. "Naruto-kun, you mweanieeeeee~…."

"Like hell that will work with me! Being all cutesy and stuff doesn't suit you!"

"Grrr…then how about this!"

While the two struggled for sovereignty over the bed, Sayuri was enjoying herself in blissful dreams.

**Onii-chan…pet me lots and lots after I beat Kil'jaeden, he-he-heh…make Sayuri feel weal good…munyuu…zzzzzzzz…**

* * *

Kisame did not notice when Doctor S stepped off her higher standing to approach them. It was likely he was rendered numb by the whole thing.

He had always thought the Uchiha had to be some really wacked up fellas. Normal people just cannot wield that kind of power. But, honestly, "wrong" did not begin to define the truth which had just been revealed to them.

"Yes." The evil loli mastermind looked down at the kneeling Uchiha. "That's why you did it, wasn't it, Itachi-kun? Because you are still a true Uchiha! Because you love delicious flat chests!"

Itachi gritted his teeth in anger, as the memories of the decadence of his once proud clan returned to torment his mind.

"I couldn't…I couldn't tolerate…what they had become…and when Shisui…he wanted to go 'pick up some hot Hyuuga chicks'!" He looked up at Setsuna, his eyes two embers of fury. "I COULDN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! HE HAD TO DIE!" He dropped his head, allowing some black bangs to cover his face. "They all had to die…"

"I think I have a headache…" Kisame muttered.

"I can understand," Setsuna commented, turning her back to the two Akatsuki members. "You couldn't even bear to look at your mother's face, could you?" She walked three steps away. "It is unimportant. They failed to live to their lolicon ideals. They shall not be missed."

"First thing you've said I actually agree with," Kisame commented.

"HOWEVER!" She suddenly turned around, her dark robe swirling with her in a regal flourish. Setsuna paused. "Hmm, that was pretty cool," she muttered, looking down at the smooth piece of clothing.

"Very much so, mistress," Tobi intervened, clapping enthusiastically.

"Somebody wake me now." That was Kisame, of course.

"_Merci_. ANYWAY! The important thing is: I can **fix. This. World**."

Itachi and Kisame looked at the Doctor, confusion plain in their faces.

"Yes…I can create a new world…with the power of the tailed beasts. For that reason I've driven Akatsuki from the shadows all these years."

Tobi was immensely excited. This was his favorite part, at least in the rehearsal.

Yes, they had a rehearsal. Setsuna likes to be thorough in her evil speeches.

"Nine youkai…nine exemplars of their respective races…with their chakra, I can give shape to my ultimate triumph! OUR Ultimate Triumph! The restoration of the True Uchiha Way!"

Itachi's eyes widened. It couldn't be…

"YES!" Two small gauntlet-clad hands emerged from within the dark robe, clenched in tyrannical fists. "I, the mighty Doctor S, will use the chakra of the nine beasts to power the Ultimate World-spanning Hybrid Enchantment-Transformation Jutsu!"

Madara, too, fell on his knees. Such intensity, such fire in her words and such power in that small body…it was just too beautiful. If she wasn't his grandmother he would jump her on the spot.

"I don't like where this is going," Kisame muttered to himself.

"I will transform every single female in this world, **INTO A LOLI!**"

Tears poured out of the single hole in Tobi's mask as he bowed down in worship.

"Not worthy…we're not worthy…"

No words came out of Itachi's mouth. However, his teary glance and wide eyes made it seem as if he were glancing at Heaven itself.

"So, will you join me, Itachi-kun? Will you become my Knight of Flats and help me build OUR perfect world, the World of DFC?"

Kisame actually stop being awed by the silliness of the whole thing. He just had to ask.

"…Knight of Flats?"

Setsuna stared at Kisame as if it were a stupid question he just said. "Well I cannot call them 'Knights of Rounds', can I?"

"Ah…good point."

"Can I be the Knight of One?" An excited voice reached them from the edge of the room.

Setsuna blinked…then sighed. "Yes, Tobi, you can be the Knight of One."

"Yay!"

She looked back at Itachi. "So?"

"…lolis?" His voice was unnaturally weak. Setsuna almost chuckled.

"Yes. Gratuitous amounts of lolis."

"…lolis…for me?"

"Yes, as many as you want. All of them overly affectionate and more than willing to call you 'onii-chan'."

Clumsily, pathetically, like the dog who returns to his master's feet even after been kicked, Itachi kneeled before the girl and kissed the hem of her robe.

"I am your most loyal knight, mistress."

Setsuna actually grinned (evilly, of course) this time. There was a twisted, sick pleasure in watching this supposedly-powerful human humiliating himself before her. She could not help it.

"Fufufufu…hahahahaha…AHAHAHAHAHAHA…**BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**"

An ominous thunder rumbled inside the cavern.

Everyone turned to look at Tobi.

The masked Uchiha was engaged in waving large tin sheets to make the artificial thunder-like sound.

"Where did you get that?" Setsuna inquired.

"Fuuinjutsu."

"Haaa…"

Lightning bolt!

"FU-WHAAAAAGH!"

"DON'T INTERRUPT MY EVIL LAUGHTER!"

For a moment, there was only the sound of sizzling flesh coming from the smoking heap that was Uchiha Madara.

"Now, where was I? Ah! **BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA**!"

"Alright, that's it, I'm outta here."

Kisame's departure was interrupted by the crackling sound of a lightning bolt streaking through the air just to his right.

"And just where do you think you're going, Knight of Nine?"

"DON'T GIVE ME A NUMBER ALREADY!" The second bolt did not miss. "UGHAAAAAA!"

"DON'T YOU DARE RAISE YOUR VOICE AT THE DOCTOR S, YOU WORM!" Setsuna's arms retreated back under the robe. "I must give you your orders now."

"Wait a damn second!" Kisame hurriedly jumped back on his feet. "Why should I go along with this stupid plan of yours?"

"How about 'because I'll kill you if you don't'?"

Kisame blinked. "Well, that's a very good point…but death happens to sound much better than your stupid loli world! I like big butts and I cannot lie, damn it! Big butts and huge ti—"

"_**Tsukuyomi**_."

Setsuna looked down at the groaning, drooling form of Hoshigaki Kisame, and then Itachi, who fiercely stared down at his Akatsuki partner.

"That…that was actually pretty cool, Knight of Six."

"I give you my utmost apologies for my partner's uncouth behavior, mistress."

Setsuna nodded. "It's okay. Not many humans can understand the magnificent beauty of a perfectly flat chest. _Chacun ses goûts._"

"Indeed," Itachi agreed.

Tobi nodded sagely.

"Why…why Knight of Six?" Kisame grumbled weakly.

"Isn't it obvious? So that together you make '69'."

"I hate you."

"_Je m'en fous_." She solemnly looked at something in the far distance. "I'm Doctor S."

"So cool, mistress!" Tobi clapped excitedly.

Noticing Itachi was actually staring at her oddly, the evil mastermind shrugged. "What? Gotta keep the fangirls at bay somehow."

"Fangirls?" Itachi blinked.

"They actually read this thing?"

"I certainly hope not, Knight of One, but better safe than sorry."

"Aah."

"Anyway! I am Doctor S, and Doctor S is magnanimous. Serve me well, and I will reward you greatly."

"How come?" Kisame raised an eyebrow in obvious suspicion.

"An island. In what today is known as Water Country. All expenses taken care of, for you and your…harem, as long as you stay there and do not disrupt my World of DFC."

Kisame narrowed his inhuman eyes. "Harem…with hot chicks?"

"…yes. Hot chicks."

"…not lolis?"

Setsuna also narrowed her glance. Kisame was truly trying her patience. "…not lolis."

"…deal." Kisame nodded. "If anything, it beats getting lightning bolts all the damn time."

"Who said anything about no more lightning bolts?"

It should go without saying, but…lightning bolt!

"WHYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"

"SO!" Setsuna exclaimed, completely ignoring the smoking heap known as Kisame. "You will retrieve the vessel of the Nine-Tailed Kitsune, Uzumaki Naruto. However, I have an interest in the results of the incoming Chuunin Exams Finals, therefore you will seize him after that and only when I say so. Is that clear?"

"As you wish, mistress." Itachi bowed courteously and humbly.

"Uuuh…" Kisame weakly raised a hand. "I know I'm gonna regret this, but I have a question."

"Ask away, Knight of Nine."

"Ugh…even if we bring the brat to you, just what do you plan to do with him while we get all the others?"

"Eh?"

Setsuna's prodigious mind rapidly began to ponder possibilities of dramatically increasing rating, her face flushing and heating up at the same time.

"Wha-wha-wha…" Steam poured out of her ears, making an adorable sibilant sound. "WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO IMPLY, INSOLENT?"

"BWEEEEEEGH!"

Nothing at all. Kisame was implying nothing at all.

"Now, leave! My patience comes to an end. And to you, Uchiha Itachi: do not forget what we strive for. For glory!"

Itachi nodded, his usually-inexpressive eyes burning with the determination of a lolicon with a purpose.

"And delicious flat chests."

Setsuna returned the nod in approval of his words. With that, Itachi departed, Kisame following a step behind, barely keeping up due to his slightly unstable gait. Too much electricity can do that to a person, and also to a…weird…shark…thing.

When the two had been swallowed by the darkness beyond the circular room, Tobi carefully approached his grandmother.

"Nee, is it really okay? To let Kisame-kun know all this."

"It is necessary. Hoshigaki will succeed where Itachi might fail."

"Huh?"

Setsuna explained. "It should be no problem for Itachi-kun to capture Naruto. However, what do you think will happen if he is exposed to the truth about the nature of the Nine-Tails sealed within?"

It only took about two seconds for Tobi to figure it out. "Oh. Oh…"

"I never met Higashiyama Sayuri myself, but from what I've been told, and from the fact she's no older than 115, I can tell that she's very, very, VERY cute. And very loli to boot."

"Itachi might succumb to her charm and forget our glorious purpose. Then it will be up to Hoshigaki Kisame to finish the job."

"Heeeh…you're so smart, Doctor S!"

"Of course."

"But…do you really intend to give Kisame-kun all that? An island? And a harem?"

Setsuna snorted. "Of course not. He's dead the moment I have all beasts in the statue."

"I HEARD THAT!" An angry voice shouted from the distance.

"NO YOU DIDN'T!" Tobi gasped when the angered Setsuna shot a bolt of lightning at the darkness beyond…and winced when it became bright for a second to display the image of a certain S-rank nin being electrocuted.

"U-GUUUUUUUU~!"

"YOU'RE ELEVEN EVOLUTIONARY BRANCHES AWAY FROM THE UGLIEST _**KEY**_ CHARACTER, YOU FREAK!"

"FWUEEEEEEEEHGH!"

"Much better! Hmph!" She turned around, towards the bedroom beyond the curtain. "Now leave me alone, Tobi. I'm getting changed. We depart in ten minutes."

"Hoe?"

"Didn't I say it before? We leave to Konoha right away. I have a date."

Tobi's face brightened behind the mask. "Date?"

"Eh? Did I say—NO! I meant appointment! APPOINTMENT! DIE, NEURONS, DIE!"

"BU-WHAAAAAAAAGH!"

Lightning: the solution to everything. With a low chakra cost to boot, it seems.

After closing the curtain behind her, Tobi could only see Setsuna's silhouette struggling to get rid of the bulky wear she used as Doctor S. He did not really mind the lightning anymore. After so many years he was pretty much used to it. What bothered him was that his mistress was keeping secrets from him.

Just why was she planning to do in Konoha? Why the hurry anyway? Orochimaru's attack? No, that could not be it.

The masked Uchiha traitor replayed the last few lines of conversation in his head…and the proverbial light bulb was lit.

"Ahh…so that's how it is." He chuckled to himself. "She's so cute, Setsuna-mama. So it's 'Naruto', huh? Fufufufufu—"

He did not notice a hand poking out of the curtain.

"GET OUT ALREADY!"

"BWAAAAAAAAGH!"

* * *

**INTERLUDE END**


	17. Golden Lilies, Silver Lilies, Part One

**Author's Note: **I can only direct you to my profile for the Sayumayu Reference Site, if you have not checked it out already. Also, I do not own Naruto.

* * *

_**Naruto Genkyouien**_

_**- **__**ナルト**__**- **__**幻**__**脅**__**威宴**_

**Chapter Thirteen: Golden Lilies, Silver Lilies (Part One)  
**

* * *

Tenten could not sleep last night. That explained why her bloodshot eyes were fixated on the ceiling above her bed. By her side, a certain nine-tailed Kitsune…snored.

"Zzzzzzzz…munya-munya-munya-munyaaa…zzzzzzzz…munya-munya-munya-munyaaa…"

Yes, those are snores.

Really.

Why could not Tenten sleep? That, of course, is Sayuri's fault, too. Her infodump (mostly involuntary) had made Tenten think. A lot.

_That boy, Naruto, is the Yondaime's son, and he has the Kyuubi sealed within his body. Kyuubi is a silly little foxgirl with a ridiculous catchword. The Kyuubi from the future has come to kill somebody and to contact the present Kyuubi._

She wondered who else might know this information, or even part of it. From Sayuri's words she could infer the boy, Naruto, probably knew all this. If this was true, then the fact he was not insane yet was worthy of nothing but admiration. Also, he was doing a pretty damn good job at keeping things hidden.

She also thought about the weird explosion that blasted parts of the Hokage Mountain the previous day. She remembered that more than a few people were quick to blame Naruto for apparently no reason. Did they know about Kyuubi?

Of course, she doubted anybody in Konoha (besides Naruto) knew the current Kyuubi, the Kyuubi that attacked Konoha, was in fact a loli. Not even the Third.

Tenten felt sorry for the Fourth for some reason.

Even since that horrible, fateful night, Konoha had lived with the memory of the terrible monster; the merciless force of nature that could obliterate entire swaths of land with a swipe of any of its gargantuan tails.

In the darkness of her bedroom, while looking at the sleeping Sayuri, Tenten could only wonder: how the hell did THAT happen?

She considered telling someone, anyone. The question remained: what could they do?

"_Hokage-sama, I have the Kyuubi from the future sleeping on my bed right now."_

Tenten almost groaned at that thought. That sounded plain stupid.

On the other side, she had realized, maybe she did not need to mention the future Sayuri at all. Maybe she could somehow direct the Third's attention to Naruto; make him realize that Naruto had a friendship of sorts with the nine-tails.

If the truth of Naruto's relationship with Sayuri was revealed, that would certainly force Sayuri to reveal her full intentions. Both the present and the future one.

All plans died a horrible, horrible death when she opened the window of her bedroom with every intention to dash non-stop to the Hokage's residence.

She would never forget the…things she saw through that window.

Sayuri had trapped her, and her entire house, in the most disturbing jutsu ever conceived. Every single time she opened her window, it revealed something different.

The first time she saw the loveliest, most clichéd flower field, with a line of sheep jumping over a fence.

Every sheep that did so suddenly caught flame for no apparent reason.

The second time she came face to face with a person she had never seen before. The bespectacled, loser-faced young man seemed as surprised as her, at least until this long-haired brunette popped out of nowhere to deck him a terrifying flying kick.

Then the girl spontaneously combusted.

She closed the window after that.

Then there was the world where water was replaced by napalm, the world where everyone was constantly undergoing combustion, the world where the soil was composed of burning coals and the world where anybody who said "ni" spontaneously combusted.

Tenten was starting to see a pattern to these visions…but then came the tentacles.

The last time she opened the window (she wasn't sure why she kept opening the damn thing; anyway), she saw nothing but light and tentacles. Dark, slimy, abominable bulges of amorphous, protoplasmic matter as far as her eyes could see. Under a sky where stars were few and dim, Tenten felt as if she had reached the end of the universe, only to find this…slime entity. Because there was no doubt in her mind, that this sea of tentacles surrounded by globes of pluricolored light was but a single being, a creature of pure entropy, a being of alien intellect, a…thing so far beyond her understanding that any attempt at unveiling, or even worse, understanding its nature, would certainly lead to a fate far worse than death.

And then Sayuri, suddenly awake, popped up behind her and said "hey!"

Tenten could swear the endless creature writhed; its tentacles making a horrible, squelching sound that somehow seemed to say "yo."

And then the Kitsune and the entity beyond time, space, mathematics and abstraction began to drink tea and chat.

Don't ask how, they just did.

Tenten simply closed the window, undressed once more and climbed on the bed. Strangely enough, she found Sayuri soundly sleeping on the bed next to her. Not even bothering to look at the Sayuri outside the window, she curled into a fetal position and shuddered the night away

It was not strange, then, that she was filled with murderous intent (and a few other things, but mostly murderous intent) when the lovely nine-tails calmly woke up and yawned cutely, welcoming the new day with a smile.

"Hmmm…munya…mornin', onii-chan, Ma…hmm?" She blinked a few times. "Mugyuu? Whe-where…ah!" Finally, her radiant face met Tenten's not quite so radiant. "Runrun-chan…good morn-IGHCK!"

Like a vicegrip, the kunoichi's hands clasped around Sayuri's neck.

"Good morning my ASS! I couldn't sleep at all!" Tenten complained quite loudly as she wringed Sayuri for all her worth. "What the hell was that? It's going to be in my nightmares for the next ten years! AND MY NAME IS TENTEN! TEN! TEN!"

Whoosh.

By the end of the entire ordeal, Tenten was on all fours on top of Sayuri, whose cascading hair draped over the bed like an additional sheet of golden thread. The nine-tails looked up at the human's raging eyes, not visibly worried about the sudden outburst.

On a side note, Tenten's head was on fire.

"Why did you do this?" Somehow Tenten could still keep her eyes open while cloaked in flames. Sayuri shrugged.

"I thought it might cool you down."

A pause.

Tenten…Tenten slowly shook her head. "There…there are so many ways I could respond to that, it's not even funny. Just make it stop."

So Sayuri did.

"What was that?" Tenten repeated, this time a lot calmer.

"What was what?"

"The window thing!" The human girl's temper flared for a moment.

"Ah!" Sayuri smiled. She actually looked proud. "That was my jutsu!"

"…jutsu."

"Hmm! Jutsu! Nine-Tails Illusion: Evanescent Shrine Realm!" Sayuri explained, and then paused, also pouting. "Well, it's called an illusion, but it's more of a space-time jutsu…you see, it takes an area and creates a mini-realm parallel to this area, based on my dreams! It's…it's like…like…umm…mugyuu…I dunno how to explain it to humans…"

"That…" Tenten was not sure she wanted an explanation anyway. "…that doesn't matter. That means…what I saw…those were…those were your **dreams**?"

"Um!" Sayuri nodded. "Well, not just the ones from last night; I remember every dream I've ever had, you see."

"Even then one with the tentacles?"

Sayuri's eyes widened. "Ah! You met Sothoth-san!"

Tenten stared down at the Kyuubi. She stared for a long time. Sayuri, once she realized the girl was not going to say anything, continued.

"Yeah, Sothoth-san. He's all squiggly and yucky, and most of the time he's in a bad mood so he tries to kill me, but that's okay, I always manage to get away. Inari-sama and the other gods say he's a crazy figment of my imagination, but I know they know. They just don't want to admit it. Probably because they don't want to think about the consequences." Sayuri paused yet again. "Thinking about it, I really shouldn't be telling you this. Can I erase your memory?"

"How about no?"

"Mugyuu…not even if this knowledge may eventually lead you to a horrible fate as your realize that our very existence and experiences are but an illusion; a fragile bubble roaming pointlessly within a heartless, mechanical, uncaring and indifferent universe far beyond our control or even comprehension?"

"No."

"Mugyuu…you aren't even listening to me!"

"I am almost completely sure I will go irrevocably insane if I actually pay attention to you."

"Mugyuu…I'm not an Old One…"

"Will you stop it with the 'mugyuu' already?"

"Mugyuu…"

"STOP IT!"

Sayuri did stop, allowing Tenten to move to her next question.

"Why did you do that, anyway? That…" A shudder. "…jutsu?"

"Well, I obviously couldn't let Kankan-chan warn her ninja friends while I was asleep, could I?"

Tenten froze. For a second there she could have sworn there was a hint of mocking amusement on Sayuri's eyes and tone. However, in front of her she could see nothing but the usual infuriating innocence the beautiful Kitsune irradiated.

"…so I'm stuck with you." Tenten stated.

"Yup. But just for today, until I meet younger me."

Tenten raised an eyebrow. "Then what stops me from talking the moment you leave me alone?"

Sayuri chuckled. "Hehehe, you silly Rinrin." She began. "Why do you assume I need to be right by your side to keep watch on you?"

The young kunoichi looked down at the ever-confident nine-tails, and then she sighed. "I hate you."

"Awww…you need a hug!"

"Ack! No! Wait! Agh, let go! And say my damn name right! It's Tenten! TENTEN!"

The couple did not hear the door soon enough. Well, Tenten didn't. Sayuri was fast enough to hide her ears and tails.

"Tenten, dear, what's with the ruckus so early in the—"

Three pairs of eyes met. Tenten's father was unable to finish his sentence; it is certainly hard to do so when confronted by the sight of your prepubescent daughter cuddling on her bed with a very beautiful and very naked girl.

"Ah…umm…da-dad…"

"Sorry!"

And the door was closed a second later. Tenten's anguished face stared at the door for several seconds before looking back down at the foxgirl. Two brown-tipped ears and nine tails appeared under Sayuri with a burst of white smoke.

"Hmm, whoopsies?"

"'I want to die."

"I can erase his memory."

"Quiet you," Tenten hissed.

"Tenten, dear?"

The girl stiffened once more. The voice behind the door continued.

"I just…well…just so you know…no-no matter…no matter what choices you make, your parents will always love you…" The voice, which to Tenten had always been a bastion of strength and adult maturity, had become awfully weak and unreliable. "…o-okay?"

Tenten closed her eyes, gritting her teeth harder with every departing step. She guessed her mother would learn of her daughter's new apparent sexual preferences in a minute or so.

"Fonfon-chan, you can always look at the bright side."

Sayuri was unfazed by the killing glare she got from the Genin.

"At least your new girlfriend's very pretty!"

Wiggle, wiggle.

"Die."

* * *

It is a habit of the matriarch to be the last to go to sleep and the first to wake up. However, she was not the first to emerge for her resting place that morning. That achievement went, of course, to Yurine.

That does not mean, though, that she was the first one in the central clearing that morning. That achievement goes, of course, to the one that never slept in the first place.

Not that anybody knows this, however. Only her mother and grandmother know of Mayuri's chronic insomnia. Yurine, who is used to meeting her first time in the morning, thinks the little two-tails is just a very early bird.

"Morning, morning, Mayuri-chan," the five-tails greeted, stretching her arms to ready herself for the new day. "Slept well?"

She only got a stare in response; Mayuri's tired eyes surrounded by ugly dark rings.

"Hawaa…wanna go to the river with me? I need to wash my face before I start with breakfast."

After doing that they moved to finding breakfast. It was then that Mayuri had the chance to see something not many others had seen before. Yurine, despite her infantile mentality, still had a commendable skill with kudagitsune; a pale flicker of the laudable abilities she had once possessed. The mother of two summoned at least two dozen of the long-bodied, fox-like spirits, sending most of them to forage for edible fruits and useful herbs, as well as some to catch the early fish. The few she kept close she used for hunting.

Yurine had a great nose. The moment she saw a potential meat source (rabbit or bird), she sent a kudagitsune for the killing blow, not unlike a certain sannin uses his snakes. The spirit flew through the unaware animal's body, immediately rendering it lifeless. Yurine did not forget to send a prayer to the forest deities, expressing her gratitude and praying for the sake of the life she had just taken.

She lost Mayuri at some point during her foray. When they met again, the young two-tails had the corpses of two rabbits in her hands. Yurine did not think of asking how the little one pulled it off; she only praised her for her accomplishment and asked her if she had done the proper post-kill ritual (namely, the praying).

However, when they made it back to camp, they ran into a problem.

"Hmm…how…just how do I make a fire?" Yurine stated the question.

Mayuri held back a sigh. She should have known this would happen.

In Yurine's defense, she had once known how to make a fire by natural means. A long time ago, before she became a mother.

"I don't want to wake Yurimi-chan up," Yurine declared. "She might not be feeling too well…after…umm…after last night-huh? Ma-Mayuri-chan! Wait!"

Apparently, Mayuri did not give a damn, as she was briskly making her way to Yurimi's tent. Yurine made a frantic grimace before following the little two-tails.

"Hawawawaa…this isn't good…"

* * *

Strangely enough, Yuriyo awakened before her sister. Despite…whatever the matriarch did to her the night before, and despite her penchant for oversleeping, the fact that she was not used to sleeping in a tent outdoors drove her to an early start that day.

She felt like crap.

After the usual awakening protocols (yawning, rubbing eyes, blinking a few times and stretching), the first thing she noticed was her mother's absence. She correctly attributed it to Yurine's status as family chef.

Absentmindedly, she fixed the strap of her babydoll that slipped down her right shoulder. Yawning a second time and acknowledging the fact that she would not be going back to sleep any time soon, Yuriyo focused her attention on her sister.

The sleeping girl was the reason Yuriyo had not switched to fox form to sleep that night. It was her warmth and the comforting feeling her presence offered that converted an insufferable sleepless night into an uncomfortable light sleep.

A finger gently traced the few loose golden locks that fell down Yurina's forehead. The half-Celestial's body was turned to her left, towards Yuriyo. Cautiously, very cautiously, the dark-haired sister played with Yurina's soft hair, enjoying the feeling and the visage of the sleeping beauty's lovely smile…until the hand went deathly stiff.

"K-Kuh…" Yuriyo grimaced, futilely trying to pull the hand away. It did not budge. She tried to put all her willpower and determination into it, but that quickly was replaced by alarm when her nails rapidly gained an unnatural and frightening black tint.

Yuriyo closed her eyes, but that quickly proved to be a mistake, too. The Whispers from the Void filled her mind with sacrilegious, immoral lines, luring her to do things she would never agree to.

"I…said…no…"

Alien to her sister's inner battle, Yurina peacefully slept.

* * *

It was a lovely place, an endless meadow of greenery soft as her finest kimono. Her feet were almost floating; her eager pace like feathers dancing in the spring breeze. She could see her destination closer and closer: the single patch of white in this world out of an alpine paradise.

He was waiting for her, elegantly seated on the large white sheet. Even from the distance she could sense his placid, beckoning smile, under those eyes made of the sky itself.

She had to start decelerating a good ways before she reached him, otherwise her trip down the slope could have resulted in a rather embarrassing accident. By the time she got to him, the elation she felt, added to the adrenaline in her veins, made for a rather flustered young Kitsune.

"Ah…" She needed a while to settle down her breath. "…umm…he-hello."

The boy did not say anything. His smile grew slightly wider as he offered the white sheet for her to seat down.

"Um…um…tha-thank you…" The blushing Yurina fidgeted with her indexes while she sat down in front of the orange-clad human, her knees almost touching his. She felt awfully self-conscious; the way his eyes did not seem to leave her face, the way he stared…it made her heart beat very, very fast.

"A-Ano…p-please…such intensity…auuu…"

His smile did change, however, becoming awfully tender and comforting in a way that made Yurina almost squeal.

He had yet to open his mouth, but when he tilted his head and looked at her with a silent question in his face, she knew exactly what he was inquiring. She knew, and her body went rigid. Her left ear twitched, and so did her tails, as if anticipating what was to come.

It was so embarrassing!

With her head dropped to hide her outrageously bright blush, Yurina nodded weakly.

"U-Um. P-P-Please…please do."

Yurina thought she heard him chuckling, but it was so quiet it could have been the wind playing tricks on her. She said nothing else, her body stiff as it eagerly waited for his hand to reach the crown of her head, and from there the back of her ear…

He scratched.

* * *

"Hawaa…"

On the bright side, the single word completely drowned the Whispers from the Void. On the not-so-bright side, it made a vein pop out on Yuriyo's forehead.

The sleeping Yurina was twitching her ears cutely, at the same time her two tails wagged up and down like a very obedient dog.

It really, really pissed Yuriyo off.

"Yurina, I love you," she declared as her face darkened. "More than anything in this world. But if you pull out the 'Hawaa' again, I swear to all the gods out there that I'll kill you with my bare hands!"

"Hawawaa…"

"Alright, that's it!" Yuriyo cracked her knuckles. "Go to Heaven with the guilt of having turned your sister into a cold-blooded killer!"

* * *

Less than 50 feet away, Yurine was happily stirring her rabbit-and-bird stew, having decided to save the fish for a later occasion. Mayuri peeked on the unfinished meal very closely, even her usual lethargic nature driven wide awake by the appealing smell of her aunt's cooking. Yurine seemed very pleased by this.

"Everyone's taking so long to wake up…" She grinned childishly. "…at this rate we'll eat this by ourselves, Mayuri-chan!"

While her expression did not change, the way her tails flapped from side to side showed Mayuri did not particularly disagree with the prospect.

Yurine suddenly paused, before turning to look behind her. "Of course, Yurimi-chan too!"

"…"

Yurimi's usual expressionless gaze seemed to be laced with an additional layer of ice, to the point that it made Yurine's expression falter, but the cook just shook it away and refocused on the meal.

"Now, I'll just stir a little more, and it will be just right—HAWAH!"

Yurine had to duck out of the way of a beam of golden light.

"Yurina!" A certain half-void yelled inside the tent. "Stay still while I beat the 'Hawa' out of you! I swear I'll do it, even if I had to rip it off your DNA!"

"Wha-wha-Riyo-nee-chan! Wha-what are you—STAY AWAY!"

There was a flash of light inside the tent, for an instant revealing the silhouette of the twins. Yuriyo's shape, distinguishable due to her lack of clothes, threateningly descended upon her hapless sister.

"You won't become like our mother! I WON'T LET YOU!"

"Hawawaa…" Yurine's ears dropped as the five-tails pouted at her daughter's words. "Yuriyo-chan, you're too mean…"

Mayuri would have patted the woman's back or something, but she was too busy scooping out sips of that oh-so-glorious stew.

A few steps away, seated on the grass, Yurimi quietly stared at the flame she had created.

* * *

Ayame woke up with her neck in pain. She was just not used to sleeping on a couch.

She had returned quite late, for several reasons. After considering joining Naruto on the bed, she decided against it and let herself fall on the largest (and softest) piece of furniture in the place. She wasn't really paying attention to anything (it was late, and she was tired), so it comes as no surprise that she was quite shocked by being greeted by a certain four-tailed Kitsune calmly seiza-seated on the corner closest to Naruto's bedroom.

"Good morning, Kokoro-chan, Ayame-san."

"Kotonoha." The human rubbed her eyes, shaking her head a few times to dispel the drowsiness. "Why are you here?"

"Fulfilling my role as Naruto-sama's servant, of course."

"Right," Ayame mumbled. "Naruto?"

"Sleeping, I presume." The taller woman tilted her head. "I was surprised you did not try to join him."

Ayame shook her head dismissingly. "I'm better than that. Besides, he is too used to sleeping alone. Imposing on him would just upset him."

"Hmm…" Kotonoha had a knowing smile which thoroughly bothered her sister. Ignoring the seated Kitsune, Ayame stood up and stretched her dulled muscles.

"Ahh…so! Time to wake up that lazy brat!"

Kotonoha's sparkling eyes calmly followed Ayame as she walked to the bedroom door, mumbling something about the breakfast menu. A hand reached for the knob.

"Alright, Naruto, get your cute ass off that—"

It was as if the gravity around Ayame had suddenly increased. Kotonoha almost expected cracks to appear on the floor under her feet.

"Kokoro-chan, I must ask you not to disturb them," the guardian requested; her calmly amused smile never leaving her face. "I must also ask you not to break the doorknob."

"…you…you are enjoying this, aren't you?" Ayame growled darkly.

"Now what makes you think that?" Kotonoha responded, raising her left hand to her cheek.

"Did I make fun of you while Makoto was fucking every damn thing with tits and a pussy?"

"You were too young at the time; you have no idea what you are talking about. Now, allow me to remind you that I am the one with the katana."

Ayame soundlessly mouthed a trail of very nasty words, but carefully closed the door, allowing the two inside to rest peacefully. With her hand still on the doorknob, she spoke.

"How did this happen?"

"Yuria-sama formally claimed him last night."

Ayame did not move for a while.

"…claimed him."

"Yes."

"…Yuria."

"Yes."

"…Yuria," Ayame repeated.

"Yes, sister, Yuria-sama."

Slowly turning around, Ayame sat back down on the couch.

"…what happened to Yurimi?"

"Yurimi-sama did not act swiftly enough."

"Huh." The ramen waitress gently rubbed her temples, fighting a monster only she could feel. "And when the hell did Yuria meet Naruto anyway?"

"Last night."

"Last night."

"Last night," Kotonoha repeated.

"I…see…"

With steps as stiff as her muscles, Ayame got back on her feet, this time to go to the kitchen.

No, there is no punchline this time.

* * *

Higashiyama Yuri calmly and elegantly cupped her hands to hold some drinkable water from the river near the camp. Of course, using the words "calmly" and "elegantly" is almost redundant at this point, as this is the way she does pretty much everything.

After the morning briefing, she was alone in the forest. Well, if we do not count Kurosaki Sayoko, her eternal companion. The girls had the day for themselves, with the sole condition that they all had to be back in the camp and properly groomed up for dinner by sundown. Yuri only said that dinner that night would be very special.

Oh, she had no idea.

After departing, Yuri could not help but take some moments to think about her family and the latest turn of events.

Yurimi was still obviously shaken by Yuria's stunt the previous night, but after a lengthy conversation they had last night, in which Yurimi finally figured out why Yuri had backed up her sixth daughter's claim, she seemed to have regained at least most of her composure. It helped that nobody else commented on it, especially not Yuriyo, who was precisely the kind of woman who would not miss the chance, being older than Yurimi and therefore having nothing to fear from her.

Speaking of Yuriyo, she seemed to have recovered awfully well from yesterday's "punishment." True enough, she had not gone too hard on the girl, but still, Yuri did not expect her to be her usual perky self so soon. Was this also the power of the Void?

However, if she couldn't control it…

"Sayoko-san, I will ask you to take care of Yuriyo-chan for me…" The matriarch frowned when she received no response. "…Sayoko-san?"

A sweatdrop was the result of watching the dark-haired Kitsune kneeling by the shore, head dunked into the cool running torrent.

"Please spare me from your suicide attempts today, Sayoko-san," Yuri pleaded as she pulled the other woman by the back of her purple shawl.

"Auuu…"

Leaving Sayoko to her pouting, Yuri turned her thoughts back to her daughters and granddaughters.

The twins, who surprisingly had not awoken to witness the claiming last night, seemed to have recovered from…whatever Yurie had done to them yesterday. They did not seem very interested in the situation, as they were not interested in males in general. It was a good thing, true, as they could be worse than Yuriyo in that respect, but Yuri still greatly lamented Yuriko's and Yurika's rampant lesbianism.

Now they were on the loose, and Yuri already was sending prayers to the poor human fools who would become their next victims. She only hoped they picked their targets carefully. Ninjas could be a tricky bunch.

Mayuri, Yuri could tell, had not slept last night, either, or at least she had not slept anywhere near enough. However, she calmly and wordlessly followed her mother to Konoha; her hand tightly seized by Yurisa's, who tried to permeate their mood with enthusiasm she did not truly feel. It was almost tear-jerking.

Then there was Yurine and her daughters. Yuriyo seemed quite interested in exploring a human village for the first time. Yurina, while nervous about the prospect of being surrounded by so many humans, was obviously as interested as her sister.

According to what Yurimi had told her, Yurina had shown to be as delighted by mundane petting as her mother. It was very rare for a Kitsune to act so much like…well, a dog, and even rarer for someone else to figure it out. How, or more precisely, why Uzumaki Naruto had resorted to such actions so quickly was worth evaluating.

Evidence pointed towards Sayuri, of course.

Yurine would follow her daughters like a caring mother…or a faithful puppy. Yuri trusted Yurina to take care of her sometimes-mentally-challenged mother.

What the young lilies ignored was that they were being tested.

"Hmm…I wonder how they'll do…" Yuri began speaking to herself…or to Sayoko. It's hard to tell at times. "While those girls think they know plenty about human culture and behavior, being there in human territory is a different matter. Really, I wonder…"

Each of the foxgirls had received a certain amount of ryo for them to spend freely that day. The catch was that, except for Yurisa, they had all received an almost negligible amount of money, enough for little more than a loaf of bread or two. However, the value of human money was one thing the lilies had never learned, so there was no way for them (except maybe Yurine, if she remembered) to know this until they tried to use the money they had been given…or until they started checking out price lists. Then, they would face the choice of whether to live the day penniless (possibly skipping lunch in the process) or to use their wiles to get cash.

Yuri's kudagitsune were invisibly trailing the lilies. She wanted to see the different ways in which the young Kitsune dealt with this little trial.

"How do you think they'll do, Sayoko-san?"

"Mmmggrrbbblrrrbbblrrrlll…."

"Sayoko-san, please stop it already!" The tall seven-tails hurried to drag her best friend out of the water again.

* * *

"Onee-chan…" Yurina moaned, clinging to her fraternal twin's right arm. "Really, this is so embarrassing…"

"Oh, come on," Yuriyo retorted, the half-Void walking proudly with her head high. "They're just humans; it's expected of them to admire us."

"Hawaa…" Yurine, two steps behind, mumbled. Indeed, the trio of Kitsune easily caught the attention of those around them, drawing stares of more than one kind from both men and women. While Yurine was a very beautiful young woman all over, it was obvious most looks were directed at her prominent cleavage, poorly concealed behind her modified white kimono shirt. As for the twins…

"Onee-chan, really…this dress is too short…" Yurina complained, futilely trying to pull down her clothes.

While their usual one-piece attire looked like the kind of thing that a kunoichi might wear, there was no denying that, with its thinner, softer, flimsier material, as well as the fact that the skirt part it was almost unforgivably short, it made for a natural magnet to the most lustful, prying eyes.

"I'm sure everyone can see my panties…"

"Oh?" Yuriyo raised an eyebrow. "You wearing panties?"

"Eh?" Her sister blinked. "Of course I'm wearing—YOU'RE NOT WEARING ANY!"

"Oi!" Yuriyo hissed. "You wanna make a scene or what?"

"Bu-bu-b-b-b-but, onee-chan!" Yurina continued, making sure to keep her voice down. Behind her, Yurine, too, looked worried. "Aren't you embarrassed?"

"Hmph." The black-haired beauty flung her hair obnoxiously. "It's not me who should be embarrassed. It's them who will embarrass themselves trying to peek up my clothes."

Yurina understood. Despite the shortness of the garb, anybody interested in glimpsing the treasure concealed underneath would certainly have to make his (or her) intentions quite obvious.

The half-void, however, suddenly looked quite thoughtful.

"Well…of course, I could always do something like this."

Yurina's eyes almost popped out of their sockets when her sister made a very spirited twirl.

"GYAAAAAAH!"

An instant later, the blonde had flung the ebony-haired over her shoulder and ran away as fast as humanly (well, Kitsune-ly) possible.

"O-Oi! Yurina! Wa-wait, I was just joking—I'm really showing everything like this!"

"Gyaaaaaah! Gyaaaaah, gyaaaaaah, gyaaaaaaaaaaah!" Yurina's panic attack drowned all other sounds. Their mother could only watch until the twins disappeared from sight; a trail of dust tracing the half-Celestial's frantic run.

"Hawaa…Yurina-chan, so fast…"

Of course, many other eyes followed the doublet until it disappeared, but they quickly dismissed as yet another of many odd scenes that took place in Konohagakure. In the end, it was only Yurine who kept staring at the distance…at least, until she realized she was alone.

"…hawaa?"

* * *

Almost ominously, a tiny silver ball popped out of the single hole in that wheel-shaped container. After bouncing a few times with a very distinct "plink" sound, it came to a rest on the tin platter underneath. There was a heavy silence, marked by the audience of about nine or ten people who mutely watched the inanimate sphere.

Those same eyes followed a tiny, fair-skinned hand, which seized the metal ball and presented it to the single man behind the table on which the wheel and the platter rested.

With that simple action, Higashiyama Mayuri broke the silence.

"Uoooooooooh—winner, WINNER!" The man in the sleeveless purple gi mercilessly swung a copper bell. "We have a winner!"

A few minutes later, Mayuri, still surrounded by a small crowd, presented her mother with a big wad of cash. It was not precisely a fortune, but it was plenty enough to fare comfortably for a few days.

Yurisa could only sweatdrop as she received the money, added it to the measly amount Mayuri had received from the matriarch, and began to count it.

"Ahahaa…Mayuri, I don't think this is what Mother had in mind when she set up this test…"

"Oi, little miss!"

The white-haired two-tails turned to look at the man in charge of the lottery.

"Seems like you're blessed by Benzaiten-sama, little miss." The man flashed a toothy grin. "Wanna try for the golden prize? It's a trip to the placid beaches of Tea Country, all expenses paid!"

After three seconds of quiet staring, Mayuri turned away from the man. She had no interest in travelling. What she needed was cash, so she got cash.

"Hmmm, there's plenty of money here, Mayuri…" Yurisa muttered, still counting. "So, what do you want to do now—eh?"

The blonde mother's eyes quickly found her daughter's departing figure.

"Ma-Mayuri! Please wait for me!" With a quick bow to the man behind the table and the few witnesses of Mayuri's little achievement, Yurisa departed, hurrying to follow after her mute daughter.

* * *

"Ne, ne, Tuntun-chan!"

Tenten, who had been in the middle of closing the door to her bedroom, finished the action in a sudden and overly loud manner.

"What?" Her voice came out as a dangerous growl. She had just returned from a very silent and VERY uncomfortable breakfast with her parents. Her mother was a crying wreck and her father was disturbingly content about the whole thing. Needless to say, none of them believed that the naked beauty resting in her bedroom was anything but their lesbian daughter's ridiculously beautiful lesbian lover.

"Was this always here?"

"Huh?"

Sayuri from the future was standing (in all her glorious, naked, nine-tailed self) by Tenten's dresser, looking down at a…

"What the heck is that?"

"It's Justice-san!" Sayuri responded excitedly while she picked the overly pinkish wand. With her words, it came to life.

**Excuse me? Milady, I must ask from where you know my name, for I am quite certain we have not met before.**

Tenten blinked exactly once. "…it talks. And what kind of language was that anyway? And how the hell can I understand it?"

"It's Englush!" Sayuri answered joyfully.

**English. And it's obvious Master can understand it. She had no problems understanding Raisin—OW!**

"Yeah, that! Ahahahahaha!" Sayuri laughed forcedly, while she slammed the wand on the dresser before it said too much. "Mou, Justice-san, what was with all the formality, anyway? We're friends!" Sayuri paused. "Well, we'll be…sorta…it's complicated." She paused again. "Wait, Justice-san can break the Fourth Wall?"

**I was created by Inari-sama as a gift to the Katsura family. Like all his Kitsune children, I have been gifted with The Power.**

"Huh." The nine-tails' mouth made a cute little O. "…cool." A third pause. "Wait, 'Master'?" She had just finished that last word when her face lightened with realization. "Ah! So it was today!"

Sayuri immediately presented the magic tool to the kunoichi.

"Congratulations, Burunburun-chan!"

A shuriken lodged itself on Sayuri's forehead a moment later.

"NOW YOU'RE ADDING SYLLABLES!"

"Mugiii!" Sayuri cried when a cute little fountain of red arched its way out of the wound.

"Wow, it even made a rainbow…how does that work anyway?" Tenten looked at the optical marvel in amazement.

**Such a blunt and violent Master…** The wand sobbed. **It's so nostalgi—OW!**

"You're not Raising Heart!" Sayuri growled at the wand she had just slammed on the dresser for the second time. "Mugyuu…" Turning back to Tenten, she pouted, pulling off the ninja star with no effort. Tenten did notice but paid no heed to the wound closing almost instantly. "Konkon-chan, that hurt…"

"You're the frickin' Nine Tails, you can deal with it."

"Yeah, but still…" Sayuri was rubbing the no-longer-existent wound. "It's not nice…"

"Nice, you say…" Tenten hissed.

**Umm, excuse me, milady…**

"Mugyuu?"

**I cannot help but notice that the young lady has, indeed, nine tails. Are you really one of the Chosen of Inari-sama?**

"Um! I'm Sayuri! Higashiyama Sayuri!" Sayuri nodded. "I've got nine tails! They're pretty!"

Wiggle, wiggle.

**I see…of course, I've been kept in the box for many years…Higashiyama Sayuri-sama…so the Great Ghost Clan has a Kyuubi…is Kougon-sama still the Celestial Chosen?**

"Yup."

**Hmm…but, for Sayuri-sama to be a Kyuubi…when did Fubuki-sama pass away?**

"She hasn't. I'm the third."

**Three-three Chosen! Bu-but that's impossible! How did that happen?**

"Kitsune Poker Night."

…**I beg your pardon?**

"Kitsune Poker Night," Sayuri repeated and then grinned. It was, curiously enough, the perfect poker face.

…**I…this is one of those things this worthless self should not bother with, is it?**

"Mou, don't say that about yourself, Justice-san."

"Oi."

The attention of both Kitsune and mystical magical girl artifact shifted to the girl still standing by the bedroom entrance.

"Are you done talking as if I weren't here?"

Sayuri seemed to ponder the question for a moment. "Hmm, I am."

**Yes, Master.**

"Good." Tenten nodded. An instant later, her face assumed an expression of alarm. "So what's this about three Kyuubi?" And she pointed to the wand. "And what's with the talking stick?"

A gasp could be heard from the magic tool.

**A stick! A stick she calls me!**

Sayuri gently patted it. "There, there. Don't mind that silly Blingbling-chan; she'll come to love you."

Tenten felt like pulling her hairs out. "Argh, just answer me already!" Crossing her legs after sitting on the bed, she shot a fierce glare at the nine-tails. "Now."

"Muuu…" With a childish pout on her lovely face, Sayuri looked down at Heart of Justice. "Should I really? I mean, Yurimi-chan already explained this; the readers might complain about getting repetitive or some silly thing like that; you know they complain about everything."

**Well, that was all the way back in chapter six, so they could use a reminder…but it would help if Sayuri-sama spices it up with some plot and stuff. Or maybe the author will just end the scene and Master will get the explanation off-screen.**

Sayuri's expression brightened notably. "Okay!" She turned to her host. "So! Sonson-chan!"

"TENTEN!"

"Yeah, that. So, like, Inari's the one who choose who gets to become Kyuubi. But one of the Kyuubi was always the…the…how was it called again?"

**Sayuri-sama!**

"Mugiii!" Sayuri almost jumped an entire yard up. "What is it? You scared me!"

**Sayuri-sama! Referring to Inari-sama in such an informal manner!**

The honey blonde stared at the magic wand with a face that obviously said "and you yelled at me for something like that?"

"Mou, it's not like he even cares…just tell me how it's called already! The leader of the Shinkirou Clan! Sayuri forgot."

**The Bodhisattva, you mean? It represents an Enlightened Being, you know.**

"Pfft, yeah right."

This time Tenten was absolutely sure. Sayuri's expression had seriously darkened for a moment there.

"Anyway! Yeah, this Bodhi-whatever of the Shinkirou Clan was always one of the chosen Kyuubi!"

"Was?"

Sayuri blinked. "Huh?" And then she noticed. "Ah! I mean is! IS! Mugyuu…"

Tenten was actually more amused than anything else. "Idiot…"

**I…am missing something important here, aren't I?**

* * *

"What the hell was that about?"

"Haa…haa…haa…o…one…onee-chan!" After regaining her breath, Yurina proceeded to properly scold her sister. "S-S-Such a shameless display!"

"You showed them more by flinging me over your shoulder and carrying me like a sack of potatoes!"

The blonde twin's eyes widened as she realized that, indeed, her sister's words were true. "Oh…oh my GOD! I'm sorry! I'm so very sorry! Really!"

Yuriyo rolled her eyes before her pleading sister. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. So, where are we now?"

"Hmm, I dunno…" Yurina mumbled, looking around until she realized their numbers had dropped to two. "…we lost mom."

"So we did," Yuriyo said as she looked around, also acknowledging Yurine's absence. "…so, wanna do some window-shopping?"

"Onee-chan!" The Darling Lily cried in outrage. "Aren't you worried about her?"

"What, why? She's an adult; she can take care of herself."

Yuriyo met her sister's heated gaze for the better part of ten seconds. In the end, an uncomfortable Yuriyo had to look away.

"Okay, so we need to look for mom."

"Good." Yurina nodded.

"But we also need to do something about this money problem you mentioned." The half-Void crossed her arms under her chest. "Seriously, what a pointless hassle."

Yurina nodded. "It is obvious this is a test of sorts."

"Yeah, yeah…" Yuriyo's smile grew as she wrapped an arm over her sister's shoulders. "But you figured it out so quickly! That's my sis," she complimented, rubbing her nose on her sister's golden hairs.

"Ahaha, onee-chan…" Yurina giggled cutely.

"So, since you noticed the problem, let your sexy sister take care of it, okay?" Poking the tip of Yurina's nose, the black-haired succubus winked saucily. "Be a good girl and don't move."

"Ah, oh-okay…" It was hard for Yurina not to feel a little nervous when her gorgeous sister got all affectionate like that. She actually caught herself following the enticing sway of Yuriyo's rear as she walked away.

Yuriyo quickly turned to her right, disappearing into the gap between two adjacent buildings. Yurina waited for whatever it was her sister intended to do. However, after several minutes of nothing, she began to worry. Just where had Yuriyo gone? What did she intend to do?

Yurina wanted to go after her, but Yuriyo asked her to stay there, so she waited. Of course, she would be more than eager to move at the first sight of trouble.

The twin-tailed blonde seized this rare chance to take a better look at Konohagakure. It was a surprisingly bustling village; not precisely matching her image of how she thought a ninja village should be like. It was like any other human settlement, only with a higher percentage of individuals formally trained in the use of chakra. Every once in a while she noticed a roof-hopping patrol. Those you did not see in other human villages, she guessed. She also guessed that these patrols were but a small percentage, meant to further conceal the rest of the vigilance forces; the ones that actually remain invisible.

At ground level, however, the village burst with humanity. Before Yurina's eyes, the everyday of Konoha developed, blissfully uncaring of her presence. Wives greeted in the middle of the street to share gossip. A young courier hurried to deliver a package. A group of men loaded construction materials to a large, plain wooden cart tied to a pair of donkeys.

She had long ago noticed the broken monument; the fallen center point of Konoha. She guessed it made for an impressive sight when intact. That morning, however, it just looked depressing. The leftmost face and the third from left were completely unrecognizable, and the second one had a really bad hair job. Only the rightmost face remained unscathed. Whatever had destroyed the monument had also reached the nearby edifications, and Konoha was now beginning a frenzy of reconstruction work.

Motion in the corner of her right eye brought her attention back to the place where her sister had disappeared. She could only gape at what she saw.

A rather well-dressed middle-aged man had disappeared; his kidnapping unnoticed by anyone else. In the blink of an eye, Yurina had seen her sister glide out of the shadow of her narrow hideout, seize the man by his clothes and drag him into the darkness with her.

"Onee—" No more sounds came out of Yurina's mouth.

This was followed by yet another insufferable period of uncertainty. Unlike before, however, Yurina had absolutely no intention to go after Yuriyo. It did not help that her bright mind was conjuring all sorts of disturbing imagery. She was shuddering by this point.

Not soon enough, Yuriyo emerged from the alley, wearing a smile of satisfaction as she counted cash.

"Ri…Riyo-nee-chan…"

The smiling black-haired beauty took one of Yurina's hands and placed the money on it.

"You probably can manage this stuff better than me."

"Wha…wha…eh?"

Looking over her sister's shoulder, Yurina noticed the man's reappearance. Satisfaction did not describe the look on his face. He was wearing a grin far more suitable on somebody ten or twenty years younger. Yurina went deathly stiff when she noticed he was walking in their direction, only to be further stunned when he walked past them without even acknowledging them, walking down the street with a fast, confident stride.

"Wha…eh…huh?"

Yuriyo was fairly amused by her sister's reaction. "Close your mouth, Yurina. I'm supposed to be the stupid one of the two."

"Eh…uh…eh? No!" The blonde quickly corrected herself. "That's not true!"

The half-Void, unable to stop herself, ruffled with her sister's golden hair, much to Yurina's annoyance. "You're too cute, Yurina."

"Ah…" The blushing girl quickly changed the topic. "Wha-just what did you do to him?"

The black-haired succubus smirked. "Well, he **thinks** I just gave him an epic blowjob." She paused. "There might have been some breast action involved, too."

"Wha?" Yurina suddenly looked like she had taken four shots of tequila at the same time. "ONEE-CHAN!"

"What?" Yuriyo shrugged. "It was just an illusion: he was lost in his giddiness; he never noticed me emptying his wallet. Then it was just an issue of setting up a compulsion for him to go on his way without stopping to look at anyone. He got his blowjob, I got my cash; everybody's happy!"

"Bu-but, onee-chan, that's like…that's just like a prostitute!"

"An **illusory **prostitute," Yuriyo clarified.

"Bu-but!"

Yuriyo clasped a hand on her sister's left shoulder. "Yurina, enough."

Yurina went quiet, but her eyes still openly displayed her dissatisfaction.

"Act your age, sis." Yuriyo's narrow glance became even sharper than usual. "Regardless of what some people might think, I have too much pride to offer my body for money. Really, if I were as eager to fuck as Yuria thinks I am I would still be in that alley screwing his brains out." She paused. "Actually, we would just be getting started with rough foreplay."

"Onee-chan…" Yurina muttered, noting that Yuriyo was deviating from the issue at hand.

"Anyway." Yuriyo cleared her throat. "What does it matter if this guy now has a memory of me giving him head? It's no different from a dream; people often dream of themselves in erotic situations with friends and other people they've met. You know this as much as I do."

"So he'll remember you…"

"Of course he'll remember!" Yuriyo smirked saucily. "It might have been an illusion, but it was still the best damn blowjob he'll ever have!"

"Onee-chan…" Yurina held back a sigh…really, her sister could be so…

"Well, the compulsion wouldn't have worked if he didn't remember just why there's all that prolactin in his bloodstream."

"But what about when he notices he lost his money?"

"Well, he'll definitely try to blame me, but he won't be able to figure out when I ravaged his wallet. My hands were kinda busy, if you know what I mean." She winked.

Yurina's blush, which had been slowly fading, quickly regained its original intensity.

"Anyway, just forget about it," Yuriyo concluded, wrapping an arm over her sister's shoulders as she turned to face the same direction as her. "I would have already if you weren't whining so much. We got cash and my chastity remains intact."

Yurina found her chance to get a little payback.

"Unless we count Yuria-san's tails."

Yuriyo's proud shoulders slumped down a bit. "Quiet, you."

Yurina held back a giggle.

* * *

What the fraternal twins did not know (yet) was that, while the victim of Yuriyo's prank had disappeared from their lives, their natural, youthful beauty still drew a few glances.

"Tch, how troublesome…"

"Oh, come on, stop whining like that, Kiba! You're sounding like Shikamaru!" Yamanaka Ino crossed her arms behind her head. "You know many guys would love a chance like this."

"Many guys are not yet exposed to your wonderful personality," Inuzuka Kiba muttered bitterly. Ino shot him a glare.

"Pfft, you wouldn't know a cute girl if she stripped and shoved her breasts on your face."

"See?" Kiba shrugged. "You just proved my point. You don't have any breasts, so you're not a cute girl."

In the face of such unshakeable logic, Ino could only hiss and fume. "You're helping me carry the stuff, and that's that."

"Tch, what a pain in the-eh!" Kiba stumbled a step back right in time to avoid bumping into his male teammate's back. Aburame Shino had been walking ahead of Kiba and Ino for a while. "What the hell, Shino? Don't stop so suddenly like that!"

"Kiba."

The beastly boy's expression immediately hardened. Even Akamaru, who had been resting on Kiba's head all this time, went unusually tense at the sound of Shino's voice.

They knew that tone. It was Shino's unconscious means to announce to his team that he or his insects had noticed something.

But, that kind of alarm, in the middle of Konoha?

"What is it?" Kiba responded, a tense hand reaching for a concealed kunai. Ino was shooting odd looks at the two. She noticed the sudden change of atmosphere, but she was unable to interpret it.

"…epic booty at one o'clock."

Kiba facefaulted. "Damn it, Shino!"

"What?"

Ino decided to just follow Shino's stare, and she actually had to make a double-check. She caught herself staring at the two girls in the identical, revealing maroon dresses. It was not hard to notice the resemblance to Ino's own outfit, sans the lack of bandages and the presence of long sleeves. And the shorter skirts.

"…no way," The blonde kunoichi muttered. "No way a girl that young can look that hot."

"Allow me to state my utmost intention to use that sentence against you in the near future," Shino promptly declared.

"Jerk."

"Wow," Kiba shared his thoughts as he got back on his feet behind Shino. "Hot damn, who turned Konoha into Hot Babe Central and didn't tell me?"

Shino's only response was to allow his feet to move forward.

"O-Oi, Shino!" Ino blurted out, skipping honorifics in her hurry. "What do you think you're doing?"

"They move on their own," Shino explained. "My body demands to be closer to such glorious glutei."

"Did he just use the word 'glutei'?" Ino muttered quietly; her eyes fixed on her friend's back.

"Who cares?" Kiba retorted. "Let's go!"

The most skittish of the two; Yurina was the first to notice Shino. The boy in specs frowned when the twin-tailed blonde quickly interposed her sister between herself and the approaching group of humans. Yuriyo, however, simply rolled her eyes.

"Oh, for God's sake, Yurina…" She muttered before turning her attention to the humans. While Shino's appearance almost made her raise an eyebrow, she soon became aware of the real reason behind her sister's discomfort.

"Stop right there!" She tried to sound commanding, but her voice came out half an octave higher than desired. Yuriyo mentally kicked herself. Was she really so weak?

Her words, however, accomplished their intended purpose. Shino stopped on the spot, and so did Ino and Kiba a few steps behind him. The latter was taken aback when a thin index finger pointed at him.

"That."

"Wha—I'm not 'that'!" Kiba complained, and Akamaru barked as a bonus.

"'I-It talks!" Yurina squeaked behind her slightly taller sister.

"Of course I talk."

Shino tilted his head imperceptibly. "…what about Kiba?"

Yuriyo shook her head dismissingly. "Kiba, Fido, Wanko; I don't care what its name is, just get rid of him." She made a rather ugly grimace. "Damn, that's one ugly dog."

Let it be known that the author feels no personal dislike towards one Inuzuka Kiba.

Ino actually shot a look of pity to the half-dejected, half-outraged young man. She switched to a look of alarm when Shino actually turned around, cracking his knuckles as he approached his teammate.

"Wa-wait, Shino!"

"The hell, Shino!" Kiba exclaimed. "We're teammates, for Kami's sake! Packmates!"

"Don't use that word ever again." Crack, crack. Shino's neck made perturbing sounds.

"You're going to betray your TEAMMATE for a girl you don't even know just because she has the finest piece of ass I—I mean, we've ever seen?"

"I'm still here, you know," Yuriyo noted, before winking at the kunoichi. "Thanks for the compliment, though."

Shino actually paused to look at his female colleague. "That is, indeed, a very accurate description of the current situation, Ino. Good job."

Ino gaped. "WHAT KIND OF NINJA ARE YOU?"

Shino stopped once again. "I wear a trenchcoat. And sunglasses. And I use chakra-eating bugs to fight. What kind of ninja am I?"

The girl's face went flat dead as she pondered the retort. "…whoa." Crossing her left arm to let her right elbow rest on the palm, Ino scratched her chin with her right hand. "…you got me there. Seriously."

"A-Ano…"

The three ninja blinked in unison. In the same way, they turned their heads to look at the lovely Yurina, whose own head peeked out from behind her sister's back.

"A-Ano…p-please don't…umm…please be nice to each other!"

There was a heavy silence for a moment.

"…wow," Ino mumbled.

"Wow indeed," Shino added.

"Serious déjà vu," Kiba finished.

"Ah?" Yurina squeaked when she found herself the center of so much attention. "Kyah!" Her head disappeared behind Yuriyo's back.

"Aww, come on! I wanted to see the weird specs guy beat the crap out of the mutt!" Yuriyo complained, ignoring the glare she got from Kiba for that.

"Onee-chan! That's not nice."

"Oh, come on! You're shaking, I can feel you!"

"Still…" Yurina explained. "…it's not right to beat Dog-san just because it's ugly and scary…"

Somehow, coming from Yurina, it really, really hurt. For a second there Ino thought Kiba had been made with a different, lighter color palette.

"…besides…" Yurina continued. "…Riyo-nee-chan is shaking, too."

"I am not!"

"Yes, you are."

Even with Yurina behind her, Yuriyo could still feel her big carmine eyes drilling through her skull, almost challenging her to defy her. Even if she was the stronger sister, both in skill and personality, Yuriyo just could not win against her sister's all-seeing (at least in regards to her) eyes.

"Alright, alright, so the dog doesn't get a beating. So what now?"

"Umm…" Hesitatingly, the blonde emerged from her flimsy hideout to face the human trio. "…well…we…we're new to this village, so…we could use some help…maybe?"

"Eeee~eh?" Yuriyo whined. "You know, I'm not against having tour guides, but, really?" She stated; her left arm extended towards the three humans. "I mean, look at them! It's the ugly mutt…"

"Oi."

"…the creep that looks like he's gonna flash us anytime now…"

Shino raised an eyebrow.

"…and Miss I-act-like-the-cutest-girl-in-town-but-I'm-really-not!"

"HEY!"

"I mean, really! Anybody would be better!" Yuriyo paused, as an idea suddenly sparked in her mind. "Maybe that Naruto would be willing to give us a tour…"

"Eeeh?" Yurina squeaked (again), her face suddenly going awfully (yet cutely) red. "Onii-sama?"

Yet another uncomfortable pause followed, as this time even Yuriyo turned to stare at her sister.

"…who the hell is 'onii-sama'?"

"Ah!" The blonde twin's eyes went very wide when she realized what came out of her mouth. "Ah-aaa…auuu…" She moaned dejectedly.

"You…" Ino spoke very softly. "You two know Naruto?"

Yuriyo's eyes brightened at those words. "Ah, so you know the guy too? Great! Be useful and show us where he lives."

"That's not a nice way to ask for things, onee-chan…"

The humans, however, were looking at each other, sharing similar thoughts.

"That Naruto…" Kiba mumbled. "…he needs to answer some questions…"

"Just 'some'?" Ino contested. "I'll go with 'a lot' myself."

"He might have just become my new God."

Everyone stared at Shino very, very oddly.

* * *

**CHAPTER 13 END**


	18. Golden Lilies, Silver Lilies, Part Two

_**Naruto Genkyouien**_

_**- **__**ナルト**__**- **__**幻**__**脅**__**威宴**_

**Chapter Thirteen: Golden Lilies, Silver Lilies (Part Two)  
**

* * *

In another part of Konoha, another pair of twins was attracting considerable attention with their beauty. Unlike Yurina and Yuriyo, these two are identical twins, a fact which only adds to their charm. Most unfortunately, they could not care less about the number of male eyes on them.

Yuriko and Yurika (Yuriko being the eldest) are truly identical. In addition, they had never seen a need to distinguish each other. They share their clothes and always have the same hairstyle, so they are virtually indistinguishable. Even the fine nose of a nin-dog would be unable to tell one from the other: their scents are also the same.

To further their family's frustration, their personalities are also very similar. They are both playful and sometimes mocking, which explains why they get along with Yuriyo the best. That and the fact that the half-Void was the only one willing to occasionally join them for a little lesbian triple-play.

"Your sis does magic with her mouth," they would say. The subsequent tale of Yuriyo's marvelous tongue skills usually leaves poor Yurina a blushing mess.

That day they had decided to go with a modified kimono shirt. Unlike Yurine's, the twins' had a shameless V-shaped cut that revealed their skin all the way down to their navels. The long, wide sleeves made an awkward contrast with the body of the shirt. Thin, dark blue sashes tied under their breasts fulfilled the role of holding the shirts and tightly pressing the fabric against their busts. Plain miniskirts and sandals finished the revealing attire. Truthfully, it was not an outfit they wore often. They were just allowing themselves to be a bit vain.

"Nee-chan, I'm getting kinda hungry…"

Yuriko grimaced in response to her sister-slash-lover's complain. "And you had to go and say it."

"But we still don't have money…"

They had fallen hook, line and sinker into their mother's trap. A little embarrassing moment in a shop (Yurika had seen a dress she fancied) revealed their unexpected ordeal. Every single money-making idea they had come up with had been discarded as it "drew unnecessary attention."

Weird words coming from a pair of twins wearing ridiculously skimpy clothing.

Yurika had actually come up with the same plan Yuriyo actually performed. The horrified look she got from her sister was enough to deem it unusable.

So, unlike the fraternal twins and little Mayuri, the eldest of the lilies under test had yet to solve their little dilemma. However, like the others, they had a penchant for thinking outside the box…in rather unusual ways.

"Whoa," Yuriko declared as she came to a halt. Her sister followed the line of sight and easily noticed the cause of the sudden stop.

"Oooh, me wanna!"

Not fifty feet away, a metaphorical vixen enjoyed her favorite snack.

After being seized by the ANBU due to the (accidental) obliteration of a good chunk of the (remaining) emergency bunkers within the (partially destroyed) Hokage Mountain, Mitarashi Anko used one of, if not her favorite, skill: the ability to sic her job on others.

While she enjoyed no less than a dozen of her favorite dango, Izumo and Kotetsu were clearing up the mess her firecrackers had occasioned.

What power does Anko hold on these two men; great enough to make them perform such a painfully arduous task, when it is beyond obvious it should be her job instead?

Some things are better left unanswered.

For the curious, however, it involves nail polish, a goat, and a bucket load of glycerin.

"Why oh why did we not leave the nest before, sister dear?" Yurika honestly wondered.

"Beats me."

"Then let's go!" The youngest twin excitedly declared. "Let us begin our exploration of this marvelous world of femininity!"

"Hold it, Steve Irwin." Yuriko grabbed the back of her sister's clothes before she could go at the Special Jounin like a beast in heat. "There's one thing known as caution." She paused. "Since when am I the collected one?" Another pause. "Since when are we any different?"

Yurika pouted, not happy to have been denied her serving of hot female. "Are you getting possessive on me, nee-chan?"

"Oh, for Inari's sake…" Yuriko rolled her eyes. "Yurika, while I'm as eager to score hot human pussy as you, we really can't just go crazy and do whatever we want."

Yurika, realizing that her sister was dead serious, willed her hormones to settle down…for the time being. She crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Alright, what do you suggest?"

"Well, for starters, she's a ninja." Yuriko pondered for a moment. "…you figured that part out, right?"

"You mean the whole 'wearing obvious headbands and carrying highly visible weaponry' thing? Yeah, kinda," Yurika flatly stated. "Really, aren't ninjas supposed to be, ya know…?"

"I know. I've been thinking about it for a while, too. Anyway, first issue: she's a ninja. Second, we cannot just go in there. It's a shop. We'll be asked to buy something, and, well, we're broke."

"Hmm…true." Yurika nodded. "…think we could make her invite us? Right now even dango would be nice."

"Somehow…" Yuriko concluded, as she watched Anko gobbling the tray of snacks. "…I think not." She shot a mischievous look at her sister. "At least not without…"

"Hmmm…I like what you're thinking." Yurika returned the smirk. "Illusionary Prism, then?"

"Once again, you read my mind." Yuriko gave a peck to her beloved. "That's why I love you."

"And I you."

And with that, as the two approached the dango shop and the appealing figure of Mitarashi Anko, yet another tendril of the web that entangled the Higashiyama Clan and the Village Hidden on the Leaves was woven.

* * *

It was easy for Ayame to figure out something was horribly, disturbingly wrong. It was impossible for her to figure out exactly what.

After fixing a quick lunch for Naruto's ever-increasing entourage (Kotonoha was there to stay, apparently; for reasons beyond Ayame's comprehension), she departed declaring she had something very important to do.

She was sure Kotonoha somehow figured it out with just that. Her older sister was scary sometimes, and she was not talking about the whole yandere thing.

When she knocked on the front door of her destination, a woman who could only be the chosen girl's mother appeared behind it.

When she stated she was here to meet the girl, the woman suddenly burst into tears and ran inside.

That was as good a hint as any.

Inviting herself over, Kokoro guided herself into the spacious two-story house. At the base of the stairs she met the father.

He gave her a very disturbing once-over and muttered something of the likes of "at least she's got taste."

Both Kokoro and Ayame found this considerably unsettling.

The man, however, did give her instructions on how to reach the person she was looking for.

Ayame had certain expectations of what she would find behind the door to Tenten's bedroom. She expected the girl to be confused, or just utterly freaked out. Really, a crazy, talking, magical wand –and it speaks English, to boot! – is not something you expect to suddenly find in your bedroom one day. Most girls get the benefit of a slightly smoother transition from average schoolgirl to magical girl, but, first, Tenten is not an average schoolgirl, and second, Kokoro did not feel like becoming the girl's cute and cuddly animal companion.

Ayame did not feel like it either, for that matter.

Kokoro would teach the girl, of course. She'd have Tenten flying by the end of the day or her last name was not Katsura. If the girl managed to get the hang of flying and they had time to get started with Magical Shooter, even better. If the girl got both flying AND Magical Shooter, and they got started with Magical Shield, Ayame would know she had a winner.

Then again, her seiyuu was Tamura fuckin' Yukari! She had to be at least somewhat decent, if not a walking engine of destruction!

So yeah, Kokoro had expectations.

These expectations, however, did not include finding the chosen magical girl to be pinning an astoundingly beautiful twin-tailed blonde and very naked girl, attempting to crush the beauty's windpipe with her bare hands, as the magical instrument, Heart of Justice, pathetically cried for its new Master to stop.

"It's your fault!" The young kunoichi yelled. "This has gotta be your fault! I just know it!"

"Ack…no…mugh…mugyuhgh!"

Kokoro stared at the scene for a while, before realizing she was not going to get anywhere at that rate.

"Ahem."

**Ah, it's the former Master.**

If Tenten had not moved her eyes to stare at the newcomer, she would have probably noticed the sudden shift of expression that marred Sayuri's face for a fraction of an instant there. For a moment, she looked like she had seen a ghost, following by a face filled with painful nostalgia.

Ayame did not notice this, either.

"…damn you work fast. I expected at least two chapters before the blonde antagonist-slash-lesbian interest appeared."

"Mugyuu…" Sayuri was able to mutter, as the pressure on her neck had been nullified by Ayame's appearance. "…I'm not Testarossa."

Kokoro frowned, her eyes sharpening in a stark manner. "…Sayuri?"

"Munii?" Sayuri blinked. "How did you notice?"

"What kind of idiot do you take me for?" Ayame rapidly spat back.

"Mugyuu…"

"I rest my case." The possessed human nodded.

Needless to say, introductions and explanations were in order. For the sake of keeping the word count of this chapter under 35000, they shall be skipped.

Seated around a low table that dominated the very center of the considerably large room, the three females discussed what they had learned from each other.

"So, let me get this. You're Sayuri, from the future, who has come to this time to meet the current Sayuri, as well as for whatever secret agenda you have in mind."

"Secret agenda?"

Ayame gave her best "duh" look to the nine-tails. "Oh, come on, really! You manage to do the impossible and come to past, and you tell me you don't have secret plans to change history in small albeit significant ways?"

"Haa…" It was Sayuri's best response.

"And you…" Tenten intervened. "…are in fact a Kitsune possessing the body of a human girl who would be dead otherwise, as well as the one who broke into my house and put this…thing on my desk while I slept."

"'Yup, that's me." Kokoro nodded. "Hey, thinking about it, you said you were here since last night," she then continued, addressing Sayuri. "I'm pretty sure I only saw one person sleeping on the bed when I came here."

Sayuri chuckled. "I'm a nine-tails; I could make you see whatever I want."

Ayame shot a sharp look at the blonde. Was she actually…?

"…nine-tails indeed," she conceded. "Anyway, that's none of my business. I came here to give a crash course on magical girl-ness."

"Wai-wai-wai-wait a damn minute!" Tenten called. "Why should I even be listening to this crap?"

"What, is there a part of this story you don't believe?" Kokoro inquired. "The time travel?"

"No. Sayuri's idiocy has proved, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that she's from the future."

"Mugyuu…"

"So what, then? The stuff about Kitsune?"

"I think I would be an idiot not to see that. I mean, with the tails and the illusion and the crazy dreams of tentacle gods…"

"Tentacle gods?" Ayame raised an eyebrow.

"You DON'T want to know."

After a few blinks, the ramen waitress nodded. "I'll go with that, yeah. So, you don't believe Justice here is a magical artifact."

"Well, I don't know about 'magical', but it's definitely weird."

**Master, you hurt me so.**

"Quiet you." After a pause, Tenten grabbed the pink implement. "Well, it looks like the outlandish thing magical girls use in those crazy stories…so yeah, I'll accept it's a magical wand…thing."

"Then what's the problem?" Ayame insisted.

"That I don't know why any of this involves me!"

"Isn't it obvious?" Kokoro shrugged. "You've become the next Magical Heart, and I'm here to teach how to actually use magic, as the previous –and only– user of Heart of Justice."

"And why would I want to do that? Why do you even need to give this away?"

"First," Ayame lifted a finger. "Ayame's body would never be able to handle the strain of using Justice. That, and she doesn't have any magical talent. She's as ordinary as you get…no, Ayame, that's not an insult."

Tenten raised an eyebrow; Sayuri grinned for a moment.

"Second, even if I came out of this body –and I won't; I don't want Ayame to die–; I am waaaaay over the acceptable age range for magical girls. Waaaay over."

"Third, while I would definitely keep the damn stick in its box if I could…"

**Hey!**

"…I have to admit I can't. Doctor S is up to something. Again. And whatever it is, it's gonna be huge. She's gotta be stopped."

"Heheheheh…" Sayuri chuckled to herself, getting an odd look from Ayame.

"What is it…ah, right, you're from the future. So, you know how this turns out?"

"Yup!" Sayuri nodded gleefully, then paused. "Well…I know how it ended up in my timeline…and I don't see how anything I do here would change that particular subplot, so…anyway, Sayuri can't say more! Rules are the rules and all that, te-he!"

Tenten and Ayame gave side-stares to the blonde goddess, not failing to notice the shift from first to third person. Ignoring Sayuri's obvious issues, they went back to their conversation.

"Okay, seriously," Tenten commented. "Doctor S?"

"Yeah, I know. It sounds stupid. But she's still freakishly strong and ridiculously smart. She's an evil mastermind, and she has lots of different skills. She's almost a walking plot device."

"Like V.V!"

"Yes, Sayuri, like V.V." Ayame rolled her eyes, ignoring the idiocy of the even more blatant plot device.

Tenten shook her head. She would ignore their nonsense. "If she's so dangerous, then-"

"Why haven't you ninjas taken care of her? Why isn't she in the Bingo Book? Girl, Doctor S is a Kitsune. A very unique one, in fact. Not many people, not even ninja, know that she even exists. She works at a level of secrecy and subterfuge that has allowed her to remain invisible for decades. No, it's not ninja who will deal with Doctor S. It has to be her nemesis, Magical Heart. But The Doctor has already surpassed me. Someone else has to take the role."

Tenten saw that Ayame was being dead serious…well, as serious as someone can be in a conversation like this.

"So why me?"

"Are you kidding me?" Ayame exclaimed, easily startling the girl in front of her. "You're the frickin' Demon Cannon Girl!"

"Haa?" Tenten made her basic "what the hell are you talking about?" face.

"Who else could it be but you?" Ayame slammed her hands on the edge of the round table in front of her for emphasis. Then she paused to think. "Besides, what are the other options?"

"I certainly cannot use Naruto himself. He's the frickin' main character, for starters. JUST. For starters."

"Konohamaru happens to be a brat. Besides, I'm just not using the person who also happens to be Pikachu. And Tony Chopper. Just no."

"Tsunade…well…she's old." A pause. "And Sailor Neptune was weak as crap. On the other side, she might not need magical powers to beat Doctor S, so…I should make a mental note on that."

"That Ino girl is more of a support type. Now there's Hinata; that's some serious magical girl material there—OH SHIT!"

Sayuri stiffened a chuckle. Tenten blinked a few times. That was quite loud.

"She's a Hyuuga! She's a fuckin' Hyuuga! Why didn't I—oh crap, this is not good! Not good at all!"

Tenten stiffened when she was stared at like she was about to get tortured for information.

"'We don't have much time. You have to learn magic, and you have to learn it fast."

"Wha…wha…?"

**I have to say I am lost, too, former Master.**

"She means Magical Word," Sayuri explained, visibly enjoying the whole situation.

**Magical Word? But I thought she was our ally—**

"Pfft, what part of 'my sister is completely nuts' you didn't get just yet?" Ayame spat in angry frustration. "She's gonna mess with us in some way, I just KNOW it. Just for the lulz."

"Uhh…I'm lost again," Tenten declared.

"Whatever, we're going."

The kunoichi complained a lot and very noisily when Ayame grabbed her hand and pulled her up with her and towards the entrance, using her free hand to seize Heart of Justice. For an ordinary human, however, the waitress' grip was astoundingly strong.

"Henge!" Sayuri announced after standing up herself, using the transformation technique to get some clothes.

"Whoa…dunno why, but I'm getting some serious déjà vu here," Tenten admitted, eliciting a wide grin from Ayame.

"See, that's a good sign! We can do this!" Her expression quickly changed to a rather annoyed frown. "But, really, what's with the outfit?"

Sayuri grinned and spread her arms to the sides.

"I'm Testarossa!" She revealed while posing her perfect cosplay of a certain bundle of magical hotness.

"You said the exact opposite of that a while ago…" Kokoro muttered, making Sayuri drop her shoulders and her arms with them.

"Mugyuu…but I like the skirt…"

Ayame nodded. "And so do thousands of otakus worldwide." She turned away, towards the door. "Anyway, let's go."

Tenten's parents only could follow with their eyes as Ayame forcefully dragged Tenten down the stairs and outside the house.

"Bye mama! Bye papa!" Sayuri called as she pranced after the other two, clad in her new Barrier Jacket.

Tenten's mother went bawling again.

"WHO THE HELL ARE MAMA AND PAPA!" Tenten shouted in the distance.

* * *

With the gasp of a drowning man desperately looking for oxygen, Uzumaki Naruto woke up.

The curtains of his room dimmed the daylight to a tolerable level, but the enclosed bedroom was already becoming uncomfortably hot. Taking deep breaths while seated on the bed, the strangely exhausted boy looked at everywhere and nowhere while his brain still processed the most recent construct of his subconscious.

"…what the fuck was that?"

"I could ask the same, you know."

His blood made a new record rushing to his petrified face. Almost terrified of what he'd see…well, not almost; Naruto turned his face to the left.

It was almost annoying, how these foxgirls could take any situation and turn it into a work of art.

With her kimono shirt and the knot of her hakama awfully loose, her clothes barely clung to her curvaceous form and made for the most appealing of invitations.

It did not help that the first erotic dream of his troubled life still lingered in his over-stimulated brain.

Yuria AND Yurimi? Seriously?

He'll just pretend the craziness at the end did not happen.

Emphasis on "pretend."

"So, about that…" Yuria continued; her eyes shifting downwards. With his fear only increasing, he looked down…to see the mess he had done in his boxers. To make things worse, it seemed little Naruto (not so little, he would say) was yet again up and ready to go.

"Oh…" As usual, Naruto has a way with words.

"Yeah. So, about that…should I beat the shit of you now, or do you wanna save it for later?"

Naruto sadly look at his rapidly diminishing hardness and turned to face the obviously upset foxgirl.

"Is there any solution that does not involve bodily harm?"

"Is Sayuri awake?"

"Umm…not as far as I can tell."

"There you go."

* * *

Kotonoha was an island of peace. Placidly seated on one of the available chairs around Naruto's plain dining table, her free hand lazily caressed the barren skull of Itou Makoto.

She was just done serving lunch. Four sets of cutlery waited to be used.

"Kotonoha," a firm, neutral voice spoke from the kitchen. "Are you sure it is okay…?"

"I can assure you they will be up very soon."

"Hmm—I wish I had your confidence—"

"WAAAAH! YURIA! WAI-URK!"

"STAY STILL WHILE I KILL YOU!"

This was followed by a cacophony of impact sounds: body against cloth, body against wood, fist against head; those kinds of sounds.

"There you go. They're awake now," Kotonoha declared with a bright smile.

"…"

The ruckus within the room consumed a full two minutes, but it was only five minutes later that the couple emerged, one clearly in a much better mood than the other.

"Ahhh…" Yuria sighed in satisfaction as she stretched her arms. "Nothing like starting the day with some good exercise—WHAT THE FUCK?"

Naruto winced as he rubbed his eyes. His face showed the clear signs of comedic physical abuse. "Ugh, Yuria, why are you yelling like—WHAT THE HELL?"

It was easy to realize what struck the two by surprise. There was a considerable increase in the apartment's entropy. A layer of ash covered almost every surface, other than the dining table, which Kotonoha had been kind enough to clean before serving the meal. It would be obvious to anyone that whatever the source of the devastation was, it started in the kitchen, as it was where destruction was more crudely concentrated (Naruto had to look twice to make sure he was looking at the sink). However, by far, the greatest and most relevant hallmark of the unholy wreck unleashed upon Naruto's apartment was definitely…

"MY COUCH! OH MY GOD! NOOOOOOO!"

Because when calamity strikes it likes to strike twice, Sayuri chose that moment to make herself noticed.

**Hmm…munya-munya…uhhh…onii-AH! Burnt! Burnt couch! Sayuri wants to burn things too!**

The blackened remnants of the couch groaned and collapsed to a worthless heap right after not-so-spontaneously combusting.

Naruto wailed.

If anything, Sayuri deserves some credit for being so quick to react right after waking up.

"Ouch. That's cruel," Yuria commented.

"Good morning, Yuria-sama."

"'sup, Kotonoha."

The swordswoman only smiled gently. "Had a pleasant night?"'

Yuria blinked. "As a matter of fact, I did!" She admitted. "Now, what the hell happened here?"

"I was amazed you did not wake up through the whole thing, but I do know you worked very hard last night," Kotonoha responded.

"Yeah, whatever; just what happened?"

"Umm…"

Only then did Yuria notice the other person in the apartment; her head peaking out of the bathroom entrance, having the decency to look just slightly embarrassed. With her face, it's hard to tell.

Yuria blinked. Then she blinked again. Then she looked at Kotonoha.

"I thought you were smarter than to let her cook."

The older woman dropped her head. "I am ashamed of myself."

"Oi."

**Nee, nee, onii-chan! Ah we burning moar things-ah! That chair's burnt too! Sayuri fire!**

Whoosh.

Naruto wailed some more, deaf to the conversation taking place behind him.

"I'm not that bad."

Yuria rolled her eyes, but did not hide her amusement. "Yurimi, sister, your words have absolutely no weight right now."

The silver princess' shoulders dropped a little.

"Just what were you trying to accomplish?"

The shoulder dropped a bit more. "I wanted…to impress Master."

Yuria stared at her taller sister for a moment…and then sighed. "Yurimi."

"Yes."

"There's a list, in our kitchen. Remember that list?"

"…yes."

"What's in that list, Yurimi?"

"…dishes."

"Yes, Yurimi. Dishes," Yuria continued her lecture. "It's a list of the recipes you are allowed to make. Attempts at anything other than those few, simple meals result in…well, this." She shook her head. "It's like that time Yuriyo challenged Sayuri to burn things without using her chakra."

"Oh I remember that," Kotonoha added. "It was rather cute, watching Sayuri-sama running around with that torch."

Yurimi sighed. "And the next day, she **somehow** discovered nature chakra."

"And became the second Higashiyama Sage." Kotonoha added yet again.

The three exchanged glances before releasing a long sigh.

"How does she do that, really?" Yuria wondered. "Yet for some reason, I don't envy her."

"I'd seriously wonder about your mental health if you did, sister."

"Shut up, Miss Kitchen Chernobyl."

"Ugh." Gathering her resolve (something very easy for her), Yurimi put aside her elder's remarks and approached Naruto, who was still grieving at the loss of his beloved furniture. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she seized his attention.

"Sayuri-nee-sama, please refrain from destroying Master's remaining possessions."

**Eh? Wah! Yurimi-nee-chan! Waaaaai!**

Wiggle, wiggle.

While Sayuri was ecstatic to meet her blood sister, Naruto was…well, he was many things.

"Yu-Yuri…"

The girl quickly kneeled before her beloved. "I am fully responsible for the damages. On my honor and on my Crest of the Butterfly, I swear I will make up for it tenfold."

"Eh, no, there's not enough room here for that much furniture." Yuria declared. "Besides, this is just the author's way to make up for the fact that Naruto never had a couch in canon."

**Sayuri can burn the extra! Sayuri can burn the author, too!**

Naruto could have done many things. He could have raged at her for the loss of his precious possessions, or he could have immediately forgiven her with that big heart of his. He could have asked how she was faring after the previous night's maelstrom. He could have said anything, really, if his mind weren't lost in the rushing memories of his unbelievable dream.

In her kisses, her words, her lust and the incredible feeling of her lips wrapping around his…

Three pairs of eyes followed a lovely arch of blood until Naruto fell hard on the ground behind him, claimed by blissful nosebleed-induced unconsciousness. After a moment of heavy silence, Yurimi allowed herself to reveal a tiny smile as she raised a hand to her cheek.

"Such a wonderful and kind Master…he always knows how to raise his lowly Yurimi's spirits."

Yuria opened her mouth…and then quickly closed it. "Nope, I have nothing. Kotonoha?"

The busty Kitsune offered a plate with still-warm slices of delicious meat.

"Who wants teriyaki?"

* * *

Naruto was notably impressed. Not that he was hard to impress regarding food, but still…

"This…this is awesome!"

"I am glad you like it, Naruto-sama."

Yuria nodded eagerly as she struck for another slice before Naruto could take it. In front of her, Yurimi ate at a far more sedate pace. "I had never tried Kotonoha's cooking before. Not bad!"

"Thank you, but not all the credit goes to me. My sister had already started cooking when Yurimi-sama arrived and insisted on trying her hand. I just worked with what Kokoro-chan had left half-done, as fast as I could."

"Whatever." Yuria dismissed between munches. "This is damn good…and it doesn't taste like the usual beef teriyaki…"

"Oh, it's a personal specialty," Kotonoha explained. "I call it 'Blood Teriyaki'."

Two young foxgirls ceased eating instantaneously. Naruto did not seem to care. Kotonoha never lost her angelical smile.

"The secret ingredient is blood."

**Mugyuu?**

For a while, the only sounds in the apartment were made by Naruto's gleeful devouring and Kotonoha's far calmer enjoyment of the meal.

Yuria and her sister exchanged glances. Yurimi actually looked paler, and her face showed obvious strain. Yuria's face was far more expressive.

It would be up to Naruto to save the ladies from a very uncomfortable meal.

"Stop teasing the ladies, Kotonoha," he said, adding a chuckle to reveal his true feelings.

Sweet, lovely Kotonoha went along with the game, but even she could not restrain a guilty smile of her own.

"Oh, Naruto-sama, such harsh words. I should let you try my Blood Cake one of these days."

Yuria puked a little, quickly sending the searing substance back to the digestive pit it came from.

"The cake is a lie, and you know it."

Kotonoha offered a lovely smile. "My, Naruto-sama, I'm almost embarrassed that you know me so well already."

The two sisters shot odd glances at the chuckling duo and then at each other.

"Yurimi, suddenly I am slightly bothered by your bodyguard's closeness to my mate."

"For once I share your sentiment." Yurimi, truth be told, was a little jealous. Naruto and Kotonoha had established a bond and they did not even seem aware of it. Yuria had forged an incredibly strong bond, and she had not even wanted it 24 hours before. Even Yurina seemed smitten by him already!

Why was she the only one who had to struggle? It was not supposed to be that hard!

Regardless, Yurimi swallowed her emotions. If she wanted Naruto, there was only one path to follow now.

"But, really…" Naruto restored the flow of the conversation. "…this is really, really, really awesome. Didn't know you could cook so well, Kotonoha!"

"It would be unwise of me to waste any part of a corpse, Naruto-sama."

Another uncomfortable silence. This time even Naruto kept his mouth shut, staring at the beautiful bodyguard with strange eyes.

"…" Naruto slowly (and painfully) swallowed the food in his mouth. "…you're not joking."

"I am not," Kotonoha declared. "I was in need of rough leather, so I went hunting. When I was done I knew I could not just waste all that meat, so I chopped it up and put it in your freezer. Kokoro-chan was so glad you had some decent meat for her to cook."

Even more silence. Under the table, Yuria's hand reached for Yurimi's.

"Did…Kokoro-chan know what she was cooking?" Naruto cautiously inquired. Kotonoha looked puzzled and tilted her head to show it.

"Umm…I suppose? She never asked."

Naruto closed his eyes and inspired, as if reviewing a painful memory in his mind.

"What…what do you need leather for, Kotonoha?"

"Oh, now that is a very special surprise." A dazzling smile. "Please look forward to it."

Naruto's pained look remained fixed on the four-tails for several silent seconds. Eventually, he carefully reached for her right knee with a hand.

"Kotonoha, I think you're a good friend, and I…I like you. A lot."

"I like Naruto-sama very much, too."

"Thank you." Naruto offered a weak smile which Kotonoha returned a hundred-fold. "However, please, **please**; from now on, keep things like this to yourself."

Kotonoha actually seemed a bit worried by the pained expression on Naruto's face.

"I…will keep it in mind, yes."

Yuria and Yurimi shared glances of uncertainty.

"Great!" Naruto's face brightened. "Now, this is really beef, isn't it?"

Naruto's smile faltered as Kotonoha remained silent.

"…Kotonoha?"

"Umm…this might be one of those things I should keep to myself?"

Yet another uncomfortable silence. Kotonoha felt uncomfortable with the way Naruto's hand squeezed her knee.

With his free hand, Naruto pushed away his plate.

"…thanks for the meal."

Yuria beat the others to the toilet.

"Oh my," Kotonoha muttered to herself…before taking another slice of meat to her mouth.

* * *

Naruto, Kotonoha thought, was a very mysterious little human.

Most of the time, he was awfully predictable, in a way that brought shame to ninja everywhere. He had plenty of good traits, true, but he was also disappointingly simple. After no more than a few days of knowing him, Kotonoha believed she had seen everything there was to be seen from Uzumaki Naruto.

And then there were moments like this.

While Yuria put on a new set of chest bindings with Yurimi's assistance, Naruto stood in front of his apartment door, quietly staring at the village he called home. His expression was calm and peaceful; his eyes lost in the distance, looking at something Kotonoha could not see; his mind lost in thoughts Kotonoha could not read.

It was a strangely adult face, totally unlike Naruto.

Kotonoha had to admit, she was a bit impressed.

What she ignored was that, indeed, Naruto had found peace.

The peace of a man who has lost any hope for his life.

**Nee, onii-chan, I don't get it. Some pahts Sayuri couldn't see cleahly, but it looked like you all were having fun…**

Sayuri had just made a horribly detailed description of what she dreamt the night just before.

It was an awfully familiar dream.

**But Sayuri doesn't get what Yurimi-nee-chan was do—**

_Sayuri._

In his mind, Naruto's voice sounded awfully tired.

**Munii?**

_I…I can't explain that right now. Just…not now. Later. Eventually. Maybe._

**Mugyuu…onii-chan always says that…**

_No, I don't. I'm sure this is the first time I say something like this._

**Onii-chan shouldn't make fun of Sayuri! Onii-chan never answehs Sayuri's questions!**

_That's because of the kind of questions you ask!_

**I should burn you.**

Naruto spent two seconds in quiet reflection before sighing tiredly.

_You know what? Go ahead. I just don't care anymore._

…**mugyuu…**

"Naruto-sama?" Kotonoha finally spoke.

_Oh, thank the gods. I swear I could fall for her, nutcase and all._

"What is it?" Naruto responded, the words accompanied by the worst fake smile he had ever used. Even if he never stopped looking at the distance, Kotonoha obviously noticed.

**Mugii! Onii-chan's ignowing Sayuri!**

"I cannot help but notice Naruto-sama looks a bit distressed."

"Oh, that's a way to put it."

**Onii-chan! Oniii-chan! Oniiiiiiii-chan!**

"So I am not mistaken? Naruto-sama is not in a good mood this morning."

"Oh, I could be better."

**ONIIIIIIIIIIII-CHAN!**

"Much better."

"Hmm…" Kotonoha mumbled, visibly surprised by this. "…didn't Naruto-sama have a good dream last night?"

**Ah.**

Naruto only turned his head enough to be able to glance at the taller woman's face.

"Kotonoha."

"Yes?"

"I am smart enough to notice there was something awfully suspicious in that wording."

Kotonoha smiled and tilted her head. "Now what could that possibly mean?"

"KOTONOHA!" A thoroughly embarrassed Naruto shrieked.

"Ara, ara, Naruto-sama's embarrassed. How cute."

For the next minute, Kotonoha explained to him how the jutsu, _**Oneiric Scroll**_, allowed her to impose a "subject" in his subconscious, forcing his next dream to be based on it. Establishing a mental link between the two allowed Kotonoha to aid Naruto's brain by providing it with her own memories and perceptions for a short period of time. Therefore, the behavior of characters and objects within the dream would be partially defined by both Naruto unconscious thoughts and Kotonoha's memories.

"And your idea of a 'good dream' was…was…"

"A threesome."

"Yeah." Naruto covered his reddened face.

"So? Who were the lucky ladies?" The swordswoman grinned as she made her inquiry. "I truly hope Yurimi-sama was in there…"

Naruto's brain suddenly kicked in, leading to a face of sudden enlightenment. He had his revenge.

"Oh, she was there," Naruto responded. "And Yuria."

"Oh." Kotonoha rested her right hand on her cheek. "So wonderful."

"You were there, too."

Naruto was sure he would never, ever, forget Kotonoha's reaction. The way she became a statue on the spot; her eyes looking almost afraid and the color being drained out of her fair skin; he would keep it in his heart forever.

"Oh…" A single syllable came out weakly.

"Setsuna also showed up by the end."

The foxwoman shuddered. "Oh…oh my."

Naruto mock sighed. "And Sayuri. How could I forget Sayuri? She was quite amusing."

**Ah, munyaaa…even if you don't answer Sayuri's questions, I still wuv onii-chan.**

"Ah…oh…um."

"So there. I'd say it was a great dream." Naruto shrugged and grinned, finally turning to face Kotonoha. "Just ask Yuria. I'm sure she could tell you just how good it was."

The young ninja winked, which jolted Kotonoha out of her paralysis and into a rather unusual bout.

"Ah…umm…I…Naruto-sama, I'm…I'm honored, but…I…" Actually avoiding his gaze, the lady uneasily lowered her head and idly scratched the left sleeve of her kimono. "I have Makoto-kun…"

Naruto was on a roll. "Yeah, the other you in the dream also said that."

"Eep!" Kotonoha took exactly two steps back and pressed her arms against her chest in an obviously protective manner.

It was a good moment for the door to open, revealing the ever energetic Yuria.

"Ossu! Ready to go here!"

Naruto's face brightened. "Great! We start right away! Keep up with me, Yuria!"

"Hai hai!" Yuria saluted. Naruto turned one last time to the bodyguard, who flinched a bit before his conceited grin.

"Well, we're going off to train. See you around, Kotonoha."

"Aaa…um…uhh…"

Naruto's vulpine grin further increased her embarrassment. She was completely defeated.

"Let's go, Yuria!" The Genin exclaimed with a powerful voice before leaping to the nearest ceiling. Yuria's eyes sparkled in excitement.

"Oooh, Ninja Roof Jumping! Awesome!"

Yurimi emerged from the apartment, clad in an apron and holding a broom, to watch the two departing forms leaping from roof to roof. While Naruto had the expertise of years of practice, Yuria took her time between jumps, not being used to this particular style of traveling. The boy was a dot in the distance when the three tails' angry voice began to call for him in frustration.

The silver haired two-tails, then, turned to look at her bodyguard's back. Kotonoha had slumped down and fallen on her knees, before they too gave in and she slid down on her thighs.

"Hah…hahah…ahahahahaha!"

Yurimi silently watched Kotonoha release her lyrical laugh.

"Kotonoha?"

"Haha! Hahahahaha…re-really…"

A grinning Kotonoha looked up at Yurimi, wiping a small tear of a corner of her left eye.

"Naruto-sama is truly a man amongst men, Yurimi-sama."

Yurimi only raised an eyebrow.

* * *

"This…this is good! Really, really good!" Yuriyo drew even more attention with her loud exclamation. "I could get addicted to this!" Her voice went considerably down. "But it probably goes straight to my waist…"

She slid a hand down her slim curves. Kiba and Shino in front of her gulped.

"Oh well! Chiyuri can take care of it!" With that, the gleeful half-Void took another spoonful of parfait. "Oh, so good! Nee, Yurina, what do you think?"

Yuriyo's gaze narrowed when she noticed the absentminded manner in which Yurina went at her own strawberry parfait.

On a side note, those came out of Kiba's pocket.

"Yurina."

No response. Yurina's right hand idly twisted the tiny spoon; her eyes looking at nowhere.

"Yurina!"

"Ah! Ha-hai! Onee-chan!" The startled blonde moved her gaze from Yuriyo to Shino, Ino and back to Yuriyo. "Wha-what is it?"

"Well, I was going to ask for your opinion on this succulent…what is it again? Parfait? Yeah, parfait, but I can easily see you have something else in your mind right now, so why don't you share it with us?"

The tour of Konoha had been temporally interrupted on Yuriyo's behalf, who had seized the opportunity to be introduced to the grand world of desserts. It was at Kiba's expense, so Ino (who was also enjoying a guilty pleasure) and Shino (who just wanted to keep ogling the sisters) did not care in the slightest.

"Ah…umm…I was…it's just…mom…"

"She can take care of herself."

Yurina stared at her sister for several seconds, until Yuriyo sweatdropped.

"Uhh…ok, she can't. But, really! We're in a village full of utterly conspicuous ninja!"

"Somehow that sentence really pisses me off," Ino mumbled. To her left, by the glass panel that separated the shop from the outside world, the withered, moneyless husk that used to be Kiba mumbled its agreement.

"What could possibly happen to her here? Really?"

"Haaa…" Yurina uttered and then took a bite at her own parfait. It was good, really, but…

"Alright, alright, we're looking for her as soon as we're done, okay?"

A tiny smile. "Ha-hai. Thank you, Riyo-nee."

Yuriyo turned to the three humans. "Of course, our two new friends will gladly help us!"

"We will? OW!" Ino jerked her head to the right. "SHINO!"

"We will."

Yuriyo nodded. "I guess the dog can join us, too. He's a dog; he should be good at this kinda stuff."

"Uh, onee-chan…he'd need mother's scent to track her…"

"Huh…really? Well, that's useless. Maybe if we had some of her used panties or something…"

"ONEE-CHAN!"

"Please do share them with us if you have them."

"SHINO!" Ino gaped in utter horror at her overly blunt friend. The boy raised his gaze to look at something only he could see.

"There's no turning back now," he declared solemnly.

"Uhhh…onee-chan…" Yurina moaned as she looked away, to the world beyond the glass panel. "You're embarrassing me…ah!"

Her last intonation did not escape the other's notice.

No more than four meters away, just outside, Uzumaki Naruto had landed.

"Oh, fantastic, our host is here!" Yuriyo declared, right before leaning over her sister's seated form to bang on the window…or at least she would have done so if Yurina had not reacted with enviable haste and pulled her fraternal twin back down.

"Wha-Yurina?"

"Onee-chan!" The twin-tailed blonde hissed, frightened. "You can't do that! You'll show them…uhhh…auuu…"

Yuriyo's eyes shot wide for a moment there.

"Oh!" She actually blushed a bit as she quickly sent her hands down to hold the bottom edge of her overly revealing getup. "Right! Phew…close call there, Yurina." Quickly correcting herself, she regained her usual composure. "We don't want to kill these two poor souls here, right?"

She winked, and Yurina couldn't stop herself from smiling. She really wished she had Yuriyo's confidence.

Well, just a little.

With that settled, Yurina followed up on her sister's intention and knocked on the window a few times, hoping to get Naruto's attention. Unfortunately, she could not make a sound loud enough to reach his ears.

"What exactly is he doing?" Ino voiced what Kiba had been wondering for a few seconds already. The other three paid closer attention.

Naruto, as soon as he had landed, had turned 180 degrees and started to look around. By the way his head was raised it could be inferred that his attention was focused on the rooftops. His eyes suddenly brightened, indicating that he had found whatever he was looking for…and then his eyes shifted to a rictus of alarm and imminent disaster.

And that's when Yuria fell upon the gallant hero like a red and white meteor, dragging him with her across the street for the good part of thirty feet.

The group of five could do nothing but stare (and occasionally blink) at the trail of dust raised by the fierce impact.

"Wow," Kiba finally muttered.

"Yeah…" Shino added, his voice seeping awe with every letter. "…he makes girls fall from the sky."

Ino held back a groan. "'Uhh…no, I really don't think that's—"

"HE MAKES GIRLS FALL FROM THE SKY."

The ponytailed kunoichi facepalmed.

"Ah! Onii-sama!" Yurina cried, leaping over her sister to get to the entrance. Yuriyo grimaced.

"So it's 'onii-sama' now…" She muttered before (very slowly) standing up to follow her sister.

"Ow-ow-ow-ow-owwww…" Naruto groaned. His back felt like it was on fire. And not Sayuri's silly comedy fire. "Ok, you need to work on your landings, got it."

**Mugyuu…that huht.**

"Uhhh…it's my first day…" Yuria justified herself. "You okay?"

Naruto shook the stars off his head. He looked up at Yuria, whose face hovered mere inches above his.

"Ugh…I'll live. You alright?"

Yuria let her elbows rest on the ground by the sides of Naruto's head. "I'm alright. I'll be much better when you stop groping my boobs."

"Uh?"

**Squishy, squishy, puni-punii!**

"Kyah!" Yurina squeaked cutely at the scene. Indeed, Naruto's raised hands firmly held Yuria's notable bust.

Ino had a strangely neutral expression on her face. "…another one."

Kiba was almost baring his teeth in envy. "It's like he has one of every type."

"My new God."

The other two stared at Shino very oddly, again.

Yuriyo raised an eyebrow at the scene. "Wow, you're already working out Standard Harem Dynamics. Congrats."

The embarrassed couple quickly separated, ignoring the other while they wiped the dust off their clothes.

"Quiet you." Yuria mumbled in a not very intimidating manner.

"But, really…" Yuriyo insisted. "What the hell was that about?"

Yuria grimaced. "The crashing or the boob groping?"

"The crashing." Yuriyo paused. "Well, and the boob groping, but mostly the crashing."

"I'm mostly interested in the boob groping mys—oof!" Shino subjected his female friend to an evil under-shades glare, which is pretty awesome. "You elbowed me."

"You're freaking me out, Shino." Ino was thoroughly honest.

"I'll feast on your children."

"Not helping your case, Shino."

The other exchanged glances and silently agreed to take a step back. Suddenly, Naruto found his vision blocked by a mop of golden hair. And it was obviously not his.

"Ah! Umm…anoo…o-onii-sama…"

**Ah! Waaaaai!**

The girl raised her head to show her face to Naruto. Being taller than him (like most people in this series), the only thing that prevented him from looking at her was her obvious shyness. Then again, her blushing face, mild stammering and fidgeting fingers were awfully familiar. He just could not point out where he had seen those before.

Wait.

"Onii-sama?" He mumbled, as if trying to taste the word.

"Hai." Yurina's voice was really soft; the words barely escaping her lips alongside her breath. "I…I—onii-sama might not remember, but I…my name's-"

"Ah, you're Yurina-chan! I, I got that right, ne?"

**Um! It's Yurina-chan!**

Yurina skipped a beat, and her blood rapidly gathered on her face. After a moment of looking like a rabbit staring at a shotgun, her expression changed to a smile full of glee.

"Ye-Yes! Higashiyama Yurina!" She quickly bowed. "Once again, pleased to meet you!"

"Ah…" Naruto, a bit uncomfortable himself, shyly scratched the back of his head. "Ah…sure…heheh…"

"Ah, ano…well…I just…Yurina just…wanted to thank onii-sama…" Fidget, fidget. "…for last night."

The world literally stopped around her, wrapped in a veil of heavy silence. For once, she did not seem uncomfortable with (or, more likely, not even aware of) the attention she was drawing upon herself.

"It…it was…" Fidget, fidget. "It felt really good."

**Mugyuu…Sayuri wants onii-chan to make her feel good, too…**

_Uhh… _Naruto sweatdropped. Somehow that just did not come out right.

Kiba's jaw dropped.

"No way," Ino muttered.

Yuriyo facepalmed. "You're too pure, sister dear." Her face straightened. "And this is too cliché."

Yuria slowly shook her head. "Standard Harem Dynamics, really…"

"A-Ahaha…" Naruto chuckled to himself. He simply did not see the big deal in petting her (and her mother's) hair for a while. "Su-sure, as long as it was good."

"It was good!" Yurina nodded earnestly. "'Very, very good!" Blushing cutely, the lovely twin-tailed blonde dropped her gaze in embarrassment. "Onii-sama seems to be a natural…"

**Um! Onii-chan's the best! Onii-chan pets Sayuri, and Sayuri feels, feels, like, all munyunyuu and hawawaa…**

_Great choice of words there, Sayuri…_

**Muuuu…Sayuri wants to be petted…**

_Can't help you now, sorry._

**Mugyuu…**

"No way," Ino repeated.

Kiba's legs wobbled and threatened to send him down.

"Sis, please, you're kinda embarrassing me…" Yuriyo whined in a very quiet tone.

"Ah!" Yurina suddenly exclaimed, having remembered something important. "Mom enjoyed it a lot, too!"

Kiba collapsed on the street, down for the count.

"No way—!" Ino quickly covered her face. Just why the hell was SHE nosebleeding?

Yuriyo facepalmed, again. "Yuria, just kill me now."

"No way! Then who'd be left to kill me?"

Naruto was still pondering how to respond when a pair of hands seized his shoulders and jerked him to the side.

"Eh? Shino?"

**Ah? Wha…**

"Uzumaki Naruto."

Shino paid no heed to his hive's urging demand to get away from the monster within this boy.

**What is…?**

Sayuri, for the first time being so close to Shino, felt something odd.

Naruto blinked, caught off-guard by the sudden gesture. "Eh?"

"I take back every bad thing I have ever said about you."

"Eh?" Naruto blinked again and tilted his head in a way that would have been cute coming from, let's say, Yurina. "You've said bad things about me? But I thought we were friends!"

Shino actually paused at this. "Uhh…" He looked away (not that anybody could tell, though). "I mean…if I had ever said something mean about you…I would take it back right now."

"Oh please…" Yuriyo rolled her eyes. "Like anybody would fall for that right after-"

"Ah! Sure, no problem!" Naruto nodded happily.

"WHAT THE FUCK?"

"Oh!" Yuria smacked her fist on her open palm. "That's nice, Naruto."

Yuriyo grimaced. "Seriously, you two…"

**Umm…umumuuu…Sayuri…Sayuri feels weihd…kinda…kinda…**

"Let's be good friends from now on, Uzumaki-sama."

Naruto blinked a few more times for good measure. "Uhh…sure." Pause. "Wait, 'sama'?"

"Yes…I'll become Uzumaki-sama's lackey, and score any tail he spares for me…"

It was Naruto's turn for his face to freeze. "Uhh…what?"

"Now that's just sad," Yuriyo commented.

Shino stared at his new liege expression for a moment there. "Did…I just say that out loud?"

"Yes," Yuriyo responded. "Yes, you did."

"Hmm…" Shino looked away. "I have much to learn, it seems."

"Please spare us," the half-Void added. Yurina just blinked.

"Hawaa…"

"Stop that!"

**Gah! Mugiiii! Bugs! It's bugs! Wots of bugs! Sayuri don't wike icky things! They will BURN!**

"Wha-? Wait, Sayu—"

Whoosh.

Even Ino was brought back from her trauma-induced trance by the sight of Shino spontaneously combusting.

The boy in shades drowned the sound of thousands of insects screaming in unfathomable, yet comedic, pain.

"…ow."

**And the dog, too!**

Whoosh.

If anything, she's thorough.

**Ehehe, much better! Nee, nee, onii-chan!**

Naruto could only watch the scene before him with pity, as Ino pushed the Aburame to the ground and forced him to roll.

…_what is it, Sayuri?_

**Nee, when Sayuri gets big bweasts like Yuria-nee-chan's, onii-chan must squishy squishy puni-punii them wots and wots, okies?**

Naruto's expression became awfully solemn; his aged gaze looking but not really looking at Shino's and Kiba's frantic efforts to put out the comedy fire.

He took a deep breath.

"Haaa…just roll with it, Naruto, just roll with it," he said to himself.

…_sure, Sayuri. I'll squishy squishy puni-punii them as much as you want._

**Weally? Waaaaaaaai!**

Wiggle, wiggle.

* * *

It was but another day in the job for one Hyuuga Hiashi. By "the job," this author means, of course, running a clan that pretty much runs itself.

Sure, it runs itself on the foundation of a horrible seal and an unfair caste system, but that's an unimportant detail.

On a side note, Neji must be moaning about the unfairness of the world somewhere right now.

Anyway.

Seated on his amazingly comfortable desk, Hiashi handled his paperwork with skill and celerity Sarutobi would envy. He was particularly hasty today, because he had a feeling.

It would be one of those days.

They did not occur often, fortunately, which made the signs even all the more obvious.

It started during breakfast. Hanabi's behavior was quite odd that morning. He had expected her to be a little moody, considering that he had grounded her after her late return home the night before. Strangely, she was acting like nothing had happened, safe for an odd little quirk.

She kept trying to keep a cool, neutral expression on her face as she ate. It would falter every two minutes or so. It would take her yet another minute to notice, and then she would correct herself and restart the cycle.

It was utterly adorable, Hiashi admitted, but it was also alarming.

"Hiashi-sama, my apologies," a voice called from beyond the door. Hiashi closed his eyes. So, there it was. He could only hope he was ready for…whatever it was.

"A woman wishes to see you, Hiashi-sama."

How was that for lack of information?

"…and?"

"…she claims to be the Great Mother."

Hiashi blinked. Now that he did not hear every day. His first thought was to ask the sentry to dismiss this woman as a complete nutjob, but then again, how many people outside the clan even knew about the Great Mother?

"Oh, Hiashi-kun, will you stop being so uptight and let me in already?"

The clan leader's heart skipped a beat. That voice was a voice that brought him back to years long forgotten. It was a voice he thought he would never hear again. It was a voice he associated with warmth, comfort and security; a voice that filled his childhood dreams…and more than a few teenage fantasies.

He was in front of the door before he could stop himself, not hesitating to open it. Every fiber of his being needed to know…if it was really…

He was breathless.

"…m-my…my Lady…"

The sentry gasped, as his liege recognized the woman as the Great Mother.

"M-My Lady!" The nameless Hyuuga hurriedly bowed before the beautiful woman.

"Ahaha~" Kotonoha giggled. "Hiashi-kun, my face is up here."

The man quickly corrected himself, blushing like a teen caught sniffing panties. "M-m-m-my apologies!" Stepping back, he offered entrance to the lady. "P-Please come in!"

"My my…" The kimono-clad Kitsune enjoyed every second of this. "Hiashi-kun is a Hyuuga alright."

"U-Urk."

Closing the door behind her and leaving the nameless sentry to spread the gossip all over the compound, Kotonoha claimed a seat and urged Hiashi to sit back on his own. The man could not stop that uncomfortable, fluttery feeling in the pit of his stomach. He really felt like a child again, in front of this seemingly ageless woman.

"It's been…how long? Thirty years?" Kotonoha honestly wondered. "You certainly look the role, clan leader-san. But I still remember changing your diapers like it was yesterday, ufufufu…"

Hiashi looked away, embarrassed. "You…you look the same as I remember, Great Mother."

"Good to know."

They spent some time talking clan issues. Hiashi did most of the talking, of course, showing Kotonoha that her clan was faring quite well, as usual.

"…they had been almost completely converted to our way. Their demise…it is regrettable."

"Haaa…" Kotonoha sweatdropped. She really wondered where the whole Hyuuga obsession with large breasts came from. She knew she had an attractive bust, but it was not really a suitable object of worship. "We-well, she doesn't really miss them, so it's okay…I guess."

"She?"

"A-Ah! My bad. It's nothing," Kotonoha quickly dismissed the current trail. "So, Hiashi, those daughters you mentioned…I wonder if I could meet them?"

And that was why, less than five minutes later, two young Hyuuga girls shyly made their way into their father's office, a room that was usually fearsome forbidden ground to them.

"Ah! Ko-Kotonoha-san!"

"Ara, hello, little one."

Hanabi's hesitation was quickly dispelled; she hurried to respectfully bow before the woman, who just patted the girl's head affectionately.

"You know each other," Hiashi stated.

"We had the pleasure of meeting each other last night," Kotonoha explained. "I hope her late stay outdoors was not cause for much trouble."

Hiashi looked away, visibly guilty. "O-Of course not."

Hanabi gaped at her father. He had grounded her! She was grounded!

"Ahaha, Hiashi-kun, you're a terrible liar…" Kotonoha spoke with a singsong tone.

The young sisters gaped at Kotonoha.

_No, he's not! He's a terrific liar! He would have totally failed at politics if he weren't!_

"U-Ugh…sorry…"

They gaped at their father.

_Why the hell are you apologizing!_

Faced with Kotonoha's undivided attention and fierce scrutiny, however, Hanabi soon straightened out and tried to keep a flat stare.

Kotonoha…well, she was making a decision.

"Hmm…well, I could go with the loli factor; that's always a power bonus, but…hmm…somehow, I don't think that'll be enough…no, it won't do."

"Eh?"

While Hiashi was as lost as his youngest, who was he to question the Great Mother's words and thoughts?

Kotonoha playfully messed Hanabi's hair. "Now, you keep working hard. Okay, little one?"

"Ah! Umm…yes!" Hanabi nodded eagerly, and Kotonoha smiled down at her, approving of her youthful enthusiasm.

"Do as she says, Hanabi."

Hiashi got two weird looks for that. Kotonoha giggled.

"Sheesh, Hiashi-kun, that was lame, especially from you. You have to give good advice to your daughters, you know."

"Ugh…" Hiashi was feeling the beginning of a headache. Certainly, Kotonoha was doing a great job of killing his childhood crush.

"Umm…uh…Hanabi…"

Hanabi blinked. Somehow, she was a bit worried about her father.

"Uhh…umm…e-um…e-eat your vegetables."

Silence.

Crickets chirped in the distance. Which is rather odd, considering that it's just a bit past noon.

A blushing Hiashi looked away, which meant he could not see the matching expressions of disgust on his daughters' faces.

_Da-dad…you're really embarrassing._

Kotonoha just laughed heartily.

"Ahaha~ Hiashi-kun, you're so funny~"

The poor man scratched his right cheek. "U-Um…thank you."

_IT'S NOTHING TO BE HAPPY FOR!_

The Hyuuga sisters are quite expressive in their thoughts.

The visitor then turned to the other young girl in the room.

"Now, you…"

Hinata went awfully rigid when she got the woman's attention. She was plenty intimidated by the situation as a whole. Who was this woman, who apparently knew Hanabi and made his father act like an idiot?

Having Kotonoha watch her like some piece of meat was not very flattering.

"Hmm…" With a hand on her chin, the swordswoman examined Hiashi's eldest, gazing up and down, not missing a single curve. "Hmm…turn around."

"Huh?"

"Do as she says, Hinata."'

"Ah! Ha-hai!"

Hinata was even more nervous when she was not able to return Kotonoha's gaze.

"Hmm-hmm-hmmm…"

The poor girl would not have been able to react even if she had been able to see it.

"Gyaaa!"

Even Hiashi's eyes popped out a little when Kotonoha's arms shamelessly reached from under Hinata's armpits and grabbed a handful of breast, feeling them out like anyone would test a batch of oranges.

"Hmmm…" Squeeze, squeeze. "Hmm-hmm…"

"U-uuuhhh…" Hinata, struggling to keep the tears of shame deep inside, was also trying to figure out what to do. Would her father get angry if she moved away from this horrid woman molester?

Fortunately for her, Kotonoha moved away, crossing her molesting arms under her voluptuous bosom. She nodded to herself.

"Um, you'll do. Well, you will have to do." She shrugged. "You have the seiyuu advantage, anyway. But we gotta do something about that hair, really."

"Huh?" Hinata had been rendered to monosyllables. Not expecting any better, Kotonoha calmly took her katana and put it on the girl's hands.

"This is yours," she declared.

"Huh?" This did not come from Hinata only. Kotonoha ignored the triplet of confused stares and made her way outside the room.

"Come, now. We have lots to do," She said. "You have to learn the basics as fast as possible. And let's see if a little magic can do something for that flat chest of yours."

This got a reaction from Hinata, of all things.

"F-F-F-FLAT?" she shrieked. "I'm a C-cup!"

The look on Kotonoha's face had nothing but pity.

"I know. You poor thing."

* * *

"Umm, girls…"

Seated under the shade of one of many trees surrounding Konoha, Tenten switched glances from Ayame to Sayuri and back. The Kitsune and the possessed human were deep in thought, deaf to the young kunoichi's calls.

"Hmm…how about-no…" Ayame was getting wrinkles on her forehead from all the frowning.

"You two…" Tenten insisted, as she had done for the past few minutes.

"Ah!" Sayuri suddenly exclaimed, clasping her hands together. "I got it! How about-"

"For the…what is it? Sixth?"

"Seventh," Tenten muttered.

"Yeah, seventh. For the seventh time, Sayuri, we're not using 'Mugyuu Power' as the activation sentence."

"Mugyuu…but it's so cool…"

"No it isn't," Ayame quickly retorted.

"Well I think it's great."

"No, it isn't," Ayame insisted, this time accompanied by Tenten.

"Umm…I'm already sorry for asking, but…well…shouldn't we be doing something else?"

Ayame looked strangely at her successor. "Like what?"

"Anything but thinking of an activation phrase! Whatever that is!"

"Tch, fine!" The ramen waitress barked. "But don't come back crying when you have to fight and you can't think of a better phrase than 'Mugyuu Power'."

"I think it's awesome."

"IT ISN'T!"

"Mugyuu…" Sayuri flinched from the two-way assault. Ayame quickly got back on her feet.

"Alright, magic. It would be cool to give you the details, but we're really racing against time here, so let's just start trying spells and hope for the best."

"That really doesn't sound very nice," Tenten muttered as she followed Ayame's example.

"Hmm…so…what should we start with?"

**Starlight Break-OW!**

"Quiet, you," Ayame quickly interrupted further attempts at Fourth Wall damage. "Well…I guess teaching you anything else will be kinda pointless if you can't fly, so I guess we better start with flight."

"Clap clap." Sayuri…well, she clapped. "So, does Kunkun-chan get a live demonstration first or what?"

"TENTEN!" The youngest of the trio immediately barked, right before turning to Kokoro. "But, really, a demonstration would be kinda cool…I mean, if you really expect me to go along with this charade."

"But it's not like you have a choice, dear," Ayame stated condescendingly. Then she turned to Sayuri. "And you know that, even if I wanted to, I can't use magic in this body…we have a problem."

Somehow Ayame felt that, for a second, Sayuri was returning her condescending look right back at her. She looked at her apprentice, suddenly feeling very awkward.

"If I can't show you how it works…how am I supposed to teach you anything?"

**Former Master could teach New Master the equations-**

"We're in a different setup!" Ayame yelled furiously, slamming the wand against the nearest tree.

**OW.**

* * *

"A-Ano…Yuria-san…you do not look…umm…"

Sandwiched between the fraternal twins, Yuria mumbled darkly as she enjoyed her own milkshake (vanilla). Courtesy of Kiba, of course.

"I can't help but think I was just dumped," The three-tails declared. Yuriyo found this amusing.

"Aww, sweet little Yuria, a single night together and you can't be away from him anymore!"

"It seems someone really did not learn her lesson last time." Yuria shot a side-glance to the half-Void.

Yuriyo quickly looked away, struggling to conceal the embarrassment. "Pff, like I'd let you do that again."

"Hmm…" In all honesty, Yuria was not in the mood to argue with Yuriyo, especially with the recent awareness of the fact that the two-tails was probably stronger than her, too.

"U-Umm…I…I don't think onii-sama would do something like that…" Yurina offered her two cents. "He-he said he had something to discuss with the Hokage, and I agree it would not be proper to take Yuria-san with him."

"Who is this 'Hokage' anyway?" Yuriyo pondered. "Sounds important…even if 'Fire Shadow' makes little sense."

Everybody but Yuria looked at the half-Void as if she had grown a second head.

"…what?"

"O-Onee-chan…" Yurina did not look very pleased. "…we were taught these things, you know…Yuri-sama did…"

"Ah, yeah, probably didn't pay attention…" The raven haired admitted. "I always have you around, anyway."

"I'm not your walking encyclopedia…" Yurina pouted.

"Sure you are!" the sister responded, clumsily patting the twin-tailed head.

"Auu…ca-can we go look for Mom now?"

"Ooh." Yuria voiced her surprise. "You know, I was about to ask: where is Yurine?"

The half-Celestial dropped her face in shame. "We…we got kinda…separated."

"It was your fault," Yuriyo struck.

"Auuu."

"So, Shino…" A rather annoyed Ino inquired. "…how exactly are we gonna help these girls look for their mother?"

"Do not fret," Shino explained. "I already have my kikaichuu looking for any MILFs in the surrounding area."

An uncomfortable pause.

Yuriyo blinked. "They actually understand 'MILF'? You've got some damn smart bugs there."

"I have taught them well."

"O-Onee-chan, that's not really the point…"

"Augh, I need to make things clear here!" Ino suddenly exploded, claiming the attention of the other five as well as of the surrounding tables. "You."

Yuria raised an eyebrow. "Hmm?"

"What's your relationship with these two?"

Yuria spared short glances at the twins. "I'm their aunt. Their mother's younger sister. Well, half-sister. Different fathers, you see."

"Hmm." Ino nodded. She could understand that. Now… "What's your relationship with Naruto?"

"She's his wife—OW! MY NOSE! YOU BROKE MY BEAUTIFUL NOSE!"

"No I didn't, don't be such a wuss, Yuriyo." Yuria pulled away the offending fist, her eyes never leaving Ino's. Her Kitsune Possessiveness Protocols had been triggered. "Ignore this shameless tease. Why do you ask?"

Slightly intimidated by Yuria's sudden serious tone and expression, Ino quickly explained herself.

"I-It's just…well, things about Naruto have been kinda…messy in the past few days, and we want to make some sense out of it, as his friends."

"Oh, so we're his friends n—OW!"

"Shut up, Kiba."

Yuria stared at Ino for several uncomfortable seconds, until she sighed and smiled teasingly. "I see. So you're just a gossip."

"Damn you're good," Kiba muttered and quickly dodged Ino's attempt at further physical harm.

"U-Umm…Yuria-san…Yuria-san is under onii-sama's care right now…for…umm…for special reasons…"

"Political reasons," Yuriyo declared out of the blue.

"Ha-hai! Political reasons!" And her sister quickly went along with it.

"You mean like a political marriage?" Kiba inquired, and Yuria almost spat her milkshake.

"Ma-ma-ma-maaa…marriage! Who-who the hell's getting married? I'm not getting married!"

Yuriyo was more amused at Yuria's antics than anything else. It was not like the institution of marriage had any meaning to Kitsune. But still, a chance at teasing…

"So you say, but you're already in the claws of the main character…"

"Oh, shut up—eep!"

Yuria was not the only one startled when Shino suddenly jumped to his feet, in a most un-Shino-ish way.

"Wha-what?" Ino posed the question.

"We must go. My MILFadar has caught a…no, two targets!"

The others watched Shino's back as he departed with utmost haste.

"Did…did he just say 'MILFadar'?" Ino muttered.

"I stopped paying attention to him a while ago already," Kiba gave his opinion as he jumped over the kunoichi to get out of the seat.

"Come on, Yuria, we gotta find Mother."

Yuria resisted being dragged off the seat.

"Bu-but, Yuriyo! How will Naruto find me if I leave this place?"

Yuriyo smirked. It was just too easy.

"With the power of looooooooove~"

"OH, SHUT UP!"

* * *

"So, like I've been saying, Yurine-san, I've always wanted to include illustrations in my books…"

"Hawaa…" Munch.

"Since I'm already a very famous writer, I am assured it would be an instant success. The revenues would be incredible!"

"Hawa." Munch.

"Of course, I need a female model for this, and I think Yurine-san would be perfect. I'd make the drawings, of course; it will be my chance to show the world my formidable skills, hahaha!"

"Hawaan…"

…

…

…

"Yurine-san…I cannot help but notice…you eat a lot…"

Jiraiya could feel his wallet deflating as the incredibly beautiful lady next to him put yet another empty bowl aside before attacking the next. And it was just miso soup with rice!

Teuchi was just glad he had such a good customer on his first day of the relocated Ichiraku Ramen stand, just by the boundary of the Uchiha's former clan grounds. He was working with limited resources and word of mouth had yet to spread, so customers had been next to none, until this strange duo appeared before him.

At first he had thought he would have to deal with the pervert trying to pick up a lady much younger than him, but then he realized it was Jiraiya of the Sannin, apparently in the middle of scouting. It was sad, however, how the woman was far more interested in the food in front of her. She was quick to reject ramen in any form, though, instead sticking to plain miso soup with rice.

"Pwah! So good! Yurine's full now!" The five-tails happily exclaimed after relieving the seventeenth bowl of its contents. The happiest smile was directed at the man seated next to her. "Thank you, Jiraiya-san!"

The legendary ninja almost died of moé. It was almost criminal, for such a curvaceous body to be matched with such an innocent, joyful smile.

"Ah…ahaha…su-sure…no-now, I would like Yurine-san to help me with those—"

"Hai! Yurine will repay Jiraiya-san's kindness! Yurine will do anything to help!"

Jiraiya's face quickly relaxed into a most perverted grin. "A-Anything…eh…eheh…eheheheheh…"

"Your face looks kinda scary right now, Jiraiya-san," Yurine pouted.

"Oh-oh! My bad, my bad. Anyway, let's go; we gotta find a nice location—huh?"

A very small girl was blocking their path, looking up at him with frighteningly cold eyes. He couldn't help but notice she was wearing clothes similar to Yurine's, only her hakama was of the proper length. He also noticed the abnormally long and wide sleeves of her kimono shirt.

"Hawa? Mayuri-chan."

Frantic steps announced a second person's arrival.

"Ma-Mayuri-chan, so you're hungry after all…eh? Yurine-san?"

The older sister's eyes brightened. "Ah, Yurisa onee-chan!"

The blonde four-tails' shoulders sagged a little. "Yurine-san, don't tell me…you got separated from your daughters?"

"Daughters? OW! What the-?"

The little girl who had suddenly kicked Jiraiya on the shin had quickly returned to her mother's side.

Yurine's eyes had watered a little. "Ha-Hawaa…it…it was so sudden…"

The younger sister, sighing, placed a hand on Yurine's head.

"Hawaan~"

"Right, right, we'll help you find those two…Mayuri-chan?"

The white-haired young Kitsune was pointing to her right, at the almost empty street beyond.

"What…?"

It was at this point when, like any decent ninja, Shino descended from above. A quick scan of the situation later, he addressed his loyal insects.

"Good job. VERY good job."

Yurisa's eyes hardened for a moment. They might be children, but they were obviously trained ninja, so she was careful. She was (pleasantly) surprised to see her daughter did not seem worried at all. It was like…

Kiba and Ino appeared an instant later. "So?"

"I would say we have found the mother," Shino declared, looking at Yurine. Kiba and Ino quickly agreed, as the similarities were almost obvious. Yurina had her mother's face, but the hair was all Yuriyo's.

So, they found the mother. Ino was not very happy about it, though.

"This…this really is a blow to my self-esteem," Ino muttered dejectedly, after getting a glimpse of what those two twins could become.

"Hot damn," Kiba mumbled, and Shino nodded in agreement.

"I wish I had your way with words, Kiba."

Ino finally noticed something. "Uhh…who's guiding those two here? I mean, they can't run as fast as we do, so…"

"THROW SOME HAY!"

The ninja trio step aside just in time to dodge the Yuria Meteor. Everybody present winced when the red and white object fell upon the hard ground with a mighty explosion of dust.

"You REALLY need some pointers on landing," Ino stated the obvious. Thank you Ino.

"OW."

"Ha-Hawawa! Yu-Yuria-chan!" Yurine hurried out of the makeshift ramen stand and kneeled before the lump of flesh that was Yuria. "You okay?"

"Ugh…could be better." A moment later she recognized the person so worried about her. "Ah, Yurin-nee! Good to see ya."

Yurine, however, only had eyes for the two approaching figures, still a distance away.

"Waaaaait! Please waaaaait, Yuria-san…eh?"

"See? I told you we just had to wait and follow the cloud of dust she'd raise…ah. They found Mom. Cool."

"Yurina-chaaaaaan!"

"Mooooom!"

The present had to cover their ears when mother and daughter embraced and howled identical "hawaaa~n"s. Meanwhile, Yuriyo calmly looked away and crossed her arms behind her head, which did some very interesting things to her breasts, as Kiba and Shino can testify to.

"Sure, sure, nobody cares about Yuriyo."

Ino shot her an odd glance. "You don't give a damn, either." Yuria nodded in agreement.

"Hmm…" The half-Void actually pondered it for a moment. "…ah, fair enough. Maybe if she were a better mother."

"Maybe if you tried being a better daughter…" Yuria retorted.

"Ah, touché." An appreciative glance. "You know, that Naruto might be a good influence on you after all; even your comebacks are getting better. Just a bit, though."

"Oh, be quiet."

While, under any other circumstance, Jiraiya would have cut his losses and disappeared, he found it unusually hard to do so with the cold stare of that unnerving little girl on him every damn second. Also, the quick reference to his (former) student did not fail to catch his attention.

"Ah! Yurina, Yuriyo, here."

Jiraiya gulped. Yurine, with some remnants of tears in her round carmine eyes, pulled the twins towards him.

"This is Jiraiya-san. He's been very kind to me." Standing between the two, Yurine looked more like a stunning older sister than as a mother. "Jiraiya-san, these are my daughters, Yuriyo and Yurina." She smiled, and the world became a little brighter. "Aren't they lovely?"

The three Genin standing behind stood at attention. They had, of course, heard of the legendary Jiraiya of the Sannin; the Sandaime's prodigious students. Being the very first time meeting one of them, they were unsure of what to do. In the end, they took the easy choice of standing back and watch silently.

Yurisa unconsciously grabbed her daughter's shoulder protectively. While she acknowledged her sister's words as truth, there was something about this man she found a bit unsettling. And it wasn't his outstandingly bulky frame and outlandish looks.

Yuria was still rubbing her head. That fall really, really hurt.

"Ah…" Yurina was the first to speak. "…umm…thank you very much for looking after Mom!" She bowed quickly, her hands fidgeting nervously. "Anoo…I…I hope she was not too much trouble…" she whispered, gazing at the pile of empty bowls behind Jiraiya.

Jiraiya was feeling very uncomfortable, and he wasn't even sure why. What he knew was that the stare he was getting from Yurine's raven-haired daughter was even more unsettling than the tiny albino's icy gaze. It was disturbing that his ever-critical mind was busy deciding who would look the best in silky black negligee; the mother or the daughter.

Shino would have agreed with him, had he been able to see from Jiraiya's eyes. Yuriyo's small smirk was frightening, but also incredibly arousing, as if secretly whispering "come and get me." With a slightly narrowed gaze and a subtle curve of her thin lips, the half-Void had mastered the "femme fatale" smirk, without question.

She did not hold it for long, however, as her quietness was cracked by snickering. "Ufufufufufu…huhuhuh…ehehehehe…hmmm…"

Jiraiya gulped again. This girl was dangerous. And there was this awkward feeling he was getting from her—no, from this whole situation…

"A-Anoo…onee-chan?" Yurina inquired, worried about her sister's awkward reaction. Yuriyo's snickering only got louder.

"Ahahahahaa…come on, am I the only one who sees what's going on here?"

Yuriyo calmly approached the legendary shinobi, who tried to stop his eyes from drifting down to the alluring sway of her hips.

_She's a minor, damn it!_

"It's too bad, Jiraiya-san…this puts a wedge on your plans, doesn't it…?" Standing mere inches in front of him, she looked up with smirk that reeked superiority. Her tone was quiet enough not to be heard by anyone but Jiraiya and anybody with supernatural hearing senses. "Then again, I can't blame you." She turned around, her back carefully leaning against his firm abs as her right hand made a gesture to present the confused Yurine. "She hardly looks like a mother of two, right?"

"Yo-You…" Jiraiya looked at her in alarm. This girl…was he really that obvious?

"Anyway." Yuriyo shrugged and walked away from the Sannin. "Aren't you lucky, Mother dear? It's good that Jiraiya-san was willing to help you – he even paid for lunch, I can see!" She exclaimed, showing the ramen stand around her with exaggerated gestures. "Such a kind person, and not even a trace of hidden intentions; you don't find people like that very easily nowadays." A wink to her sister. "I mean, you're such a youthful, beautiful woman, Mother…"

Yurina and Yurisa quickly did the math in their heads. A moment later, Jiraiya was getting glares from two lovely blondes. "Urk…"

Jiraiya would rather get the hell out of that place and forget anything happened, but he had honor as a man. Escaping would be granting victory to that cocky black-haired brat. Hot as Teuchi's stove, but a brat nonetheless. And there was still that weird feeling…

"Ah, whatever, whatever. I'm hungry!"

With her usual subtleness –that is, as subtle as a sledgehammer–, Yuria stepped into the ramen stand and utterly broke the mood. Claiming a stool right in front of the chef, she greeted him with a wide grin.

"So! What do you make here?"

A stomach grumbled very loudly, and all eyes moved to Yurisa.

"Ahaha…" A blushing Kitsune chuckled nervously, avoiding the glances. "I guess…I'm a bit hungry myself...eh?"

Mayuri pulled her mother towards a table. For obvious reasons, the new, temporary Ichiraku Ramen stand did not have many places available for customers.

Teuchi, however, was just glad to get more customers. "Well, this is Ichiraku's, home to Konoha's-no! Fire Country's best ramen!"

It was as if someone had suddenly yelled "ZA WARUDO!"

As if fighting against their own bodies, the stupefied ladies together turned their heads towards Yurine, who was just doing what she did best: smile and look innocent. Little Mayuri had the most adorable blush on her deathly pale cheeks. Her mother, being the (second) oldest and the only responsible adult (Yuria's not responsible at all), spoke on behalf of the others.

"Yu-Yuri…ne…"

"Hmm?" Yurine tilted her head. Just too cute.

"Just…what did you have for lunch just now?"

Yurine might have the mind of a child, but even she was aware of the Ramen Effect. "Ah, ah, don't worry, don't worry!" Her hands also made dismissing gestures. "Ichiraku-san also makes great miso soup!"

The curtains of the stand swayed with the combined sighs of five Kitsune.

"Mi-miso…" Yurisa had a hand on her chest. "Tha-that's good…"

"Mooo~m…" Yurina whined. "You scared me…"

Yuria concealed a chuckle. Horny Yurine would have been a hell of a sight. Only comparable to horny Sayuri in her mind. And there was also…

"Aww, little Mayuri's embarrassed, how cute."

The youngest Kitsune actually pouted a bit, her cheeks becoming even redder. It did a lot to lighten the other's spirits, especially her mother's, as she always cherished Mayuri's scarce displays of emotion.

As for Jiraiya, he was just grateful for his many years of skill and experience, which helped him keep his expression unchanged during the whole thing.

It had clicked. And the conclusion was as astounding as it was terrifying.

_Kitsune._

_I'm surrounded by Kitsune._

Being one of Konoha's foremost experts in matters youkai, second only to Sarutobi Hiruzen in knowledge but unmatched in actual experience (save by maybe Orochimaru), he knew the small little things that helped distinguish a disguised supernatural creature. Their speech patterns, unique little quirks, behavioral points that clashed with their apparent ages…and the ramen thing, of course. That just screamed Kitsune.

He needed to watch a little bit more; to get an idea of what he was dealing with. Then he had to run and warn the Third.

This was not good. Not at all.

"Miso soup? Boooo-riiiing," Yuriyo complained as she, too, claimed a seat, elegantly crossing her legs so as to not show more than she already did. Resting her right elbow on the table and her head on her right hand, she did not look very enthusiastic. "Urgh, it will have to do, though…"

"My apologies, onee-chan."

"And why the hell do you apologize?" Still looking bored, Yuriyo glanced at the three young ninja. "And what are you three doing there, standing like morons?" She patted the table. "Come. For once, it's on me."

"Onee-chan…" Yurina mumbled. She still was not very happy with the way Yuriyo got that money. "We have to pay Jiraiya-san…"

Responding to a pull on the hem of her shirt, Yurisa intervened. "Ah, we've got that covered." She smiled at the younger blonde. "I see you managed through Mother's little game."

Yuriyo chuckled and her sister shot an angry look at her. The three Genin took seats across Yuriyo, correctly assuming that the space next to the half-Void was reserved for her sister.

"Humm…" Yuria was excitedly studying the menu. "…didn't know there were so many kinds of ramen."

Coincidentally, Yuria and Yurina were the two single members of Higashiyama-ke immune to ramen's stimulating effects on Kitsune.

"Not to rain on your parade, but…ah, who am I kidding?" Yuriyo began. "Do you even have any money, Yuria?"

"I barely have clothes!" Yuria spat back. "Because of you!"

"You're living in the past, Yuria. Stop living in the past."

"I'll kick your sorry ass straight to the past…"

"Maa, maaa…" Yurina tried to be diplomatic. "We have plenty enough to afford Yuria-san's meal, too…"

"For which you should be thankful!" Yuriyo added, eliciting a growl from the three-tails, who resigned herself and dropped her head on the bar.

"Ahhh, sheesh. To think I'm reduced to depending on Naruto…"

"And Yuriyo. Don't forget Yuriyo."

"Go fuck yourself."

"Maybe later."

Yuria groaned, and the others sweatdropped; sans Shino and Kiba, who were holding back nosebleeds.

* * *

**CHAPTER 13 - To be continued...  
**


	19. Golden Lilies, Silver Lilies, Part Three

_**Naruto Genkyouien**_

_**- **__**ナルト**__**- **__**幻**__**脅**__**威宴**_

**Chapter Thirteen: Golden Lilies, Silver Lilies**

* * *

Within the uncomfortable, murky solitude of one of Konoha's many dark alleys, Higashiyama Yurika was catching her second wind.

"She's persistent, gotta give her that." She chuckled to herself. "Damn, she's probably a tempest under the bed sheets."

It was a simple plan, really. Yuriko's and Yurika's "Illusionary Prism" was one of several unique jutsu that required the two's synchronized focusing. It was for this reason that it was extremely difficult to see through. It was simply an area illusion centered on one of the twins. The one who assumed the role of "focus" became the bastion of reality; an anchor on the real world which ensured that, no matter how ridiculous an illusion they shaped, those caught within would remain blissfully trapped.

Yuriko had taken the role of focus, approaching the attractive kunoichi and engaging in idle conversation. Yurika, pretending to be more interested in checking nearby food stands, quietly crafted a simple but convincing illusion.

It helped that the woman was willing to play the flirting game, even with another female. Then again, she was probably just taking Yuriko for an ignorant young girl who did not know what she was getting into…Yuriko's actual body measurements aside.

When the Prism was constructed, Yuriko had quickly excused herself, not forgetting to take the bowl of dango with her, leaving a grinning Anko believing she had scared the poor, innocent girl away with her teasing. For the next ten minutes, the Special Jounin was picking up illusory treats from an illusory bowl. Of course, the other people within the shop were trapped in the Prism, too.

Unfortunately, the twins made a rather simple mistake. They had expected Anko to be satisfied after "finishing" the plentiful bowl. Hence, when the dango lover gave the bowl to the vendor and asked for a refill, the new batch of treats went right through the ephemeral container and fell to the ground.

That's when it clicked.

"At this rate, I…" Yurika muttered between pants. "…I'll have to…"

"…start using illusions, I guess?"

It was more than a little tinge; the fear Yurika felt when, with grace born of years of expertise, Mitarashi Anko dropped from the sky into the deepest part of the secluded alley.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," the Special Jounin clicked her tongue. "Really, little foxes should know how to hide better."

Yurika held back a gasp. _She knows!_

"Wha-wha—"

"Now, now, can we skip the 'I don't know what you're talking about' part?" Anko interrupted, while drawing a kunai. "I'd rather move on to the interrogation. You see, it's not very often we have Kitsune in Konoha." She twirled the weapon around her right index. "While we're used to the occasional youkai making a stop by our village, we are especially careful with Kitsune…I'm sure you know why: our…particularly dangerous permanent Kitsune resident."

In another situation, Yurika would have found that amusing. _Well, that's one thing we can agree on. That little one is dangerous._

"But I can't help but wonder: why did you make it look like there were two of you back there?"

Yurika blinked. _She thinks one of us is an illusion!_

"Well…" The cunning vixen quickly seized the chance, shifting to a relaxed posture as she leisurely leaned back on the wall. "Everybody digs a pair of hot twins, you know."

"True…" Anko smirked. "…but you're just attracting unnecessary attention, little vixen."

Yurika shrugged. "That's never been a problem before."

"Really." Anko shook her head and began to approach her prey. "It's stupid things like that why upstart youkai like you get caught by us lowly humans. Sorry, Kitsune-chan, but you just weren't smart enough for the big leagues."

Yurika's turn to smirk. "This coming from the one who thinks my sister's an illusion."

The instant Anko froze was just enough for Yuriko to make her move.

"_**Spirit Trap – Illusionary Prism.**_"

"Oh cra—"

The kunoichi was unable to finish her curse. Caught in the illusion, she walked past Yurika, wearing dazed, hollow eyes as she aimlessly wandered away. Yuriko stepped out of the shadows to join her sister, the two identical twins watching the departing form.

"Nice timing there, sister dear."

Yuriko not-very-playfully jabbed her lover's right shoulder. "That was a close one there. That woman's good."

"But we're better."

Yuriko made an odd face. Somehow she was not so sure about that anymore. "We have to move. The prism's radius is just 150 meters."

"'Just' you say." Yurika swiped her long hair away from her face. "Too bad we can't do memory modification."

"Don't push your luck, sister. We already screwed up enough. Look."

Following Yuriko's finger pointing straight upwards, the other sister noticed the incorporeal vulpine spirit making eight-shapes above them. The silver Kudagitsune shot emotionless glances at the two sisters before flying away.

"Oh crud," Yurika finally declared. "Mother won't be happy."

"No, she won't."

"And I'm still hungry."

"I'd rather not comment on that."

Sighing as one, the twins leaned on each other and began their walk of shame back to the Higashiyama camp.

* * *

Some distance away from the large group, Jiraiya tasted a bowl of beef ramen…and observed.

The group of Kitsune seemed to have utterly forgotten he was even there, save for Yurine, who shot him curious glances every once in a while, as if wondering why he didn't join the conversation, and the little one called Mayuri, who struck him with her sharp carmine eyes from time to time. Whether she knew that he knew, Jiraiya could not tell. So far she had not said a word.

"Waah!" Yuria squirmed excitedly. "This is awesome!" She looked positively ecstatic as she finished her third bowl of ramen.

"I must admit it is quite delicious." Yurina was a lot more collected in her enjoyment. She had just finished her first bowl. "A-Ano…"

Teuchi quickly interpreted the girl's shy gesture, receiving the bowl she had extended towards him. "A refill, coming right up!"

"A-Ahh…thank you."

"MORE!" Yuria slammed her empty bowl on the bar in front of her. The old chef laughed and did as requested.

"Sure, keep rubbing it on our faces," Yuriyo growled. "Damn ramen eaters."

"Aaahh…haa…so-sorry…kyah!"

Yurine squeaked when Yuria suddenly patted her back with a little too much force. "Ah, don't mind her, don't mind her! She's just jealous."

"You do remember those bowls are being paid with my hard-earned money, right?"

"Pfft! Knowing you, you must have pulled a scam on some poor bastard."

"Haa! Hawa—!" Yurina squeaked, before slumping down in defeat. "Hauuu…"

Yuria sweatdropped. "Interesting sounds you made just there, Yurina-chan. And thanks for proving my point, by the way. Not that it needed proof, though."

Mayuri nodded at that, which elicited a tiny chuckle from her mother. The amusement was short-lived, however. A second later, the little two-tails went deathly stiff, quickly pulling at her mother's clothes in some pointless yet desperate attempt at hiding herself.

"Ma-Mayuri?"

Like any ninja worth its salt, Naruto descended upon the makeshift stand in the blink of an eye.

"Hey."

"Ah, Naruto!" Ino was the first to exclaim.

"'sup."

"Greetings, Uzumaki-sama." Shino bowed his head.

"Uhh…okaaaay."

**Hello evwyone!**

Naruto had clearly explained to Sayuri that she couldn't just start setting people (or anything else) on fire to greet them. He did not want Teuchi to lose his workplace again.

"Onii-sama!"

"Hey there, Yurina—WHAGH!"

**Mugii!**

Many pairs of eyes followed Naruto as he was mercilessly tackled by something awfully soft and bouncy.

"U-Ugh…what the hell…?"

"Naruto-kyun!"

The blonde protagonist had to blink a few times to clear his blurry sight. "Yurine…" He actually wondered about this one. "…chan?"

The five-tails did not mind in the slightest. In fact, she seemed to enjoy it substantially.

"Hai! Yurine-chan!"

She strengthened her hug (Naruto was astounded at just how strong this woman was) and the boy struggled to ignore the incredible feeling of her chest pressed against his.

_Holy crap they're big._

**Yup!**

Realizing that Yurine did not have the slightest intention to get off him, Naruto pushed his body up to better accommodate himself. He ended up with the taller, curvaceous Kitsune seated on his lap; her body rubbing against his in rather distracting ways.

"I wish I were one-tenth as awesome as him."

Needless to say, Shino got nothing but odd glances from his fellow Genin.

A ways in the back, Jiraiya was torn between his shinobi side and his perverted side. Naruto had a total hottie pretty much rubbing her spectacular bust against him. That was good. This total hottie happened to be a Kitsune, and Naruto was obviously already acquainted with her. That was very, very bad.

"Well, aren't we comfortable?"

Naruto sweatdropped. Yuria definitely did not look happy. It was still too early for Naruto to understand that all Kitsune are the jealous type. Even Yuria.

"Um!" A joyful Yurine eagerly responded to her younger half-sister. "I'm very comfortable!"

"And people say I can't read the mood…" Naruto mumbled to himself. Yuriyo actually stifled a chuckle.

_She REALLY is a lot like you, Sayuri. _Naruto commented to his childish prisoner.

**Heheh!**

_Oh well, might as well play along._

Yurine squealed like an excited child when Naruto's right hand reached for her head.

"Hawaaaan~"

With Yurine basically out of the scene for good, Naruto was able to communicate with the others in a proper manner, despite his awkward position, seated on the ground in the middle of the ramen stand.

"So, didn't know you two liked ramen," he began, addressing Yuria and Yurina. While the short tree-tails nodded eagerly, the twin-tailed blonde squirmed in embarrassment.

"Ah…it's…it's my first time…" the delightfully shy girl admitted.

"It's awesome!" Yuria exclaimed. "I can't believe I've been missing out on this for so long! Oi, ojii-san! Where's my bowl?"

"Right here!" The enthusiastic chef replied, skillfully sliding a bowl across the bar until Yuria caught it for her mouth to claim its contents. "Oh my God! What is this?"

"Haha!" Teuchi barked in amusement. "Glad to see the lady enjoys my shrimp ramen!"

The sound of something tumbling down very loudly startled the present.

"Ma-Mayuri!" Yurisa exclaimed at the same time she helped her daughter get back up. The poor little girl was steaming like a boiling teapot, and she stared at Yuria's bowl as if it were an eldritch horror bent on twisting reality into a broken imitation of its vile, wicked, indecipherable self.

"Oi, you okay?"

Halfway back to her seat, Mayuri froze. Her mouth went completely dry. It was truly unbearable, feeling his eyes on her.

Her mind a raging maelstrom, Mayuri squeezed the hem of her mother's sleeve and looked away in disgust.

Naruto would have felt a bit insulted…if he could make any sense of the little foxgirl. Yurisa could only offer an apologetic look before focusing on her troubled daughter, holding her close.

"Mayuri, what's wrong?"

The only response she got was the vibrations of Mayuri's tiny body as it shuddered without relent.

"Don't bother, Naruto. She's been mute for over…for quite a while," Yuria quickly corrected herself. "She won't start talking again just because you say hello."

Naruto nodded, but he still felt quite unsatisfied. Mayuri's muteness in no way justified her strange behavior in front of him. Why was she so afraid of him?

"Hawaaan!" A rather pathetic moan drew Naruto attention back to Yurine. Offering her a dry smile, he resumed his attention on her head; interrupted due to Mayuri's little accident.

Naruto was not the only one thinking about the second youngest of the clan. Yuriyo really wished she could have seen whatever it is Mayuri keeps under her sleeve. Somehow she knew everything would make sense with just that little piece of info. While Yurina gave a compassionate look to the young lily, the three Genin were even more confused than Naruto. However, they just assumed it was a family thing and none of their business. Jiraiya, however, took quick note. Youkai were odd themselves, and oddities among youkai were definitely worth keeping in mind.

Call it instinct born of experience, call it author's shameless foreshadowing, but Jiraiya had a feeling about that little Kitsune.

"Anyway, Yuria, we gotta move."

The three-tails' eyes sparkled in excitement. "Awwight!" She mumbled at the same time she tried to fill her mouth with ramen. "So, what were you doing with the…what's the name again?"

"Hokage-sama…" Yurina muttered rather tiredly.

"Yeah, that one. What's up?"

Jiraiya's ears actually perked up a bit at that. Naruto, meeting the Hokage?

"Nah, just doing my homework."

"Homework?" Yuria wondered, but she only got a grin in response.

"Yup."

_I'm gonna need some help with that jutsu, though._

**Mugyuu…Sayuri can't help.**

_I don't even want to imagine what would happen if you tried._

**It would be awe-shum!**

_And potentially apocalyptic, but who gives a damn? Now, maybe if I ask Yurimi…_

"OI!"

A startled Naruto stepped out of his numerous thoughts (surprising, that). "Yuria?"

"I asked you a question, you know."

"Ah." Naruto made an apologetic gesture. "Ah, sorry, sorry, I was…umm…lost in my thoughts."

"I didn't know you could think hard enough for tha—OW!" Ino glared at her friend. "SHINO! You elbowed me!"

"I will not let you speak ill of Uzumaki-sama."

For some reason, Kiba found that awfully funny…or maybe he was just broken beyond redemption.

"Ahh…ahaha…thank you, Shino…I think."

"I'm watching your back, Uzumaki-sama…when I'm not watching women, that is."

Naruto sweatdropped. "Uhh…sure. Tha-thanks for the honesty."

He was starting to think the silent Shino was better.

"S-so! Yuria. What did you ask me, again?"

Yuria snorted in amusement. "I asked how you found us here. I mean, we left you at the other place…"

"I'm telling you, it's the power of—"

"You REALLY don't want to finish that sentence, Yuriyo."

"Ah, well, I actually kept a Kage Bunshin around when I left."

Jiraiya blinked. Had he actually…?

"Uhh…that doesn't really answer my question."

The three Genin nodded in concordant agreement with Yuria.

"You see, when I dismiss a Kage Bunshin, all its memories come back to me. That's how I knew you guys had come here."

"Ah…" Yuria nodded. She was easily to satisfy that way. "Cool."

Yurina hastily nodded. "Tha-that sounds like a fascinating technique, onii-sama."

Naruto actually blushed a bit, also scratching the back of his head with that hand that was not busy with Yurine. "Ahaha, I wouldn't know about 'fascinating', but, yeah, it's an awesome jutsu."

_It's really…I mean, how stupid I am not to figure that out myself…I wouldn't know this if it weren't for her…_

Somehow, Naruto felt his chest become warmer, and he realized: he really, really wanted to impress Setsuna.

He also realized Yurina was awfully red for some reason. "Yurina-chan?"

"Ah!" It was the blonde foxgirl's turn to be startled, quickly waving her arms in front of her face in a pathetic attempt at cover. "It-it-it's nothing!"

Jiraiya, though, had his mind in other things. Naruto had figured out the Kage Bunshin trick (which implied the boy was just ignoring him) and made contact with a frighteningly numerous group of Kitsune. Just what had the boy been doing these past days?

As is expected from an S-rank shinobi, nobody noticed his flawless _**Shunshin**_. Well, almost nobody.

**Ah, the fugly toad guy left.**

Naruto blinked and glanced in the direction he knew Jiraiya had been seated all this time.

_He left indeed. _Blink. _How did you even notice if I didn't? I wasn't even looking his way._

**Uhh, but...but…his chakwa was gone!**

_You…you can feel other people's chakra._

**Um.**

…_through my body._

**Um. **Sayuri blinked. **Mugyuu? You can't feel chakwa, onii-chan?**

Naruto remained silent for a while, not really thinking about anything.

…_you always find new ways to surprise me, don't you?_

**Mugyuu?**

He was kind enough to leave the exact payment for his meal, too.

With another loud slam, Yuria declared she had emptied her bowl. "Done! It was great, old man!"

"Ah, thank you, thank you." Teuchi was all smiles. Naruto had the most interesting friends…

"Damn, I owe you bad, Yurina-chan."

"I-It's okay…" The flustered girl shook her head gently, her twin locks swaying along with the motion.

"Hey, it's MY money!" A certain half-Void complained.

Naruto turned to the beautiful Kitsune seated on his lap. "Umm…Yurine-chan…I-I'm sorry, but I gotta go now…" He muttered apologetically, at the same time he pulled his hand away.

"Hawaa…okaaaay…"

Pretty much everyone held their breaths when Yurine pecked Naruto's left cheek.

"Thank you!" She exclaimed, wearing the sunniest of smiles. With that, she stood off Naruto and walked over to her half-Celestial daughter. "Tee-hee!"

"You-you look very happy, mother."

"Um!"

"That's so nice…" Yurina muttered wistfully, shooting shy glances at Naruto.

"Alright, training time!" Yuria hopped off her seat and walked to Naruto's side. "So, talk to you later, fellas."

"Sure, eat and run, you ungrateful bi—"

"See you later, Yuria-san, onii-sama!" Yurina quickly drowned out her sister's voice with a high-pitched farewell.

"Bye bye!" Yurine joined her daughter with her own childish call.

"Oi, Naruto!" A rather surprised cook intervened. "You're not having anything?"

"Urk." Naruto halted by the entrance, his mind and body fighting against years of fond memories.

**Waaaai, wamen!**

Wiggle, wiggle.

Nope, she does not help much.

"N-n-n…no." Naruto's voice was very strained. "Not…not this time…sorry!"

Yuria blinked a few times when Naruto ran past her and disappeared into the streets of Konoha.

"…was he crying?" She had an odd face, and then… "Wait, aaah! He dumped me again! Wait for me, you moron!"

Everybody sweatdropped as Yuria shouted curses until they became faint words lost in the tumult of lively Konohagakure.

"Heeh…" Teuchi did not seem much altered by Naruto's sudden disregard for ramen. "The boy's changing. It's kinda bad for the business, but good in its own way."

Right after that, Mayuri stepped off her seat and slowly walked outside.

"Hmm." Yurisa's eyes followed the small girl. "I guess we're leaving, too…ara, Jiraiya-san is gone…we didn't pay him for Yurine's food…"

While Yurisa took care of paying her and her daughter's meals and Yuriyo unenthusiastically finished her miso soup alongside the three ninjas, Yurina quietly gazed at the street beyond the restaurant; her last bowl of ramen getting cold on the bar.

"Yurina-chan?" Her mother, noticing her daughter's expression, tried to get her attention.

"I wonder…what he was thinking about back then…"

"Hawa?"

"He had…he had a really gentle face…onii-sama…"

* * *

Tenten, magical wand in hand, fiercely stared at her opponent.

One of Sayuri's fluffy golden tails scratched the underside of her chin. Closing her eyes, she yawned. "Whaaaaa…munya."

_Now!_

With a burst of supernatural speed, Tenten covered the distance between them in an instant, readying her right knee to smash Sayuri's midsection. The taller Kitsune strolled to the side, almost acting as if Tenten were not even there.

Some distance away, Ayame facepalmed. "What the hell is she doing?"

_Going immediately for a frontal attack, what kind of ninja is she? Doesn't she realize she's going against Kyuubi?_

And Sayuri seemed to be pretty damn good at dodging Tenten's taijutsu…in odd ways.

"Mugya! Awawa-gyuu! Haa, that was close-mugii! Ahahaha, almost got-moh! Whoa! Cho! Mugya!"

"What's with all the weird noises, Sayuri-sama…?" Kokoro mumbled, sweatdropping.

"Stop doing that!" Tenten hissed angrily as she futilely tried to club her sparring partner with Heart of Justice.

"Mugyuu! Doing what?" Sayuri, still in her Testarossa cosplay, seemed more interested in the cool ways she could make her white cape flutter as she dodged, rather than in the dodging itself.

"You're just making fun of me! Get serious!"

It was as if the utterance of a single word had raised the temperature at least five degrees.

Celsius, not Fahrenheit.

"Ara? Serious, you say?"

"Hah!"

Sayuri's right arm slid under Tenten's offending own; gently pushing it upwards enough for the girl's attack to slide over Sayuri's left shoulder. Tenten grunted.

_She got my armpit—ah!_

Sayuri's other arm seized Tenten's clothes and effortlessly lifted the girl over, disposing of her with an overly strong judo throw.

"Wah!"

Ninja flexibility allowed Tenten to twist her body in the air and fall on her feet. However, her sight was blocked the very moment she did that, and she became aware of Sayuri's open hand closing in on her.

_So fast! _Tenten's mind screamed as her desperate self interposed her pink and white wand in front of her chest.

"_**Tenchi Yojinshou**_."

**Master!**

Both Master and wand were blown away when the air in front of them literally exploded. Ayame winced and groaned when Tenten made it back to the ground. She didn't make a pretty sound.

"Urgh…ugh…" Tenten tried to get back up, but it was hopeless. At least for a while.

"Be careful who you say that to, girl."

With those words, Sayuri finished that sparring session. Ayame carefully watched the nine-tails as she sat by her side. Somehow, her expression in that single moment was frighteningly cold.

"I'm not going to argue with you, Sayuri-sama, but…was that really necessary?"

"She needs to realize this is not a game, or some silly joke we're pulling on her." Her childish, pouting face starkly contrasted with her serious words. "She needs to start acting, thinking like a magical girl." She turned to look at the fallen Tenten. "I mean, what the heck was that? Taijutsu? You expected to get me with Taijutsu?"

"I was…ugh…hoping to surprise you!"

"You could have at least tried throwing stuff at me! You know, like you always do? Your specialty, and stuff?"

"That's why…it was supposed to be a surprise…" Tenten groaned. "And I won't even ask how you know that throwing weapons are my specialty. I'm pretty sure I never told you."

"Or you could have tried using magic," Ayame offered. "You know, the whole purpose of this spar?"

"How the hell am I supposed to do that? I don't have the slightest idea! You just sputtered some crap about imagining and stuff that doesn't tell me anything!" It was rather pathetic how Tenten shouted complains while prone on the grass. "How can I learn a spell if you won't show me any?"

"Your basic attack and defense should come out just by imagining them. From there you can build up your own repertoire of spells. Even if Kokoro-chan showed you her magic there is a strong chance you wouldn't be able to copy her spells, anyway."

"Ugh…whatever…"

Sayuri sighed. "What a hopeless child."

Ayame just watched Sayuri. "You…being all rough with the girl, all knowledgeable about magic…and you know Taijutsu, to boot." An odd smirk. "I guess it's stupid to think you're still the same silly girl that's sealed inside Naruto right now."

"Ah…ahahaha!" Sayuri grinned and scratched the back of her head, all very Naruto-like. "Maa, well, I learned a thing or two…" Her smile was a bit melancholic as she watched the clouds. "I watched so many fights when I was young…it was impossible not to catch a thing or two…and coming up with jutsu is very easy when you're a nine-tails, you know." Her smile became serene when she looked back at Ayame. She also dropped her volume. "As for the magic, well, I had the pleasure to meet the next incarnation of Magical Heart. The one after Ten-chan, you see. And she had a very good magical education."

"Hmm…I guess you won't tell me anything more, will ya?"

"Now, now, that wouldn't be fun, would it?" She looked in Tenten's direction. "Oi, Tintin-chan! Get up already! Justice-san took most of that attack!"

"Ugh…damn slave driver…" Tenten growled as she struggled to get back on her feet.

"Come on, you have to get the hang of the basics before we go for dinner!"

"Dinner?"

"Um!" Sayuri's smile grew even brighter. "A very special dinner!"

* * *

Sarutobi Hiruzen raised an eyebrow when he noticed he was no longer alone. "I would prefer it if you used the door, Jiraiya. Like normal people."

"This is no time for silliness, old man."

"Funny words, coming from you, my boy." The Third had a look of amusement as he used those words.

"I'm serious here," Jiraiya insisted, rolling his eyes. "Naruto was here a while ago, right?"

"Well, yes, that's true. He posed some very interesting questions."

"About what."

"The Summoning Technique. He might not want anything to do with you, but apparently he's still taking your teachings into account."

"Ugh…" Jiraiya grimaced. "I already said I'm sorry."

"It still does not change the gravity of your actions, Jiraiya. In any case, I don't think you came just to ask about Naruto."

"No, I didn't. We have trouble, sensei. You see…"

Dramatic pause…

BAM!

"We have Kitsune in town!" One Mitarashi Anko declared quite loudly right after banging the door open.

Sarutobi frowned. Jiraiya…he was just miffed.

"…what she said."

"Kitsune…" The aged Kage did not precisely look happy. This was indeed worrisome, especially if there was more than one. "What type?"

"The very hot type."

The two legendary shinobi stared at Anko very, very oddly. Jiraiya, of all people, tried to steer the conversation back to a serious tone.

"Anko-chan, please close the door."

"Ah, sure. And don't call me that."

Jiraiya turned to the man behind the desk. "The bad thing is that they have already made contact with Naruto."

Now those words made the alarms blare, for both Sandaime and Anko.

"I just came from watching them at the ramen stand. They seemed quite friendly if you ask me."

"Ramen?" Sarutobi frowned. "But I thought—"

"They had miso soup with rice. Two of them proved immune to ramen, though."

"Aah."

"Wa-wait, what's ramen got to do with…?"

"Maybe later, Anko," the Third quickly dismissed the Special Jounin's question. It seems Orochimaru did not tell her of most Kitsune's greatest weakness. "So, you got any idea of their intentions?"

"They just pulled a stupid prank on me…and stole my dango, the bitches."

"So far they just seem to be fooling around, but…it's just, such a large group, it's just not normal."

"Ara, ara, you're all so stressed with my little lilies; I almost feel bad."

The three shinobi were so startled they would swear their hearts actually stopped for a moment there.

There was a woman; a very beautiful woman, seated across the Hokage, taking one of two seats the Third had available for visitors. A woman they were sure had not been there an instant before. She had simply appeared out of thin air.

Then they saw the ears. And the seven beautiful silver tails.

She stood up. "My, how rude of me. Please allow me to introduce myself. I am known amongst my peers as the Silver Lily of the Netherworld; the Third Matriarch of the Great Ghost Clan of Higashiyama." A bow. "Higashiyama Yuri, daughter of Yuyuko. It is an honor to meet you, Sandaime Hokage-sama." She smiled somewhat tenderly. "I come in peace."

There was a heavy silence, to which Yuri seemed impervious to, as she just calmly reclaimed the seat and waited for a response.

Anko might not know as much about Kitsune as the other two, but even she could tell this was no ordinary youkai before her. And she did not just mean the unbelievable boobs.

Sarutobi was doing his best to keep a straight face.

Kitsune, despite their many interactions with humans, kept their internal affairs a closely guarded secret. It had taken many years for humanity to learn of the distinctions existing within the fox youkai species, as well as of their politics and secret wars amongst themselves and with other youkai. Of course, this knowledge belongs to very few.

If this foxwoman was truly the leader of one of the Great Clans, then it meant they were before one of the strongest Kitsune in existence. While still inferior to the godly Nine-Tails, this woman was still a threat of the highest level; an enemy not even the entirety of Konoha's forces could take if she fought seriously.

She had just displayed her superiority; concealing her presence with illusions not even a Kage could pierce.

In this situation, as the leader of Konohagakure, there was only one choice available to him: to prevent a violent confrontation at any cost.

Jiraiya…well, he was pulling a Tohno Shiki.

_Those boobs. Those boobs. Those boobs. Thoseboobs. Thoseboobs—_

"Well then, I can only bid you welcome, in the name of the village of Konohagakure, Higashiyama-dono," the Third began the old game of diplomacy.

"Ah, maa, maa…you can call me Yuri-chan."

"I'd rather not."

"Ah well. In any case, I must apologize for my girls' careless actions. It's their first time out of the shrine for most of them, you see."

"It shows."

Yuri actually turned to offer an apologetic look at Anko. "My utmost apologies. I assure you Yuriko and Yurika will be thoroughly scolded for their disappointing actions today. "They should know better than to pick an experienced kunoichi for a prank like that."

"Ah…" Anko actually blushed a bit before the attention. "Uhh…um…it…it wasn't such a big deal."

"You are too kind." Yuri gave one last smile to Anko before turning back to face the Third. "In any case, I simply want to assure you and your shinobi that my clan has no ill intentions towards Konoha. I'm taking it as a sort of family holiday, myself."

The fact that she was talking to them instead of simply manipulating them as she could have easily done made for a very strong argument. However…

"I do appreciate your words, Higashiyama-dono. However, as the leader of this village, I hope you understand that I must remain wary of any large group of youkai within our walls..."

"…and especially Kitsune, I presume."

Sarutobi nodded. "Then I can hope you would explain your…girls'…apparent interest in one of my shinobi."

"Uzumaki Naruto-sama, hmm?"

The honorific easily caught the attention of the three shinobi; something Yuri obviously noticed.

"Oh, he deserves it. To be able to contain the incredible might of a Nine-Tails; not just any baby would have sufficed, you see. Though I do wonder about the safety of that seal…oh, but I'm diverging from the topic, aren't I?" A giggle. "My bad."

Of course, she had already caught the attention of the others, specially the males. Was she implying the Fourth's seal would not have worked on just any baby?

"First of all, I need to clarify that it was Naruto-sama who first contacted my clan, not the other way around. It was an…interesting coincidence…interesting and very fortunate."

"The first of my lilies he met was my daughter, Yurimi. She is quite smitten with him, you know? As a mother, I'm a little worried…I had hoped she would pick, well, a Kitsune partner."

"In fact, by this point, he is quite liked by most of my lilies. He's even taking care of my dear Yuria. He's quite the gentleman, even if his manners are rather rough around the edges." Her smile gained the mildness only mothers can accomplish. "He's a good child."

"So you are saying that you and your clan have no interest in what's sealed inside him?"

Yuri's smile did not change. "What if I said I am interested?"

Sarutobi's eyes sharpened considerably. "The Kyuubi appeared in our village that night without any warning; stomping and destroying whatever stood in its way. Everyone and everything that got caught by its claws and tails was annihilated. It almost entirely obliterated this village thirteen years ago. It was the sacrifice of our greatest shinobi which saved us. That kind of vicious, reckless destructive power should not be unleashed again."

Yuri did not say anything for a while. However, the amusement on her face was really pissing them off.

"My, that Kyuubi really left an impression on you."

Putting aside the joke only she understood, Yuri continued.

"While I believe Kyuubi has no interest in harming Konoha, I don't think I could convince you of that, or that the best solution is, in fact, releasing the Nine-Tails. For the sake of the two of them, I mean."

The seven-tails shrugged, and Jiraiya's eyes almost popped out of their sockets at the tantalizing visage of Yuri's shuddering bust.

"Of course, in the end, that only depends on Naruto-sama."

"Well then…" Yuri stood back up. "…I have stated my case. My girls only want to enjoy this first experience amongst humans, but I can assure you I will keep them on a shorter leash from now on. I admit some on them have an interest in Naruto-sama, but that is usual for their ages. After all, he's the first male most of them met."

Yuri bowed before the Hokage one last time.

"So, please accept us in your village, if only for a few days. I would be grateful if we were not spied upon by your ninjas; that's just not very nice, I mean."

"Now if you excuse me, I have to get things ready for dinner. It's going to be special, you see. Later."

And she disappeared as abruptly as she had shown up. It took several seconds for the three shinobi to regain their bearings.

"So, in the end, she didn't really say anything…what do you think, Jiraiya?" the Third asked for counsel.

"…they're bigger than Tsunade's."

Sarutobi stared at his student for several soundless seconds…then he turned to Anko. "What do you think, Anko?"

"Ah, um, hai! I have to agree with Jiraiya-sama: they're definitely bigger than Tsunade's."

The Hokage stared at Anko the same way he had stared at Jiraiya just before, and then he buried his face in his hands.

"Why am I surrounded by perverts?"

* * *

The sky was a canvas of yellow and orange. The sun, while still present, had chosen to hide behind the thick canopy that makes the most of Fire Country. Stripes of thin cumulus clouds lazily strolled over those who bothered look at them, as well as those who did not.

On ground level, his legs submerged to his knees in a familiar shallow river, Uzumaki Naruto smirked in satisfaction.

It was done.

Setsuna's "practical" assignment, he had accomplished it.

However, the one who celebrated was but a shadow clone. He knew he was in his last moments of existence, but he would cease to be with the satisfaction that the purpose of his creation had been fulfilled. Just how many people could say that at death's door?

His life had been short; having been created right after his original self had finished Kotonoha's unsettlingly delicious lunch. While the original Naruto took Yuria on a wild chase across Konoha's rooftops, the clone trained. While the original visited the Sandaime Hokage, the clone trained. When the original Naruto and Yuria arrived to resume the foxgirl's tree-walking training, the clone ignored them and trained even more.

His life had been nothing but training, for it was the very reason Naruto had given it most of his chakra. He had to finish the exercise, at all costs.

And he was looking at the result of his lifetime of work and self-sacrifice. A thick and fairly unstable column of spiraling chakra connected the palm of his right hand with the water three feet below.

Setsuna's example had been performed on the trunk of a tree, and Setsuna had not moved the hand more than a foot away. Naruto somehow knew Setsuna could have bragged a bit, but that was not the purpose of the demonstration. She had emphasized on the fact of just how ridiculously difficult this was, and it had not taken Naruto long to realize how right she was.

Someone with a bit more technical knowledge would have detailed that chakra is odd in how it can behave as a wave, a stream of single particles or a non-Newtonian fluid.

Naruto just thought it was crazy as fuck.

Chakra shared with fluids the annoying tendency to try to fill as large a volume as possible. Unless shaped into a jutsu, the externalization of chakra resulted in its pointless dispersal. Sayuri's "Pwetty Beam" suggested that there is this certain "transition space" in which there still is the possibility to recover the released chakra. Chakra theoreticians would love to hear of this. A shame nobody but Sayuri has bothered to do the experiment.

In any case, it was precisely this "fluidity" of chakra that stood in Naruto's way. How could he create a stable extension of his chakra if it dissipated in the air the moment it became too long?

The solution was in yet another property of fluids: when not contained, they like to move. A lot.

Chakra does not like Newton's First Law of Motion. Repose and uniform rectilinear movement are anathema to it. Naruto's mistake was that he had been trying to create a perfectly still structure with his chakra. A "solid" column, to put it in a simple manner.

When Naruto turned the pillar into a screw, everything fell into place naturally…

…well, maybe not. He still needed some time to figure out just how much chakra he has to release to make it (partially) stable. Adding to this the fact that he was working while standing on running water and that his "screw" had to stick to the water just like his feet, and well…

"Heheh…up!" The clone chuckled when he raised his legs atop his head, using his right hand and his chakra screw to support his weight on the water. It was the water-walking exercise taken to the extreme.

The clone smiled. It was done. It was really done.

He could go in peace.

* * *

Naruto was jolted by the sudden influx of information he got from his departed clone. Five seconds of jumbled thoughts and confident conclusions later, he grinned.

"Heeh…good job, buddy. Thanks a lot."

**Mugyuu? Who are you talking to, onii-chan?**

_Ah, just my clone, my clone._

**Oh…okay!**

While Sayuri can do many things through Naruto's body, she still can't read his thoughts.

Probably because she has not tried yet.

Don't do it, Sayuri.

**Don't do what?**

…forget it.

**Mugyuu?**

_Now just who are YOU talking to?_

**Eh? Ah…heheh, onii-chan wouldn't undehshtand.**

_What the hell's that supposed to mean?_

**Tee-hee!**

As if the wind itself worked to maximize her impact, a gust drew Naruto to block the incoming breeze with his arms. His eyes idly followed a group of leaves swirling in the air, traveling away until they flew past one of the most beautiful women Naruto had met in his life…and he had met a lot of those lately. However, the fact this woman had obviously dressed to impress gave her a lot of points.

This particular one was, of course, the unmatched champion in the bust department. Her elaborate kimono, almost satin-like in its luster, depicted a mystical garden of cherry trees in full blossom, showered by silvery streams of moonlight. Her long hair had been fixed in a complicated arrangement on the back of her head, held together by long silver pins and larger hairpin shaped like a silver lily.

She was truly like a queen of the Netherworld.

"Good afternoon, Naruto-kun, Sayuri."

**Mama!**

Naruto became a bit tense. It did not help that his memories of her basically consisted on having her boobs mashed to his face and her approval of Yuria's unfair bash at Yurimi. However, he could not feel any ill will from Higashiyama Yuri, only the solemn aura of one who has lived for centuries and remained ethereally beautiful.

Naruto could not help but wonder if Yurimi would eventually become like this astounding woman. The sheer thought made his blood rush to more than one place.

"Ah…um…hello."

Yuri did not seem to mind Naruto's insecure answer. Of course, she did not know him enough to understand just how out-of-character such a response was. It was hard for the boy: Yuri made him wary, for a reason he could not clearly understand.

After the customary bow, Yuri looked around. "I believed Yuria was with you…but I don't see her around?"

"Up here!"

Yuri was startled by what she saw when her eyes followed Yuria's voice to a nearby tree. Her feet actually stumbled for a moment there. "Oh!"

Standing upside down, with her feet firmly stuck to the underside of the tallest branch and her arms crossed over her chest, Yuria looked down at her progenitor.

"Whassup, Mother?"

Yuri took a second to process the situation. "'Oh…oh my. Won't you get a headache like that, Yuria dear?"

"Oh, COME ON! I show you my AWESOME ninja technique and THAT's the best you can come up with?"

"Ah, ahahaha!" Yuri's laughter was as mild as the very feel she gave. It was very lyrical. "I apologize. That is certainly a most unusual skill you have learned, Yuria, my dear." She looked down at the boy, who was, too, smiling at the three-tails above. "I take it this was your doing, Naruto-kun?"

"Well…" The boy shrugged. "…she said all her training before didn't work, so why not try something different? And look!" His left arm presented Yuria. "She got it in a day!"

"Yosh!" Jumping off the branch, Yuria turned in midair to let her feet reach the trunk, and from there to the ground, using her powerful tails to take the blunt of the fall instead of her feet.

"Ha! Awesome." She nodded proudly at her not-painful landing.

"And she's happy," Naruto continued in a quieter tone. "Isn't that a good thing, Yuri-obaa-san?"

Yuri nodded. "Yes, a very good thing." Her eyes turned away for an instant before settling back on Naruto. "Obaa-san? Do I look that old to you?"

**Mama is young and pwetty.**

"No!" Naruto whined; his tension suddenly departing like smoke caught in the breeze. "That's the problem!"

"Ahahaha, you're so silly, my bro!" Yuria finally arrived to her mate's side, using her tails to walk in homage to Dr. Octopus. "Look."

"Gyah!" Yuri was again startled, this time by her young daughter rudely grabbing her right breast. "Yu-Yuria, it hurts a bit…"

"See, behind this youthful face, and these annoying breasts that defy the very laws of Physics, lies the soul of an old hag."

"Oi."

"So! Obaa-san is just fine! In fact, why don't you try calling her-OW-OW-OW! GET THEM OFF ME! WHAAAAAGH!"

Naruto's eyes calmly followed the figure of his bedmate as she was chased and bitten relentlessly by the Matriarch's Kudagitsune.

"Well, that's pretty cool."

"Thank you," Yuri responded.

**Ahahahaha! Wun, Yuria-nee-chan, wun! And now, burn!**

Whoosh.

"HEY! What's the big idea—OW! You bastards-eh? Ahaha, now YOU're on fire, too, bitches!"

**Waaaaaai!**

Wiggle, wiggle.

"Now that was just pure evil, Sayuri." Naruto sweatdropped. Yuri just shook her head.

"Sayuri, really…" A sigh. "Naruto-kun."

"Hmm?"

"I also…wanted to thank you for helping my daughter. She is, well…"

Naruto did notice the way the elder Kitsune's eyes changed. Her gaze became solemn, a bit melancholic, and very, very aged.

"I believe Yuria will take a different path. A very different path. And, as much as I love and wish to help her…I'm not the one who can show her this path…mainly because I do not know it myself."

Naruto could not respond to that.

"Anyway, enough of that talk." Yuri's smile returned, accompanied with a tinge of amusement. "I hope Naruto-kun has not forgotten my invitation last night."

"Urgh." Naruto stiffened again. "Umm…no?"

Yuri stared at the boy for a while, at the same time Naruto looked at everything but her. In the end, she shrugged and turned to walk away.

"Well you're coming, and that's that."

Naruto began to move his feet when a swarm of Kudagitsune threateningly approached him, prodding and pushing him to follow the Matriarch.

"B-B-But I don't have fancy clothes!" The boy complained while he futilely tried to shake the snake-long spirits away. "How do these things touch me anyway? Aren't they, like, ghosts or stuff?"

"Oh, no, no, they are youkai. They just can become incorporeal if they want to," Yuri quickly explained. "As for clothing; I'm sure we can fix that."

Somehow the wink she gave him did not help ease his mind in the slightest.

* * *

It was a silent evening in Shino's house. His parents were out doing who-knows-what. He did not even know if they were together.

That's why Shino could relax by the dining table and drink tea by himself, staring at the greenery of the back of his house.

It had been a rather…unusual day, to say the least. After Naruto and the girl named Yuria departed (to train together, apparently), the next to leave were the woman, Yurisa, and her albino daughter, Mayuri.

He had already taken note of the curious (and suggestively amusing, much to his pleasure) pattern in their names.

The trio of Genin accompanied Yurine and her daughters for a few more hours, mindlessly strolling throughout Konoha and answering the twins' questions. While Yuriyo and Ino quickly settled on the standard girl-chat, talking bucketloads about the shops to visit and the places to see, Yurina was a lot more interested in the village as a whole, posing questions more related to Konoha's history, population and infrastructure. These questions Shino answered to the best of his ability.

Some distance behind, Kiba and Yurine walked in silence; the woman idly looking around and absorbing the scenery around her with eyes more fitting on a five-year-old girl. Kiba just kept to himself, or quietly chatted with Akamaru, having come to terms with the fact that neither Yurina nor Yuriyo wanted to even look at him, for some reason.

Shino did note that Yurine, unlike her daughters, seemed to have no qualms about walking alongside Kiba. She had even tried to engage in conversation, but they quickly ran out of things to talk about.

Only when they left did the Genin realized they had truly learned nothing about them. Yurina had been quick to avoid any and all questions related to their relationship with Naruto; her answers vague and devoid of any actual information. They did not know where they came from or what they had come to Konoha for (they guessed it had to do with the Chuunin Exams and the festival that precedes it). They did not even know where the large family was staying.

With no less questions than before, the trio of Genin called it a day. Kiba and Shino quietly decided that avoiding Hinata seemed to be a very good idea at the moment.

Shino really had many questions concerning these unique and very beautiful females. There was one particular question, however, that seemed to dominate his mind.

_Just what is it with Uzumaki Naruto and youkai?_

How Naruto had made contact with his many non-human friends was beyond him. It deserved further investigation. As a shinobi of Konoha and Naruto's fellow Genin, Shino felt it was the only alternative. Maybe it was related to the reason his kikaichuu refused to get close to Naruto, as well as to that unexplained episode of spontaneous combustion.

On a side note, Shino thought he would probably forfeit should he have to fight Naruto in the finals. It was pointless if his insects were inexplicably terrified of the blonde and, even if they agreed to aid him in the fight, Shino had the feel Naruto would no longer be a pushover.

With those thoughts in mind, Shino decided to put a bit more effort on investigating Naruto's lovely youkai friends…and maybe train a little as he was supposed to.

He was already looking forward to further chances to admire such exemplars of feminine beauty, of course.

* * *

"Umm…Naruto-sama, if I may ask?" Kotonoha carefully picked her words as she gently slid the light grey yukata on Naruto's shoulders and guided his arms to the sleeves.

Alone with the swordswoman in one of the tents belonging to the Higashiyamas, Naruto just rolled his eyes at the bodyguard's sudden formality. "…yes, you may."

"Why did you…I mean, I'm honored, but…"

Naruto's words two minutes before had stunned the Higashiyama Clan.

"_Only Kotonoha will help me get dressed, and that's that!"_

"Ah…" Naruto sweatdropped. "Kotonoha."

"Yes?" Very carefully, the taller woman removed a speck of dust off the back of the yukata. "Please turn around."

"Ah, um, sure."

Naruto blushed a bit, but Kotonoha seemed unfazed by the sight of Naruto's bare legs and torso, and quickly covered them with the robes, using one hand to hold the piece of clothing while the other reached for the obi.

"So, Naruto-sama was saying?"

"Ah! Yes, well…" Naruto scratched his left cheek with a finger. "…I'm not an idiot, you know."

"And I have never thought of you as one, Naruto-sama."

"Right." The boy nodded. "What I mean is; I saw the looks on some of their faces. Yurimi really scared me for a moment there."

**Munii?**

* * *

"_Now now, Yurimi-chan? I'm going to help Naruto-kun here get properly dressed. Would you mind giving me a hand or two?"_

_The sunlight made Yurimi's carmine eyes gleam in rather disturbing ways. "I live to serve the Matriarch of Higashiyama."_

* * *

"Her hands were making these creepy squeezing motions, you know," Naruto stated. "And there were also those two. I mean, they're not really scary, just…well…"

**Munya.**

* * *

"_Yurine will help too!"_

"_GAH!" Naruto gasped when he got caught in the five-tails' fierce embrace, with yet another faceful of breasts. He was getting used to those. Somehow he did not really enjoy having the adult Kitsune rub her face against his hair like that._

"_Ah…a-ano…"_

_Naruto somehow managed to pull his face off Yurine's impressive cleavage to look at shy little Yurina. The mild-mannered blonde's two tails swayed from side to side at a very slow tempo. Her eyes were fixed on his chest, as if she were trying to drill a hole through his clothes with her pupils._

"_M-m-m-me too…I want to see-ah! Hauuu…"_

_Her eyes shot fleeting glances at Naruto's face, her own getting redder and redder by the second._

* * *

Naruto moved his hand to scratch the back of his head. Kotonoha had moved behind him to properly tie the sash.

"I mean, sure, I still could have let them—I mean, it's not like they had bad intentions or anything, and Yurimi…I already know Yurimi likes me…that way. But then Yuriyo…"

* * *

"_Okay, okay, can I molest him too?"_

* * *

"So, yeah."

…**muuu, Sayuri doesn't get it.**

Kotonoha nodded. "A wise decision. The chapter's already long enough to add a long scene of child molestation."

**Mugyuu?**

"What?"

"Nothing, Naruto-sama. Still, that doesn't explain why you chose me instead of Yuria-sama." A pause. "Thinking about it, I am surprised she did not react to the others' obvious advances."

Naruto sweatdropped, again. "She's busy showing off the tree-walking trick to Yurisa-nee-san and Mayuri-chan."

* * *

"_See? It's awesome, huh?"_

_Yuria's smile truly blossomed when Yurisa responded with heartfelt clapping. "That's truly wonderful, Yuria-chan."_

_The three-tails actually blushed at the praise. "Heheh, thank you, thank you…" Her eyes lingered on Mayuri. Was that…a hint of a smile?_

"_Heh, I'll take what I can. Thank you, Mayuri-chan."_

_The second smallest of Higashiyama-ke dropped her head in a futile attempt to hide her tiny blush._

* * *

"She's kinda unreliable, that Yuria. And…well…" Naruto's face reddened a bit. "Y-You're the one I trust the most, anyway."

With the kimono properly tied up, Kotonoha gently turned Naruto so that he would face her. His shy, inquiring gaze was met by a warm embrace. Unlike Yurine, who recklessly shoved his face on her cleavage (not that he minded though…at least, not until he began to run out of air), Kotonoha delicately placed turned his face to the side, so that he would use her bust as a pillow of sorts.

**Ah! Mou…Sayuri wants to hug onii-chan too!**

"Thank you."

Naruto barely heard those words. In fact, he was not sure Kotonoha had actually said them. Yet somehow, the fact she had not added 'Naruto-sama' at the end pleased him immensely for some reason.

Hesitatingly, Naruto returned the embrace, his arms settling around the fox-woman's waist, as if they belonged there. Kotonoha, like Yurimi, made him feel like a child, only for very different reasons. When he was in her arms, like this, he felt like he wanted to be pampered by her.

It was odd. Having been alone for so long, he had never really wished for something like that.

"Maybe…this is how it feels…" he muttered to himself.

"Naruto-sama?"

The boy drowned in the warmth, deaf to Kotonoha's words.

"…having a mother."

He could not imagine the effect those words would carry.

"Oh, what an absolutely lovely scene."

Naruto went stiff, and he falsely assumed the new voice was the reason Kotonoha was deathly stiff, too.

"Yu-Yuri-oba-urk."

He was completely sure the temperature had actually dropped several degrees, and it was not just his imagination.

"...Yuri-chan."

**Hehe!**

"Yes, Naruto-kun?" The great Matriarch was all smiles. Naruto suddenly really wanted to let go of Kotonoha, but the four-tails' grip was unbreakable.

"Just how did you get in here?"

"Oh, it's a very simple Ghost Jutsu." Yuri giggled. "Yurimi-chan has been trying to get in here for a while already. It seems her Ghost Step still can't get her through solid obstacles; not even a layer of plastic." She shrugged. "Now, as much as I hate to interrupt this wonderful moment of bonding, it's time for our guest of honor to show up, ne?"

Kotonoha took her time to let go of the boy. Naruto's freedom was inexistent, as Yuri seized his left shoulder with an iron grasp.

"My esteemed Naruto-kun, you seem to be far more interesting than I originally expected, ufufufufu…"

Somehow Naruto was not sure that was precisely a good thing.

"Yuri-sama."

The Matriarch had dragged Naruto almost to the tent's entrance when Kotonoha called for her.

"Yuri-sama, this…I…"

"Now, Kotonoha, don't misunderstand."

The tallest of the clan deigned herself to turn around to offer the bodyguard a gentle, soothing smile.

"I'm happy for you."

Kotonoha blinked and frowned. "E-Excuse me? I-I think I do not understand…"

"No, you don't." Yuri's smile gained a tinge of pity. "You have found something, Kotonoha. Something very precious. I can only hope you will realize it soon."

Yuri's eyes wandered upwards, as if she had suddenly thought about something. When the thought became clear in her head, she grinned.

"In fact, let's do this: when you figure out what it is you have found I'll relieve you of your duties as Yurimi's maid and bodyguard. Okay?" She looked down, at one confused boy. "Saa, let's go, Naruto-kun."

And the two exited the tent, leaving one Katsura Kotonoha alone with her thoughts.

* * *

Right outside the tent, Naruto came face to face with Higashiyama Yurimi. She was again wearing her fascinating and luxurious kimono, and Naruto secretly admitted she did not look any less stunning than the first time.

Earlier, Yurimi had told him she had taken care of the mess she had made of his apartment, apologizing profusely for her ineptitude. Naruto was more embarrassed by the fact that a girl had cleaned his apartment. It was not like he had dirty magazines or anything of the sort, but it was still kinda weird.

Looking beyond Yurimi, Naruto was impressed by a wonderfully compelling sight. Low tables and cushions had been set around a large bonfire, and many different kinds of food were presented before him. It was a feast for all tastes. And the person setting up the feast was…

"Aaaaaaah!"

"Tch." The rather ordinary-looking man muttered, fixing his glasses. "So annoyingly loud."

"Manabu Akamon!"

"You're too loud! AND YOU'RE SAYING IT BACKWARDS!" The thirty-eight-years-old Genin spat back, his beady brown eyes glowing with poorly restrained anger…for a second. "Wait, how do you even know my name when not even half the fandom does?"

**Be-coz onii-chan's the best!**

Naruto blinked. "…you know, I have no idea, Manabu Akamon."

"I told you you're saying it backwards!"

"Maa, maa…" Yuri tried to be conciliating. "Don't mind that, Manabu Akamon." And failed.

"You too, milady…"

Yuri made a curious hum. "So, it seems exposure to Sayuri's chakra has given you a limited form of The Power."

"The Power?"

"Mother means your limited ability to break the Fourth Wall, Master," Yurimi explained.

"Huh?"

"I call it the 'Kurosaki Effect'," Yuri declared proudly.

"Auuu?"

"Not you, Sayoko-san, the bleached guy."

"He's not bleached, Mother…"

_Sayuri, do you get a word they're saying?_

**Yup!**

_I…see…_

"So, Manabu Akamon…"

"You're doing that on purpose, aren't you, brat?"

Naruto ignored him. "…what are you up to here?"

Manabu's moustache bristled for a moment there. The aged ninja was staring at Naruto as if he were some sort of retard.

"Well, as it should be obvious to anyone with a gram of gray matter, I am a Kitsune under Higashiyama Yuri-sama's service."

"Aaaah…wait, WHAT?"

Manabu stared some more. "Goddamn, you're a moron."

"There are male Kitsune?" Naruto exclaimed, and the other facepalmed.

"OF COURSE THERE ARE MALE KITSUNE!" The words ringed in Naruto's ears. "Where did you think little Kitsune come from, rocks?"

"No, I mean, there are male Kitsune in this story?"

**Zing! Tee-hee!**

"You bastard."

"Oi-sssu!" The ever-spirited Yuria greeted Naruto's group. Yurisa and Mayuri followed behind, the little girl cautiously hidden behind her mother's form. While Yuria remained in her usual attire (due to her absolute lack of other clothes), the mother-daughter duo behind her had changed to more elegant attires. Yurisa had picked a dark blue kimono with images of multicolored fishes.

Mayuri rendered them all speechless.

It was as if someone had taken the night sky and stamped it on the little lily's kimono. Nobody would have been surprised if the positions of the stars and planets in the cloth were astronomically accurate (which they were). The most awe-inducing feature was, of course, the colorful streak of stars that made the Milky Way.

None of the Kitsune spoke. In moments like these they pretty much waited for the highest-ranked to give her input.

Naruto had no such restrictions, however. Neither did Sayuri, for that matter.

**Waaaaah! So pwetty!**

"Tha-that's…I-I…I didn't know they made kimonos like that! It's incredible!" he declared excitedly.

"Isn't it? Isn't it?" Yuria added. "That's what I said! It's awesome!"

Making a textbook deer-in-headlights face, Mayuri completely hid herself behind her mother. The fierce redness on her cheeks was easily noticed by the others, though.

"It is truly of the most excellent quality, Yurisa," the matriarch finally commented. Surprisingly, the blonde mother shook her head.

"I…I had no idea Mayuri had this kind of dress…I-I was as surprised as all of you."

"Did you buy it today in Konoha, Mayuri-chan?" Yuri inquired. The response was a slow shaking of Mayuri's head, about the same time another tent was opened.

"Silence, foolish mortals! Gaze and be blinded by the divinely beautiful form of Higashiyama Yuriyo—THE HECK IS THAT DRESS?"

Not nearly as vocal as her sister, Yurina quietly admired Mayuri's garment from a distance. "How beautiful…"

Yurina's own kimono did not stay behind, however. Hers depicted a beautiful sunset upon a dry savannah. The lone silhouette of a dead tree, showered by rays of yellow and orange, made for an intense yet melancholic feature.

It was obvious Mayuri did not think this thoroughly, as she had quickly become the center of attention; something she did not particularly enjoy. She declared the topic as over by running over to one of the available tables and claiming one of the cushions, all the while staring at her mother with what counted as a pleading look from her.

Yuri seemed to acknowledge this, and clapped to get everybody's attention. "Very well, everyone! Take your seats, wherever you want!" Looking down at her guest, she added. "Of course, I will be honored to have our special guest in my table."

"He's not alone." Yuria staked her claim by linking her arm to Naruto's, something that slightly freaked the boy out.

Yuri giggled, as if accepting her daughter's challenge. "I would not have it any other way, Yuria, my dear."

Her mirthful expression dampened for a moment when she noticed Kurosaki Sayoko inching away from Yuri's chosen table.

…_suit yourself, Sayoko-san. _Even her inner voice sounded plainly disappointed.

"Kotonoha."

The four-tails, who was following Yurimi to a different table, stopped to address the Matriarch. "Yuri-sama."

"Would you be so kind as to join us in this table?"

While the bodyguard was visibly startled by this invitation, she was nobody to question the Matriarch.

"I would be honored."

Offering a bow to Yurimi, who was as addled as her guardian, Kotonoha moved to claim the last remaining seat on the small square table, on Naruto's left.

After making sure everybody had a seat, Yuri clapped one more time. "Well then, let us eat. Thanks for the meal."

**Yay! Food!**

Naruto, ever the curious one, was quick to establish conversation.

**Mou, onii-chan! Food!**

"Nee, Manabu Akamon…"

"Seriously, stop that." The man in glasses was the acting waiter. He spat back a response as he was filling Yuri's cup with jasmine tea.

"So, you're a Kitsune too."

"I won't even deign myself to answer that question."

"So you're like Kokoro-nee-chan?"

"If you mean Yuri-sama's agent in Konoha, then yes. If you mean possessing a human body, then no. This is just _**Henge**_."

"Now I wouldn't call it 'just Henge'," Yuri intervened. "Kitsune Henge, powerful as it is, can still be pinpointed by a Shinobi of enough skill. To keep a spy in a Ninja Village for a prolonged period of time with just the ordinary Henge as a disguise would have been careless from our part."

"No, no, what Koushiro-kun here has is the result of a powerful transformation ritual. A Henge so powerful he cannot even dispel it himself." She gave an apologetic glance to the fox-man. "An additional security measure, you understand."

"Koushiro? Ah, you mean Manabu Akamon!" Naruto lined the dots, and Manabu growled.

"Yes." Yuri nodded. "Manabu Akamon, aka Higashiyama Koushiro, happens to be one of my many children."

"He's my brother, ya know," Yuria mumbled between mouthfuls of rice.

There was an odd silence after that. Kotonoha shyly picked pieces of shrimp salad.

In another table, Yurisa forcefully filled Mayuri's plate with salad, insisting on the importance of eating vegetables. Mayuri was in despair.

"You…you're siblings," Naruto stated; his face the very expression of disbelief.

"Yup." Yuria was the very face of I-don't-give-a-damn-I'm-eating.

"Manabu Akamon's your brother."

"Oi."

Naruto looked away in mocked pain. "I don't know if I can share my bed with you anymore."

Yuria almost spat the food in her mouth. Instead, she resorted to gaping at her mate. Her disguised brother did not look too happy either.

Yuri and Kotonoha giggled together.

"Marvelous, Naruto-kun. Simply marvelous. But you have just brought up something I had been wondering for a while now: how was your first night together, you two?"

**Mugyuu…you were fighting. Sayuri was angwy.**

For a moment there, the only sounds came from the bonfire in the middle and the forest all around them. Naruto and Yuria did not need to look around to know all attention was suddenly centered on them. Yuria could feel her younger sister's gaze drilling a hole through her back.

"Uhh…" Naruto looked at everywhere and nowhere at the same time; trying to ignore the blood which was creeping up his cheeks.

"It was…" Yuria was pretty much the same blushing wreck. "…umm…eventful. Yeah, let's go with that."

"Now that's a way to put it," Naruto mumbled. "I could barely get any sleep at all, you know."

Blink.

"Wha—and how is that my fault?" Yuria raised her voice half an octave.

"You're asking me THAT?" Naruto did not believe her words. "You're too rowdy in bed! And absurdly violent!" Naruto rubbed his left arm. "I swear I've got bruises all over…"

Blink, blink.

"Me? YOU were the one who was moving around and being so frickin' LOUD! Seriously!"

Blink, blink.

Yuria's counterattack was relentless. "And let's not even get into the mess you made on the bed sheets!"

Blink, blink, blink.

"YOU JUST DID!" An utterly red Naruto cried in outrage…and then he smirked. "But who was the one who was soaking the bed before we fell asleep, huh? HUH!"

Yuria's face was in the verge of igniting. "Yo-YOUUUUUUUU! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU BROUGHT THAT UP! IT WAS A SPECIAL MOMENT! **SPECIAL!**"

MASSIVE blink there.

Panting after such a fierce bout of shouting, Naruto and Yuria took a moment to catch their breaths. It was only then when the many wide-eyed faces around them.

"Hawaa…"

"…hawaa indeed." Yurisa nodded in agreement with her elder sister.

Mayuri just facepalmed.

"Yu-Yuria-san…onii-sama…" Yurina was suspiciously covering her nose with both hands.

"That's my sister." Yuriko nodded in approval, raising her cup. "I drink to you!"

"She's my sister too!" Yurika seized her own cup. "To Yuria!"

"Hot damn, Yuria, I almost respect you now!" Yuriyo admitted.

The Matriarch's face was pure mirth, while Kotonoha giggled very quietly.

"Naruto-sama should know better than to say things that can be so easily misunderstood."

"Eh?" Naruto looked at Kotonoha, then at Yuria, and then back at Kotonoha…and then Yuria one more time. The short three-tails was also doing the math.

**Nee, nee, onii-chan, Sayuri didn't get it.**

"AAAAAAAAHHH!" The couple cried as one. "AAAAAAAAH!" Once again, pointing at each other.

Kotonoha giggled some more. "Naruto-sama's too cute."

"Simply adorable." Yuri had to agree.

"Eeeh?" Yuriyo whined. "So nothing happened? Tch, whatever, I take everything back."

"I swear, I'll make her shut up one of these days…" The utterly embarrassed Yuria muttered under her breath.

"You never cease to embarrass me, sister…" The de-facto waiter mumbled as he fixed his plain-looking tie.

"Oi, don't be mean to my partner, Manabu Akamon."

"Damn you, Uzumaki…"

Naruto did his best to shift the conversation back to a less nerve-wracking topic. "So you were also keeping an eye on me for Yuri-chan?"

"Yu-Yuri-ch…" Koushiro released a long, tired sigh. "Tch. I have much better things to do than torture my eyes by watching you."

"What Manabu Akamon here means to say…" Yuri interceded.

"Aaaargh!" Almost dropping the teapot, an irate Kitsune stomped off.

"…is that, unlike Kokoro-chan, whose role consisted on observing both you and Sayuri, his job was to observe Konohagakure for me. What better way to spy on Konoha than becoming one of its Shinobi?"

"And since gaining higher ranks would mean I'd be sent on more missions outside the village, I've been stuck as a Genin for decades!" Manabu spoke from the distance.

"So you've been failing the exam on purpose!"

"Duh!"

"Damn. That's sad, Manabu Akamon."

"Shut up!"

Naruto's teasing expression quickly disappeared. The ninja who stared at Yuri in front of him had the hardened eyes on somebody who is not up to listen to jokes. It was a face Yuria had learned not to underestimate, the hard way.

"So, you are spying on Konoha."

Yuri's expression softened a bit. "So, it's come to this."

"Yuri-sama, if I may," Kotonoha called for the right to speak. After a nod from the Matriarch, she continued. "Naruto-sama, espionage is not only a staple of human shinobi. While Kitsune mostly stay out of human affairs, the Great Clans have the interest, and the necessity, to keep track of human activities. After all, as the dominant species, humans are a serious threat to any and all youkai. So, yes, Yuri-sama has spies in all major human population centers. Konoha is special solely because it is the place where her youngest is imprisoned."

"There is power in information, Naruto-sama." The swordswoman offered the boy a kind smile. "As a shinobi, and as one who dreams of becoming Hokage, you should always keep that in mind."

Naruto found himself blushing a little. "Ah, ye-yes!"

The boy's attitude somehow brought a smile to Kotonoha's face. "Good. Now, you should try this, Naruto-sama; it is truly delicious. Here."

"A-Ah, thank you…" Naruto, a bit embarrassed yet somehow glad, allowed the woman to fill his plate with all sorts of delicacies.

Yurimi, from an adjacent table, had been intently watching the conversation developing on the Matriarch's table…and staring at Naruto, of course.

This changed when Kurosaki Sayoko to her left suddenly perked up. The gloomy woman had wordlessly nibbled at her meal so far, and the sudden motion easily caught the attention of Yurimi, as well as of Yurisa and Mayuri, the other two around that table.

Whatever it was that drew Sayoko's attention also caught the Matriarch's a second later. The meal was abruptly interrupted when Yuri stood up in alarm. Frowns creased the faces of most of the lilies.

"Yuri-sama?" Kotonoha inquired.

"The Spirit Veil has been breached…my Aura of Antipathy has been dispelled, too."

Kotonoha's eyes widened. Who could have accomplished something like that?

**Ah!**

_What is it?_

**It's Sayuri! Waaaaai! Sayuri!**

_Huh?_

"Look, look! We're almost there, Panpan!"

"You're really doing that on purpose, aren't you? Was all the fire back there necessary, anyway?"

"Of course!"

"You really…ah."

Three females came into view. One of them was the all too familiar Ayame, who actually seemed a bit dazzled by the whole situation. The other Naruto somehow recognized from the Chuunin Exams. Wasn't she Neji's and Fuzzy Eyebrows' teammate? The one who lost horribly against the Gaara's teammate, Tamale? Yup, she was the one.

And the other…

…the other one was beautiful.

Even if she was wearing a strange cosplay.

And she was staring at him.

Yuri fixed her stone cold gaze on the blond newcomer, blatantly ignoring Ayame and Tenten, who simply were not threats, for different reasons.

"You have one chance to state your name and your purpose, miss."

The caped lady vanished in a stunning blaze, reappearing an instant later right in front of the seated Naruto. The speed was simply astonishing; a speed only three among the present had been able to (barely) follow.

"At ease, Kotonoha."

Her voice was enough for the bodyguard to relax the hand that had reached for the backsaw. The beautiful girl's eyes never left Naruto, not even for a second. The rest of the world seemed meaningless to her.

**Hehehe! So pwetty!**

"Wha…who…ah?"

Naruto's eyes were also fixed on the girl's. While her expression, her placid, soothing smile, had not been replaced ever since she appeared, tears had begun to pour out of her carmine eyes.

"O…" She whispered, and Naruto blinked, unconsciously straining himself to catch her voice.

"Onii…chan…"

"Ah?"

Falling on her knees, the girl gently cradled Naruto's face between her hands as her face contorted as if torn between immense joy and deep sorrow.

"Onii-chan, I…even if I knew…still…I…I really…"

A choked laugh.

"I still can't believe it…you're here…you're really, really here…" Her eyes marred by tears had become even redder than her usual. "…my dearest onii-chan…"

**Onii-chan…Sayuri's so sad…why is Sayuri so sad?**

_What…?_

**Onii-chan! Pwease do something! If Sayuri's cwying then Sayuri will…mugyuu…Sayuri is gonna cwy too…**

_Wha…you…?_

"Sa…Sayuri…"

The older Sayuri's eyes widened, the starlight filling her pupils with a vivid luster. Her hands let go of Naruto to stick close to her chest.

"My name…you called my name…" The tears she wiped off were quickly replaced by new ones. "I always…I was always the happiest…when you called my name…" More and more tears flowed out uncontrollably, and the beautiful Kitsune struggled to keep her eyes clear. "…every time…every single time…"

Seemingly giving up on her swollen, bloodshot eyes, she just looked at him, struggling to keep a proper smile.

"See? I-I'm smiling…I can smile, like I promised…I…even if…I still can…"

**Aah…Sayuri…Sayuri is…**

Naruto almost fell on his back when Sayuri buried her face in his chest.

"Sayu-"

"I'm sorry."

The boy could feel her body trembling hopelessly.

"I'm sorry, onii-chan…I'm sorry! I'm sorry, onii-chan!"

**Onii-chan! Sayuri, Sayuri can't…!**

Naruto could do nothing but embrace her with hesitating hands, offering the comfort of his contact while two Sayuris, one future and one present, cried wholeheartedly and inconsolably.

* * *

**CHAPTER 13 END**


	20. Dawn of the Little Lily, Part One

_**Naruto Genkyouien**_

_**- **__**ナルト**__**- **__**幻**__**脅**__**威宴**_

**Chapter Fourteen: Dawn of the Little Lily (Part One)  
**

* * *

The adult Sayuri cried for exactly four minutes and forty-one seconds. She finished by reluctantly letting go of Naruto and wiping off the liquid from her eyes. Her cheeks were red and swollen, and her nose was a little runny.

"Ah…" She sobbed. "I'm sorry…I…I guess I really needed that." A mild chuckle. "I think I'm not done yet, actually, but I'll find some time to cry later."

She sniffed one last time before offering the boy in front of her a melancholic smile.

"Thank you for bearing with me, onii-chan."

Naruto blushed. She was truly beautiful, for the very opposite reason he found Yurimi beautiful. The Lily Seed possessed an ephemeral beauty Naruto had not seen in any other female (besides her mother, that is). Sayuri, on the contrary, had this down-to-earth feel that separated her from every other Kitsune he had met so far. She felt almost human in comparison. The most beautiful and shapely human in the world, true, but still, kinda human.

Sayuri let go a very long sigh.

"Haaa…as I thought…"

Any other person would have gasp, shrieked or whimpered like a sissy. Mayuri was utterly stunned. The glare she got from the adult Sayuri was, in one word, venomous.

"I hate you. I utterly hate you, Mayuri. And I'll never forgive you. For what you did to me. For what you did to HIM!"

As if in response to those words, Mayuri opened her eyes impossibly wide, as if they threatened to pop out of her head. Clutching her silvery white hair, the little foxgirl lurched forward and fell to a fetal position, her body shaking with frightening intensity.

"Mayuri!" Her mother cried desperately, before turning a hateful gaze at the standing blonde Kitsune. "What are you doing to her?"

Sayuri utterly ignored the mother, continuing her brutal verbal attack on the daughter.

"Do you see it, Mayuri?" She was pretty much yelling by this point. "The extent of your cruelty? THE EXTENT OF YOUR HEARTLESSNESS? **THE EXTENT OF YOUR BETRAYAL?**"

"_**Ice Release – Ice Guillotine**_."

"_**Spirit Release – Spiritual Siphon**_."

"_**Spirit Trap – Obsidian Spirit Prison**_."

Naruto and the others managed to see a ring of ice closing in around the foxgirl's throat before she was utterly concealed by a box of pure energy, its color darker than any shadow.

The sudden three-pronged attack brought a moment of respite to the large group of Kitsune. Tenten suddenly felt her legs wobble and she fell flat on her butt.

Where was the stupid girl who didn't call her name right and made her parents think she was a lesbian? Who was this…this woman, and why was she so…outrageously furious?

"Mayuri! Mayuri, be strong."

Sayuri's imprisonment in no way put an end to Mayuri's plight. By this point she was sweating profusely; tiny moans escaping her lips as she was struck by images only she could see.

"KATSURA KOKORO!" Yuri was not in a happy mood. "Explain yourself AT ONCE!"

The intensity of the Matriarch's fury almost made Ayame faint on the spot. "Uhh…I…she…she is…"

"Is this really the way to treat your daughter, Mother?"

All eyes immediately went to the black coffin. Yuri was straining herself not to gape. She shouldn't be able to even speak in there!

"It was kind of you not to close in the guillotine, Kotonoha. For that I thank you." The voice was a bit muffled by the prison of dark energy, but it remained fairly clear. "Not that I would have allowed it to chop off my head, though."

"And I guess this cute little thing is Yurisa-nee-chan's doing. I take it it's draining my chakra. How cute."

"Now, this Obsidian Spirit Prison…now THIS is what I call a jutsu. And it was shaped so quickly…you're amazing, Mother."

"_**Fire Release – Burning Dispel.**_"

The Higashiyama Clan plus extras wordlessly watched the dark prison catch flames until it was utterly consumed and Sayuri calmly stepped out. The ice blades were also gone. There were also nine new additions swaying out of Sayuri's back.

"But you should know it's pointless."

"N-Nine tails…" Yurisa muttered in disbelief. Just what was going on?

"Anyone can fake nine tails with _**Henge**_." Yuri spat. "Who ARE you?"

"Mugyuu?"

The single word was enough to startle the entire clan. The girl looked honestly confused.

"I…" She scratched the side of her head. "I thought that was already clear by now. I'm Sayuri…ah!"

She looked at Naruto, who went awfully stiff for a reason he could not pinpoint himself.

"Sayuri, did you get that jutsu I just used?"

**Umm…not weally…mugyuu…**

The adult Sayuri smiled gently at her beloved. "Onii-chan, if you're so kind?"

"Ah! Uhh…she-she said not really…"

A sigh. "Haa, I guess it would have been too easy. Now, Sayuri, make sure to pay close attention from now on, okies?"

**Okay!**

Sayuri faced the Matriarch once more. "As for you, whether you acknowledge me as your daughter or not is completely irrelevant. I had to do the impossible to make it to this point in time, and I will NOT. BE. STOPPED." Her eyes narrowed threateningly. "If you won't listen to your daughter, you will listen to Kyuubi."

She crossed her arms under her breasts.

"I came to the past for several reasons. One imposed by a God. Two of them are favors. But above all, I came for myself. To try to make up for so many mistakes, done by so many people."

Yuri's expression did not seem to change. It remained cold and threatening. "So you want me to believe you are my youngest daughter from the future."

Sayuri shrugged. "If you don't believe me, I won't take it as an insult. It is an outrageous declaration…especially considering that the current me can't even pronounce 'outrageous declaration' properly." She chuckled.

**Mugyuu…I can do it! O-Outwagious…outwagious dekwarashun!**

_I think a part of me died just now…and you might have just summoned some sort of evil god and we just haven't noticed._

"Who I am or when in time I come from do not matter. The important thing is why I'm here."

"I'm here to stop you, Mother. By force, if it comes to that."

Yuri raised a finger to the corner of her lips. "Stop what, precisely?"

Sayuri changed to a pained expression, as if she did not approve of her mother's response.

"This is not a game, Mother! I know your plan; I know of the new jutsu you've invented! It will not work! It will only cause a disaster!"

The audience could only stare mutely at the strange exchange of words, utterly lost as they were.

Yuri tapped her lips with a finger a few times before responding. "This is most unusual. I do not know how you learned of that, and this deeply troubles me. Regardless, your words are baseless. My jutsu has no flaws. I have developed it and revised it for over ten years."

"It doesn't work!" Sayuri insisted. "It will be the end of the Great Higashiyama Clan!"

"_**Sarcophagus for a Bleak Eternity.**_"

Instead of a prison of dark energy, the sarcophagus that came to be around Sayuri and captured her within was completely solid, carved out of an alien black stone.

"Stay there for a while and calm down, pretender." Yuri scoffed. "You will be duly interrogated in due time."

"Kokoro-san will be the first to die and, by doing that, she will save Ayame-san's life."

Sayuri was standing behind Yurimi. Nobody had noticed her until she spoke.

"Yurimi-nee-chan will be saved by Sayoko-san. Kotonoha will not be as fortunate."

With a grim face, Sayuri walked from table to table.

"Yurisa-nee-chan will pointlessly sacrifice her life, dying without knowing that Mayuri did not need to be saved."

"I still remember Yuriko-chan and Yurika-chan's screams as their souls were ripped out of their bodies by your uncontrollable jutsu. They fill my nightmares to this very day."

"Yuria-nee-chan…you…you were truly amazing that night. Until that day I had always loved you. From that day onwards, I admired you as well."

It was true. In Sayuri's eyes there was nothing but the utmost respect and admiration; her eyes fixed on Yuria's almost reverentially.

"You resisted having your soul ripped out with nothing but **sheer willpower**. And when it became obvious we were facing a catastrophe, you did what you knew had to be done, no matter how painful it was. You were the heroine of that night, Yuria-nee-chan, and for that you will always have my gratitude."

She turned to Yurine, her face deteriorating into a grim smile.

"Yuriyo-chan, amusingly enough, was protected by the Void she reviles. Yurina-chan will be saved by her mother, who will protect her daughter's soul at the cost of her own."

Yuri sighed. "A fascinating, if rather morbid tale, girl, bu—"

The intensity glare she got from the nine-tails rendered her speechless.

"I'm not done, **Mother**."

"When it ran out of souls to harvest from our family, your rampant jutsu struck the sleeping village of Konoha. Dozens died in their sleep, Mother. By the time the Hokage and his ANBU pinpointed the source, hundreds of lives had already been lost."

"Konohagakure was not wiped from the face of this planet because of Sayoko-san's efforts…and her sacrifice." Sayuri was struggling not to shed another tear. "She died in misery, after her last words completely crushed her heart."

She looked at Yuria one more time.

"Her last words were for Yuria. They were: 'Yuria, kill your mother'."

"You're insane—"

"YOU TURNED ME INTO THIS!" Sayuri screamed; a women broken by melancholy. "Until that day, I truly believed there was nothing I couldn't do! But on that night, that horrible night that will haunt me until the end of my days, I could only cry and watch how my family was annihilated in front of my eyes! How my dearest onii-chan screamed and writhed in unimaginable pain, his insides ravaged by my own chakra! How my beloved sister, with tears in her eyes and sorrow in her heart, walked into the maelstrom even as it ripped her apart, and killed our mother with her own two hands!"

"Your jutsu succeeded, Mother, but you did not live to see the result. The first thing I saw when out of the seal was Yuria crying over your soulless corpse, her hands forever tainted with your blood."

"You almost destroyed our Clan, Mother. Your jutsu almost halved the population of Konoha. The only reason the ones who survived were not killed on the spot by Konoha's ninja was because onii-chan; wonderful, strong, selfless onii-chan; found it within himself to move his broken body and pleaded to the Hokage for our lives to be spared!"

"He pleaded, mother, even as he knew he would forever be hated by his people! Even as he knew he would have to carry the weight of the lives lost that night! Even if his dreams, his hopes and his ambitions had just been shattered by you!"

Sayuri took a few seconds to attempt to soothe down her agitated body. Her intensity was such that her Testarossa cosplay was soaked in sweat.

"Call me insane. Call me a lunatic, I really don't care. I'm here tonight to ease the ghosts of that night. I'm here in behalf of the memories of that tragedy!"

"I remember Yurina! Fighting, pushing her sister away; pointlessly blaming her for not having used the Void to save their mother!"

"I remember Yuria! Crying to sleep every night, claiming that was not the way she had wanted to take the reins of the Clan!"

"I remember Himeyuri-nee-san, Chiyuri-chan and Yurie-chan, not believing the words of the Third Hokage when he described the atrocity you committed!"

"I remember onii-chan! I remember his eyes, bursting with tears, as he dug Kotonoha's and Kokoro's graves with his own two hands!"

"I remember onii-chan…I was there by his side when he took his last breath; his body no longer able to live with a destroyed chakra system."

"So call me insane if you want; refuse to acknowledge me if you want, but I'll be damned if I let that happen again."

And the Matriarch and the nine-tails challenged each other with just their eyes, while the group surrounding them fought against a typhoon of emotions they could not fully process.

In Yurina's mind there was no doubt. The girl who had just described their family's bleak future had truly, utterly bared her heart to them. Kitsune might be masters of trickery, but there was absolutely no deception in her words.

Mayuri, who on the side was fighting against a major headache, quietly stared at the older Sayuri with tired, sorrowful eyes. The nine-tails was right: she had seen **it**.

Her abominable betrayal.

However, how could she apologize for something she had yet to do?

Naruto was startled by the feel of two hands reaching for his from opposite directions. Glancing around, he wondered if Kotonoha and Yuria had even noticed what they had just done.

_Sayuri…you're awfully silent._

Indeed, she had stopped crying a while ago.

**Onii-chan…onii-chan, onii-chan won't let bad things happen.**

Naruto's eyes sharpened a little. There was an odd edge to Sayuri's voice in his mind. It actually put his instinct on alert.

**Sayuri's in here, so onii-chan has to pwotect evwyone…and Sayuri will pwotect onii-chan.**

…_um. I'm counting on you, Sayuri._

**Um! Tee-hee!**

It was at this moment that Naruto accepted the fact that the tall foxgirl in front of him was in fact the adult Sayuri. It was the same strength of character which allowed the little Sayuri to fight thirteen years of loneliness which allowed the adult one to bear with who knows how many decades of regret and misery.

"Are you done?"

Sayuri's pupils contracted, becoming almost cat-like. "…what?" She hissed.

"It seems you are," Yuri concluded. "You barged into our dinner and bothered us with melodrama and an outrageous and disturbing tale. I do not know how you found out about my jutsu –but I intend to find out–, but, if you intended to convince me not to use it, you definitely picked the wrong approach. Do you truly believe I will discard a decade of effort just by listening to your rambling? Your meaningless words cannot defeat my confidence—"

"That's not confidence, it's **arrogance**!" Sayuri spat back. "You're so full of hubris you're going to lead your family to a tragedy! You've spent so long enjoying your quiet, secluded life in the shrine that you've forgotten prudence! You're just eager to get things done, without regard for the consequences!"

"I will not take insults from the likes of you, girl!" Yuri hissed threateningly. "My jutsu, my skill is flawless!"

"Your technique is flawless, but it's based on flawed information!" Sayuri explained. "You don't know half as much about onii-chan's seal as you think you do! You don't know half as much about _**Fuuinjutsu **_as you think you do! You're overestimating yourself, and underestimating human techniques!"

"SILENCE!"

Grey, silvery spikes of ectoplasm appeared from thin air to impale Sayuri's body. Yuri's carmine eyes were glowing ferociously.

"'No daughter of mine would have spoken to me with such insolence."

"Is that so?"

The impaled Sayuri became tongues of flame that harmlessly dispersed in the night breeze. Yuri quickly turned around to find Sayuri standing by Tenten and Ayame, as she had originally been.

"That was _**Katon Kage Bunshin**_…" Kotonoha muttered.

"Stand back, Kokoro-san, Tenten," Sayuri warned. "Better yet, join the others."

The two girls nodded.

"The moment you pick to say my name right…"

Sayuri offered a dry chuckle. "My bad."

While Ayame warily made an ample circle around the Matriarch of Higashiyama, Tenten's attention was on Sayuri. Somehow, she could forgive the foxgirl's previous idiotic antics…just a little.

"When I was a child, I believed my mother was the greatest, most beautiful person in the world," Sayuri declared as she stepped forward. "I was so innocent, really…how could I think such things about a female who strikes at her own daughter, her own blood? A Kyuubi, even!"

"I have a measure of pride…as a Kyuubi, you know," she explained. "It's what you wanted, right? You wished for your darling Sayuri to grow in beauty, wisdom and might; to become a proud, powerful Kyuubi like Kougon and Fubuki."

"Well, guess what?" Sayuri's smile was damn scary: her already long canines had become even more threatening, and her Henge seemed to be weakening, as bristled whiskers had become clearly visible on her cheeks. Adding to that her feline red eyes, she made for quite the intimidating figure.

"I feel like showing you a bit of that pride right now."

Yuri's gaze narrowed dangerously.

"You must pay the price for your insolence, Mother," Sayuri continued. "To raise your hand against a Nine-Tails, it cannot be forgiven that easily, right?"

Her chakra flared, and the youngest among the Kitsune felt their muscles weakening and their bladders threatening to let go.

"I mean, I can forgive the Spirit Prison, and even the Sarcophagus. Those are just restraining techniques. But to use an attack to harm my very soul, Mother?"

Sayuri shook her head in mock disappointment.

"It seems you need to be kicked off your high horse a little bit, Mother dear." Sayuri chuckled. "I guess it's good it's me and not one of the other Nine-Tails."

"Saa, Mother…"

The Kitsune and two humans winced when their faces were rushed by a series of gusts of very hot air. Sayuri's chakra was rapidly heating up the atmosphere to uncomfortable levels.

"…let's settle this family affair, as family, ne?"

* * *

On the elder sister's bed, Hinata and Hanabi stared at the deadly weapon with identical looks of befuddlement.

The woman, Kotonoha, had left the katana on Hinata's hands, utterly ignoring the young girl's attempts at returning it.

"_B-But I'm no good with this thing!"_

"_I couldn't agree more."_

A little part of Hanabi envied her sister for having received such a valuable gift from the beautiful Kotonoha. The rest of her was wondering why in all gods' names would anyone give Hyuuga Hinata a katana.

"What are you going to do, onee-chan?"

"I…" The katana trembled on Hinata's hands. "…I don't know. Kotonoha-san said I should try 'talking' to it, but…"

"Hmm…"

It was late, so Hanabi eventually retired to her bedroom, leaving her sister alone with the weapon she did not desire.

"Why did she give this thing to me?" The ever-insecure girl spoke to herself. "I-I can't use it…"

_You are the rightful successor to this "Last Word." Entrust yourself to her, be kind to her, and she will help you find your true power._

"A-Ano…ka-katana-san…?"

**Yes, milady?**

Hinata promptly facefaulted. "It was that easy!"

* * *

There was more than one in that forest who wanted to say something, anything. However, the tension in the air mixed with the blistering heat of the adult Sayuri's chakra and immersed the clearing in uncomfortable silence. The blonde nine-tails seemed calm, challenging the Matriarch with a serene, confident face.

Yuri's expression was stone cold. She said nothing; her eyes revealed nothing.

"Don't be afraid to hold back, Mother," Sayuri declared, piercing through the veil of tension with a voice smooth as velvet. "I have replaced your wards with my own. Unlike yours, there is not the slightest chance mine will be detected by Konoha. It would not be good for me to be seen by them right now, especially not by the Old Hokage's scrying eye that's been roaming around for a while."

Sayuri found the slight frown on Yuri's face absolutely delightful.

"Ara, Mother, you mean you had not noticed? Dear me, you're being too careless."

"If there's something I learned from onii-chan, it's to never underestimate a Konoha shinobi." Sayuri grinned, and for a moment there Naruto saw himself…or, at least, his female version as created by _**Oiroke no Jutsu**_. "Your hideout is still safe, but you have to put a bit more effort in your wards, Mother."

"Now, throw me your absolute best. Nothing you can do will hurt me."

The ectoplasmic spears attacked once again, emerging out of thin air only to spontaneously combust before they could touch Sayuri's body.

A swarm of kudagitsune rushed towards Sayuri, who quietly stared at them. The vulpine spirits stopped halfway between the two Kitsune, returning Sayuri's stare for a second before flying away, dispersing and becoming invisible.

"Kudagitsune would never attack a Kyuubi, Mother, and you know it."

Yurisa, the oldest Kitsune after the Matriarch (and Yurine), nodded in agreement. However, kudagitsune were rather weak, and they could easily be intimidated by a five-tails, so the nine-tailed blonde's statement was not a very strong proof of her proclaimed status.

"So, Mother, what's next?"

Yuri did not respond; her stance unchanging; her face emotionless. Second ticked away in utmost silence and the adult Sayuri grew impatient.

"I'm waiting here! Now, Mother, you don't want me to take the o…ffen…tch!"

Yuri's body caught flames, and even then it stood unflinching. Sayuri actually growled.

"When did she-!"

The Higashiyama Clan (plus guests) watched in amazement how Yuri's illusory body, together with Sayuri's flames scattered into a marvelous swarm of butterflies of many colors. Dozens became hundreds, hundreds became thousands, and together they traced am ample ring that surrounded Sayuri and separated her from everybody else in the clearing.

Sayuri's eyes scanned the swarm tensely. "So, what kind of illusion is this…?"

The multicolored butterflies began to scatter inside the ring, moving closer and closer to Sayuri from all directions.

One of the butterflies caught flames, but it flew away unharmed, the dispelling flame flickering and dying in the air.

"It's not an illu—ugh!"

The beautiful nine-tails fell on her knees. In that moment, no less than a dozen butterflies quietly landed on her back, glowing for a moment before disappearing, the glow apparently absorbed by Sayuri's body.

"Argh!" Sayuri cried again, using her arms to prevent her body from falling prone. "Wha-what is-aaagh!"

Her words became drowned in groans and cries as more and more butterflies reached her.

"_**Spirit Release – Flutter of Butterflies and Spring in the Netherworld.**_"

Yuri's voice came out of everywhere and nowhere.

"Every single butterfly that touches you pulls your soul a step closer to the afterlife. See? Your body's already giving up."

Sayuri's body trembled as she futilely struggled to move. The gentle insects continued their patient labor, flickering away the moment they touched Sayuri's body. Thousands of them remained flying around.

"Accept your defeat. I do not wish to kill you; you have questions you must answer after all. Shake your head if you wish for me to stop; your vocal chords might be already paralyzed."

"No, not really."

"_**Fire/Ghost Release – Ethereal Flare!**_"

There was a sudden flash of white, and then a huge ball of red flames consumed both Sayuri and the swarm, growing just large enough not to reach the rest of the clan. The Kitsune and humans present quickly noticed the scarlet fireball did not emit any heat.

**Munii…this fire…ah! Sayuri got it!**

_Wha…what did you get?_

**Tehehe!**

"Ethereal Flare: an explosion of flames to obliterate incorporeal beings." The older Sayuri explained while the fireball receded and disappeared. "It was interesting, how the butterflies appeared from the illusion of your body to make me think they were part of the illusion themselves. Unfortunately for you, there are very few things in this world I cannot burn."

"_**Burning Dispel**_."

More than a few foxgirls cried in fright when Sayuri's body expelled a wave of fire that quickly expanded to consume the entire place. Regardless, the flames seemed to flow past their bodies without inflicting harm. In fact, it was as if they were not even there.

"It's a dispelling jutsu; it's not meant to inflict harm." Sayuri pouted. "You know, I've grown up; I can control what I want to burn!"

**Waaah! Awe-shum!**

"About damn time."

The smile Sayuri offered to Yuria in response was so radiant it made even the strictly heterosexual three-tails flush bright red.

Sayuri blinked when her jutsu finished its job. "Twelve? You had set up twelve layers of illusions already? Inari blessed, Mother, you've GOT to teach me how to do that!"

Kotonoha could not stop herself. "Are you by chance unskilled at illusions, Sayuri-sama?"

Everybody noticed that the bodyguard had already acknowledged the newcomer as the future Sayuri.

"Well, I learned a few bits from Yurina-chan. Grandma also showed me a thing or two, but I pretty much had to figure it out on the run," Sayuri explained rather plainly. "I'm at about a five- or six-tails' level, unfortunately. Not that it matters anyway; _**Burning Dispel**_ pretty much takes care of everything."

"Grandma?" Yuria inquired further.

"Grandmother Yuyuko," Sayuri added. "You gotta meet her; she's funny. Just make sure she pays for her own meals." Sayuri's expression hardened a bit. "Now, back to the fight. Sayuri!"

**Uh? Ha-hai!**

"Can you tell where Mother is hiding?"

**Um!**

Naruto gaped down at his belly. "You can?"

"She can?" Kotonoha whispered. The adult Sayuri nodded in satisfaction.

"Good! You learn fast, as expected from a Kyuubi."

**Heheheh, Sayuri pwaised me!**

Naruto frowned. That just sounded weird.

Crack.

Sayuri frowned. The Sarcophagus for a Bleak Eternity, which had remained forgotten after it failed to trap Sayuri, had gained a small fissure. A second one soon joined, and soon enough the whole structure was marred by a spider's web of cracks.

"Gotta admit, this is a little exciting," Sayuri declared. "Not knowing what Mother's gonna pull out of her sleeve, I mean."

The dark coffin exploded. All shards that would have struck Sayuri burned before they could reach her. The others flew in all directions for an instant before becoming perfectly still in midair. None of them reached the other people nearby.

"You're rather fond of area attacks, Mother."

About half of the floating shard shot skywards, while the others further exploded, filling the air with a very thin cloud of dark dust. Seemingly possessing a mind of its own, the cloud rushed toward Sayuri, its edge gaining the shape of an extended arm. To the puzzlement of those present, Sayuri moved straight into the path of the striking arm instead of dodging it; the nine-tails herself surprised by her own actions.

"The hell—"

Disappearing in a sudden burst of flames, she reappeared just a few steps away from the table closest to the battlefield: that belonging to the twins.

"Wha…I didn't want to move here…ah! _**Dispel**_!"

Flames covered Sayuri for a second, shattering the Enchantment.

"Messing up my sense of direction…tch, Fubuki also pulled this trick on me. Luck saved me that time."

A random sway of her hand, and the hand-shaped cloud burst into flames. The silhouette of the Matriarch could be seen for an instant before the dust evaporated harmlessly.

Sayuri jumped away in time to dodge a new dust hand that struck from above. The new cloud quickly split into four, which transformed into replicas of the beautiful Matriarch.

"_**Bunshin**_?" Naruto murmured.

"Pointless," Sayuri spat, and the four clones burst in flames. A third, larger hand made out of dust fell upon the blonde, only to burn three feet above her head. The ground under Sayuri's feet bulged, and a gigantic hand of soil tried to grapple her. It was dispelled. The nine-tails was not moving anymore, ready to take anything thrown at her.

"Whatever illusion you make, I'll dispel it."

A swarm of black butterflies descended in a mitsudomoe pattern, gathering into an impenetrable sphere before spreading to reach Sayuri from multiple directions. A swipe of her hand reduced them to ectoplasmic smoke.

"Whatever jutsu you throw at me, I'll burn it. Now, come out!"

The air behind a nearby tree ignited, revealing the invisible form of Higashiyama Yuri. To Sayuri's surprise, the figure soundlessly slumped down, like a broken puppet.

"Ghost Clone!" Sayuri exclaimed. "To fool even me…the two of us!" Sayuri exclaimed, turning to Naruto.

**Eh? Mama's always been flying up there.**

"Wha—flying…WHOA!" Naruto exclaimed when his eyes looked up at the sky. Multiple gasps followed when others did the same.

With the moon shining on her back, the Matriarch floated in the air no less than twenty yards above ground. Her arm was extended towards the adult Sayuri, not touching the glowing inverted heptagram just beyond the tip of her fingers. Past the heptagram, the smoke resulting from the burnt shards of the sarcophagus was gathering into a sphere.

"Aaah!" Kurosaki Sayoko squeaked. "Auuu! Hau-hau-hauuuu!"

Her odd cry cued the emergence of multiple spheres of blackness, each surrounding a single table. The darkness was partially translucent, allowing the present to partially see beyond the barriers.

"Wha-what is this?" Tenten, who at some point had made it to Naruto's table, inquired.

Yuriyo was gaping at the Matriarch's odd friend.

"Sa…Sayoko-san…this is…"

"Void," Kotonoha finished.

"You're a Void!" Yurine's raven-haired daughter exclaimed in outrage.

"Auuuu…" Sayoko looked down and fidgeted with her fingers.

Yuri noticed Sayoko's casting and sent her wordless thanks. Sayuri, too, was looking at the Void spheres with a slight bit of worry.

"If Sayoko-san's making barriers…" She looked up at the glowing heptagram and the dust sphere, which was beginning to glow itself with a pale silver. "…then this might actually be interesting."

"The Sarcophagus for a Bleak Eternity is made out of souls forged with the most advanced technique. It also has the power to absorb immense amounts of chakra, to the point that most jutsu used against it are useless. Turning the shards into smoke only made them easier for me to manipulate."

Sayuri frowned. "Thanks for the explanation, Mother. Your point?"

Yuri smiled coldly. "This dust contains not only the chakra used to forge the sarcophagus. It also carries the chakra absorbed from your flames."

The nine-tails blinked. "…well, that's not good."

The dust sphere had become a ball of bright silvery light as the last loose particles reached its body.

"I must say I am not fond of this kind of straightforward technique, but…" Yuri finished the sentence with a bored shrug.

"_**Spirit Release – Heptagram Spirit Cannon**_."

A pillar of silver energy fell upon the Higashiyama camping grounds, swallowing everyone and everything in a deadly, bright embrace.

"Guh!" Naruto, as well as everybody else, had to cover his ears to protect them from the sonic impact of the ectoplasmic cannon abruptly displacing the air between Yuri and the "pretender" nine-tails. Yuria actually went as far as to wrap her tails around her head.

The frightening spirit cannon was a cylinder with no less than four meters in diameter, howling with the voices of a hundred tormented souls. He was so mesmerized by it that it took him a few moments to realize there was a second pair of hands on top of his, adding a further layer of protection to his hearing.

"Ko…Koto…"

The woman calmly shook her head, revealing the trickle of blood pouring out of her right ear. She did not take her eyes off Yuri's attack, urging Naruto to do the same.

Even through the silver light, the dust and the smoke, Naruto and the others easily noticed that the pillar was strangely becoming…yellower?

With the conclusion of Yuri's attack, the audience was forced to look away for a second, their eyes struck by the sudden brilliance of a miniature sun.

There was no other acceptable description. Once the dust raised by the Spirit Cannon dispersed, Sayuri's defense was revealed in its full splendor. It was nothing less than a perfectly spherical ball of light and flame, not unlike the star that permitted all life in the planet. The sphere was just large enough to swallow Sayuri's body, and it hissed threateningly as if frustrated by its inability to unleash fiery destruction upon the world.

It was impossible not to notice. Not a single speck of grass had been burnt by the ferocious flame.

Sayoko, for whatever reason, dismissed her protective spheres. Despite the obvious strength of the flames, the heat irradiated by it was not much stronger than the camp's usual bonfire. It was certainly a very convenient fireball.

"Wha…is that Aegis…?" Yurisa murmured, unconsciously drawing her daughter closer. The identical twins, too, were holding each other in poorly disguised fright. Yuria, on the other side, was displaying nothing but unbridled awe.

"_**Aegis of Sunfire**_," Sayuri murmured over the roar of her flames as they dissipated. "The pinnacle of Fire-type Aegis techniques, only usable by a Fire Kyuubi."

"I believed the final Fire Aegis was _**Aegis of the Firestorm**_." Yuri argued. Sayuri chuckled.

"There has never been a Fire Kyuubi before me, you know. This is an original Aegis, based on _**Kakuton**_ rather than plain _**Katon**_."

"_**Kakuton**_!" Kotonoha gasped. "You don't mean…"

"I didn't give it the title of '_**Sunfire**_' just because it sounds cool, you know."

"Uhh…I'm kinda lost," Naruto mumbled.

"I'm with the blond," Tenten conceded. Sayuri giggled and shot a loving gaze to Naruto, which elicited a much expected blush.

"I'm sorry, onii-chan. I'll answer all your questions when I'm done, ne?"

Looking up at her mother, she raised her tone considerably. "I presume that's the strongest thing you can throw at me, Mother?"

She followed with mock disappointment. "But, really, a soul-ravaging technique…you're really out to kill me, aren't you…mugyuu…"

A tiny, flickering flame, fickle as a candle, popped out from the tip of her right index. Her grin suddenly became predatory, startling most of the present. Her canines were awfully sharp.

"Then I guess it's okay for me to take the offensive." A dry chuckle. "You know, it's interesting; having to figure out how to beat you without reducing this place to elementary particles…"

Her grin went from ear to ear, making for a very intimidating image. Her carmine eyes seemed to be as fiery as her jutsu.

"Don't disappoint me now, Mother!"

The candle-like flame quickly grew into the elongated shape of a three-meter-long trident of fire.

"_**Regalia – Loyal Spear of the Triumvirate!**_"

Showing strength that seemed off coming from her lean body, Sayuri swung the spear at her Mother. Despite its exceptional speed, it was still awfully linear in approach, so Yuri easily flew aside.

"Such a simple-minded jut—"

Poof.

Right after flashing past Yuri, the fire spear disappeared in a burst of white smoke, replaced by the almost feral Sayuri. Her right hand held a white sphere of highly concentrated energy; a pearly orb of death.

"_**Kakuton! RASENGAN!**_"

The spiraling nuclear reaction harmlessly passed through Yuri's body, which dissipated in a cloud of wispy smoke. The death sphere was shot off Sayuri's hand, but it was quickly caught by the Sayuri on ground level as the _**Katon Kage Bunshin**_ was dismissed.

"Whoops! Wouldn't do for this thing to explode recklessly!" Sayuri stated as she willed the Rasengan to dissipate harmlessly.

"Ah!" Yurina's gasp warned of Yuri's reappearance behind Sayuri. A wispy hand reached for the nine-tails' back, but the surprisingly agile foxgirl jumped way over the offending limb, coating her beautiful legs (revealed by her cosplay) in flames.

"_**Honoo no Uzu!**_"

Sayuri struck with a powerful spinning kick with both legs in succession. Still, they flowed harmlessly through Yuri's incorporeal form.

"Tha-that's Gouken!" Tenten exclaimed. Noticing Naruto's puzzled expression, she clarified. "Gai-sensei's and Lee's Taijutsu! That was _**Konoha Senpuu**_!"

"Ah!" Naruto smashed his fist on his open palm.

Landing on her two feet, Sayuri wrapped her nine tails around her shapely body and coated them in flame.

"_**Flammenblitz**_."

Kotonoha raised an eyebrow. "German?"

The nine flame spears shot in different apparently random directions. However, Yuri suddenly reemerged an inch to the left of one of the striking tails. Her kimono was scorched, which elicited a frown from the Matriarch.

"I told you." Sayuri sneered. "Incorporeal or not, I can burn you. But I tire of your sneaky game, Mother."

Sayuri slammed her right hand on the ground in a manner resembling someone about to use the Summoning Technique.

"_**Doton! Yuureichijou!**_"

The ground shook for some moments while four identical pillars of rock, each as thick as an average person but taller than any tree, emerged from the ground at four points distant from the group. Together they made a very large square, ample enough to cover the forest clearing and considerable area beyond.

"It's a funny name, you know," Sayuri commented. "It obviously means 'Spirit Earth Lock', but its creator writes it as 'Bravery Example Thousandth Power'. It's a rather odd use of kanji, if you ask me. Odd, but amusing." She shrugged. "In any case, you won't be able to go ethereal anymore."

Yuri did not react to the blonde's words. She had already become aware of this.

"With this, Ghost Step and Ghost Body, the core Spirit Jutsu, have become unusable." Sayuri smiled condescendingly. "What now, Mother?"

"I must admit I am impressed; how can an Earth Jutsu possess such an effect…?"

"It's a Mountain Kitsune technique created by a Spirit Kitsune, in fact. There's a difference between Doton Jutsu made by Earth Kitsune and those made by Mountains."

"Interesting." Yuri actually had a tiny smile on her face. "By any chance, was my sixth daughter who devised this fascinating technique?"

Sayuri laughed heartily. "Yes, yes, Yuria devised this technique solely for the purpose of defeating Yurimi. She never got the chance, however. It was quite disappointing for her."

"But enough of that," she continued. "It would be an insult to Yuria if I keep showing her future accomplishments. That's why I'll finish this right now…with one of my own jutsu. A personal favorite, you could say."

There was no time for even a heartbeat. None of Sayuri previous displays of power, not even the Aegis, could compare to the speed she showed in that instant.

Yuri did not have a ghost of a chance.

Pun intended.

In less than the time it would take Yuri's brain to register any movement, Sayuri moved from her original position to a second position less than a foot away. The moment their eyes met, the Matriarch was trapped.

Everything became fire.

In an instant, Yuri was trapped within a pandemonium of flames; a universe of nothing but fire. The sea of trees had been utterly devastated and become fuel for the conflagration. A sudden roar in the distance warned her of a volcanic eruption. She noticed she was standing on a treacherous surface; a lone island in the midst of an ocean of lava. Arcs of flame jumped off the molten rock, roaring like hungry drakes. Geysers of superheated vapor burst out of cracks in the few unscathed surfaces. Even the sky itself seemed to be on fire: coated in red with jet streams of furious yellow and orange. The moon had been replaced by a gigantic ball of flame that covered a good three quarters of the sky; a dying star showering its spite on a helpless world of fiery desolation.

The heat was unbearable.

"Such a bizarre, obvious illusion…" Yuri grimaced. "Why can't I break it?"

"Early in my life I realized that my full power only comes out whenever fire is involved somehow." Sayuri's voice came from an indeterminate source. "Even if my illusions are still worse than yours, this particular one, well…it's my single Kyuubi-level illusion."

"_**Supreme Fire Illusion – Sayuri's World.**_ It won't be broken by the likes of you. By the way, watch the clothes."

"Eh? Guh!" The temperature had reached the point that her kimono spontaneously caught flame due to the air friction. Unable to use the Ghost Body Technique, the regal Matriarch was forced to rip off the elegant dress and throw it away. The pile of extremely expensive silk became a pitiful bonfire by her feet.

"Aah, such a shame," Sayuri's playful voice retorted. "But, truly, such a tall, voluptuous body…I'm a little envious. Just a little."

"Hmph." Yuri tried to keep her composure, but it proved to be very, very hard. The heat was reaching alarming levels; trails of sweat flowed down her face and neck towards her cleavage. "Now what?"

"I told you I would knock you down a peg, Mother." Sayuri's voice had lost all pretence of playfulness. "I also said I would punish you for daring to raise your hand against a Kyuubi."

"Now, Mother, you burn."

Another distant rumbling sound urged Yuri to look up. The giant fireball in the sky suddenly opened from the middle, revealing a gigantic carmine eye.

The Eye of Sayuri glowed with hellish fire behind its reddish surface. The eyelids of flame blinked twice, as if making fun of Yuri, before the eyeball began a slow and frightening descent towards the world of flames.

That was when the heat became painful.

"Ah-aaaah!" Yuri winced. Her fair skin sizzled and broke apart at it was scalded by the overly intense heat. It was far worse on the soles of her feat, which were in contact with the boiling rock. Her cries became more urgent when her eyelids began to fall apart.

As the top layers of her epidermis were consumed by the heat, her hair, her eyelashes and her seven tails caught flame just like her clothes before. Right after that, her body fat ignited, and Higashiyama Yuri became a living fireball.

As The Eye grew closer and closer, the lava, like an ocean driven by the moon's gravitational pull, flowed more and more fiercely. Mighty waves clashed against the frail island of rock Yuri was standing on, and ate at its edges.

Yuri's screams grew until the flames reach into her mouth and devoured her trachea and her lungs. She fell on her knees, right on time for them to be consumed by the sheet of lava that invaded her sole support. Her tiny island cracked and sunk, submerging her lower body in the abyss of molten hopelessness. Still, her burning arms flailed pointlessly yet commendably. Despite her age and her disregard for most things, Higashiyama Yuri struggled and clung to life…

…until The Eye crashed and drove the world of fire to the ultimate apocalypse. There was light…and then there was darkness.

In the real world, the Higashiyama Clan plus vassals and guests mutely stared at the broken, defeated Matriarch on the ground at Sayuri's feet. With dazed, lost eyes, the elder Kitsune shuddered uncontrollably. A pool of saliva stained the right side of her face. Sayuri boringly dropped the (intact) kimono to cover her mother's prone form.

**Waaaa…**

_Sayuri?_

**Heheheheh…so much fire…and then mama went 'whoosh'! So cool!**

…_wha?_

"Punishment has been dealt." She nodded to herself and turned to the stunned audience. "Anyone else wants to challenge my autoritah?"

Kotonoha's swift hand grasped Yuria's back before she could jump into the fray. "I must ask you to refrain from that, Yuria-sama…" Her voice was a bit strained.

"Aww, come on! I wanna fight!"

Naruto was about to join Kotonoha in convincing his mate to step down, but Sayuri's joyful laughter stopped him.

"Now, now, how can I say no to my dear Yuria-nee-sama? Come here, we have time for a spar before Mother wakes up."

"Alright!"

The unusual choice of honorific did not escape the other lilies.

"Ah…auauauauuu…"

Sayoko, who had hurried to her best friend's side the moment she fell, hesitated due to Sayuri's proximity. The nine-tails put her at ease with a tender smile.

"Sayoko-san, I would never stop you from reaching her side. You are as much a mother to me as she is, you know."

"Ah…" Stunned by Sayuri's words, Sayoko needed a few seconds of muttering and stuttering before she could find the will to kneel down next to the fallen Matriarch. Sayuri could not help but smile at the undeniable affection Sayoko felt for the leader of Higashiyama.

Kurosaki Sayoko was, indeed, a mother to everyone in the clan. Even to Yuri.

"Tail Rock Brea—WHOA!"

The nine-tails effortlessly grabbed Yuria's tail and slammed the tiny foxgirl on the ground by her feet.

"You get points for trying a surprise attack, but you'll have to come out with something stronger than that, Yuria-nee-chan." Sayuri raised a tail menacingly. "It should be at least…LIKE THIS!"

A few of the foxgirls turned their faces away when the golden tail slammed Yuria's back with earth-shaking strength. The short three-tails released a muted grunt; her body shaking for a second or two before going perfectly still.

"Yuria!" Naruto called. He had already taking two steps when a round of chuckling stopped him.

Sayuri, too, smiled when the downed three-tails turned around to look at her. Yuria had a rather feral smile, and her chuckles also felt a bit like growls.

"That kind of strength…damn…"

"Now, now, my dear sister…" Sayuri was considerably gentle when lifting Yuria off the ground. "You are already the strongest in our clan, when chakra is not involved, I mean. If anyone can achieve that level of strength, or even more, that's you."

"B-But, how…? With just strength…?" Yuria shot Sayuri an odd look when the nine-tails insisted on wiping the dirt off her shrine maiden clothes.

"Oh, no, no, not just strength. Speed is also very important; both speed of action and speed of thought. You have to work on that, sister. The fancy jutsu can come later."

She looked at Naruto. "You already claimed him, right? Onii-chan, I mean." Taking their simultaneous blushing as a yes, Sayuri continued. "Good. Then you're already on the right path."

Taking her shorter sister's hand, she took her to Naruto's side.

"Onii-chan."

She made Naruto take Yuria's hand.

"Yuria-nee-chan will be ready to go on her own soon. Until that day comes, please look after her, ne?" A giggle. "She doesn't know it yet, but right now she needs you more than anybody else in the world."

"Umm…huh." Naruto was getting used to speaking in random monosyllables by this point. The two, Yuria and Naruto, looked more like a seven-year-old brother and sister duo than like a couple.

"Yuria-nee-chan, too," Sayuri continued. "The younger me is still not ready to take care of onii-chan, so I must ask you to look after him in her stead. He's a bit reckless…"

"Hey!"

"…and he doesn't really think things through most of the time…"

"Oi!"

"…but he's really kind, and very thoughtful of the people he cares for. He can really use a partner…someone to watch his back, I mean."

Sayuri took their linked hands between her own.

"I have seen what the two of you can do together. That's why I can leave him in your care, Yuria-nee-chan."

Of course, Sayuri destroyed the mood just as easily as she created it.

"Ah! Bu-but, you know, don't be mean and let the others borrow him from time to time! I mean, Yurimi-nee-chan and Yurina-chan need to—I mean…mugyuu…"

"Hawaa?"

"Seriously, sister, stop that."

Ignoring the little half-Celestial's blushing and Sayuri's struggling to find words that would not utterly spoil the plot (any more), Naruto and his mate exchanged uneasy glances.

"Yuria."

"Hmm?"

"Somehow I feel I should be very worried right now."

"Considering the author's thoughts on your sex life, I'd we should."

"Huh?"

"Nothing," Yuria finished, turning her face to hide the fierce coloring of her cheeks.

* * *

From her vantage spot at the top of the Hokage Mountain, the self-appointed Queen of All Lolis looked down at the sleeping village with bored disregard. She cared little for humans, but, to her chagrin, she could not just ignore them.

There is power in numbers, after all, and there was no denying that the weaker species was still capable of feats both great and terrible.

It had been a long trip from her Hideout of Evil in an as-of-yet-undefined location. It took the two most of the day, including a short stop for a clandestine meeting with her sponsor: the one being in this world who wanted the World of DFC as much as she did.

"Waaaah…"

Setsuna's quiet meditation was promptly interrupted by a childish murmur of awe.

"It's such a cool view, huh, grandma—"

Nobody saw the eerie flash of light that, for a moment, filled the top of the mountain.

"Silence, Madara."

For a while, the two watched the silent village, in silence.

"Hmm…no matter what happened in the past, this is really a beautiful place," Madara aka Tobi admitted. Sure, he was pretty much kicked out of the place after he was owned by the First Hokage…well, it was more like he was thought to be dead and stuff, but, still, he could admit it was a pretty place.

"Hmph." Setsuna snorted. "It's just like any other den of humans. I can smell their filth all the way up here." She crossed her arms across her flat chest. "The only reason I give a damn about this place is because he's here."

Tobi smirked and raised an eyebrow behind his spiraled mask.

"You mean 'she', right? The Kyuubi."

Setsuna's face became a beacon of red in the otherwise obscure landscape of Konoha's night.

"O-Oh-O-O-OF COURSE! SHE! THA-THA-THAT'S WHAT I SAID! SHE! **SHE!**"

Figuring out that her loud outburst starkly contrasted with her usual character, she urged herself to calm down.

"…she," She repeated, for good measure.

"Uhhh, no, I'm pretty sure you said 'he'."

"BE QUIET!"

The next day, a strange tale would spread amongst the ANBU about mysterious lights coming from the top of the mountain.

Setsuna walked away, past the smoking shape of Uchiha Madara.

"I will rest now. I have an early date tomorrow."

"Did you just say—"

"AP-APPOINTMENT!"

Lightning crackled one last time that night.

While Setsuna stomped her way into the distance, Tobi could only smile to himself. Sure, the regular doses of electricity hurt like hell, but, to him, it was definitely worth it.

His dear grandmother was just too adorable.

* * *

"Ah!" Sayoko gasped in relief when she noticed activity from her best friend's pupils.

Higashiyama Yuri is, after all, a strong youkai. Not even Sayuri's terrifying illusion would keep her out for too long. Her eyelids fluttered for a few seconds, and her lips quickly upturned into a pretty smile by the sight that welcomed her.

"Fufu…no matter how many mates I have in my life, I have always felt safer in your embrace, Sayoko-san."

While her cheeks did flush a little, Sayoko was not particularly flustered by the words. She smiled gently.

"…thank you."

Yuri blinked. Somehow, she could tell Sayoko was not precisely referring to the compliment.

Noticing that it was rather loud around them, Yuri sought the source of such disturbance.

"Ahahahaha!" Sayuri laughed with the mirth of a child that watches his best friend slip and fall in a pool of mud. "You gotta be faster than that!"

"Awwww, SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UUUUUUP!"

"Damn," Yuriyo winced, while Yuria rushed for another (failed) attempt at hitting Sayuri. "And I had just forgotten she's voiced by Kugimiya-san."

Yurina giggled.

"Ah." Sayuri's eyes met her mother's. "You're up."

Without even bothering to look, Sayuri slid past Yuria's attacking arm, using her left to push it away, at the same time her right foot broke Yuria's balance and her right hand choked the little three-tails' windpipe. A second later, Yuria was sprawled face up on the grass.

"Sorry about that," Sayuri concluded the sparring session, not looking apologetic in the slightest.

"Was that aikido or jujutsu, Sayuri-sama?"

"I wish I had the slightest idea, Kotonoha-san." Her voice implied she was making a joke only she could understand.

Yuri groggily moved to a sitting posture in the time Sayuri took to close the distance between them.

"So?" Sayuri smiled. "Got anything to say?"

Ignoring Sayoko's offer to help, Yuri slowly shifted her body until she was on her knees. Humbly lowering her body, she bowed.

"I apologize for my rebelliousness, Sayuri-sama. I can only ask for your graceful mercy, but I am willing to accept your judgment."

Sayuri coldly looked down at her mother, who had just placed her life in the nine tails' hands.

"Answer me honestly, Mother."

"Of course," Yuri replied, never raising her head.

"…when did you realize I was your daughter?"

A few people blinked at that. Yurisa shook her head. This was not amusing in the slightest.

Yuri's shoulders slumped down a bit. Only Sayoko was in the right position to see the Matriarch's tired expression.

"…only my youngest daughter would use that ridiculous catchword."

Sayuri crossed her arms under her breasts.

"Hey! Don't diss the 'mugyuu'."

Yuria chuckled at that. On the opposite edge of the spectrum, Sayuri sighed and let herself fall on the grass, sitting rather unceremoniously and resting her chin on her right hand.

"Then, what was the point of this charade? I think I know, but I want to hear it from you."

Yuri nodded very subtly.

"I wanted to see…what kind of Kyuubi my daughter had become."

Sayuri rolled her eyes. "At the cost of your life?"

The way Yuri shrugged her shoulders told Sayuri a lot about her mother's mindset. In the end, she only could shake her head.

"Thank you for your honesty, I guess." With that, her glance became dead serious. "You better listen to me from now on."

"Of course, Sayuri-sama."

Another sigh.

"Well, that's that." The beautiful nine tails jumped back on her feet. "Let's eat, then! We have many things to discuss afterwards."

She was walking away and towards Naruto's table until she stopped one more time.

"So…what do you think, Mother?"

"Excuse me?" Yuri stopped halfway as she, too, got back on her feet, with Sayoko's assistance.

"About the kind of Kyuubi I have become."

After a blink, Yuri's expression softened considerably. "You have become a marvelous Kitsune, my daughter. Truly one to be respected and worshipped as one of the chosen Nine Tails."

Sayuri did not seem particularly flattered by the words.

"A shame then. After all, I'm here to make sure the little Sayuri doesn't turn into me. By the way, thanks for holding back in our fight."

"I should be the one to say that, Sayuri-sama."

A chuckle. "Ah, well, it's sort of a habit for me, but you were actually being considerate…" Sayuri turned her head; her eyes shifting between Yuri and Sayoko, as if pondering something. "…and surprisingly trusting."

"To Sayoko-san, I'd entrust my very existence," Yuri stated without the slightest bit of hesitation. The Void Kitsune allowed herself to drop her gaze and smile a little.

"…I see," Sayuri concluded with a warm smile.

Love comes in many forms, after all.

Turning her head one more time, this time to look down, Sayuri's carmine eyes met a small group of Kitsune and humans. For a second, a familiar disgusting sensation filled her, but she quickly dismissed it. Not being one to dwell among gods very often, Sayuri had spent most of her existence surrounded by lesser youkai and humans.

It was hard; coexisting with beings that she viewed the way humans viewed a trail of ants. The fact that she even saw her most beloved onii-chan as inferior utterly repulsed her.

Despite the disgust, it was easy to deal with it…kind of.

"O-NII-III-CHAN!"

"Whoa!"

**Mugii!**

"Onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-oniiiiiiiiiiii-CHAN!"

Nobody could have stopped Sayuri from glomping a certain blonde and smothering him within the warmest of embraces.

"I take back any and all praises I made towards my youngest, Sayoko-san."

"Auuu."

"Uhuhuhu, I think it's rather cute," Yurisa commented, idly ruffling her only daughter's white hair.

"Yurine too—hawa!"

"You're not moving." Yuriyo swiftly pulled her mother back to her cushion.

"Uhh, I think your breasts are suffocating him, Fate-chan," Ayame muttered boringly, referencing Sayuri's cosplay for that evening.

"It certainly gives 'Wide Area Protection' a whole new meaning," Yuria muttered, watching Sayuri and Naruto with a tinge of worry on her face.

"Really, there's something awfully wrong with breast sizes in this clan."

"You of all people don't have the right to say that," Yuriko interceded, and Ayame put the topic aside with a half-hearted grunt.

"Umm…Sayuri. He's not moving anymore," Yuria commented a bit weakly.

"Aww, don't be like that, Yuria-nee-sam—nee-chan!" Sayuri pouted. "Just because he's your mate right now…"

"No, really." Yuria poked Naruto's side. "He's not moving."

"Mu-nii?" The adult Sayuri pushed Naruto away. Indeed, he looked a bit pale. "Onii-chan?"

**Mugii! Sayuri huht onii-chan! Sayuri must burn!**

Whoosh.

The whole world went at a standstill at the sight of Higashiyama Sayuri's head on fire.

"…ow," Sayuri admitted, even if she was not bothered by the flames in the slightest.

Only Yuria, awesome as she is, could put everyone's thoughts into words.

"…this is quite possibly the most awesome thing that will ever happen in this fanfic. EVER."

"Not counting the hypothetical lemon scenes," Yurimi quietly added.

"Of course, not counting lemo—YURIMI!" The tomato-red three-tails barked at her younger sibling.

Deep within Naruto's inner world, the aforementioned young Genin was driven to Sayuri's cage after being rendered unconscious by the other Sayuri's smothering.

From the opposite side of the gigantic bars that contained the mighty Kyuubi, Naruto stared at the little Higashiyama Sayuri's head.

On fire.

"Well, I gotta give it to her. If anything, she's thorough," Naruto mumbled.

Sayuri, her head still on fire, nodded in satisfaction after successfully burning…well, herself. Only then she did notice she was not alone.

"Wah! Onii-chan! ONII—"

Naruto did not even bother stopping her this time. He just looked away before the sparks and flashes hurt his eyesight, wacky inner world aside.

"Mugyuu…" The little Kitsune whined, her hair fascinatingly resembling Zaraki Kenpachi's.

"Heeh…let's see how long it takes them to wake me up…hopefully without further physical harm."

With those words, he walked into the prison. He might as well pet the little one for a while if he's already there.

"Waaaai…" Sayuri cheered rather weakly, her body still shuddering from the seal's backlash.

Wiggle-twitch-wiggle.

* * *

**CHAPTER 14 - To be continued...  
**


	21. Dawn of the Little Lily, Part Two

_****_**Author's Note:** many thanks to the person who brought up to me the fact that the second half of chapter 14 did not show up before the Omake. You know who you are. To all my readers, my utmost apologies for this inconvenience, and I hope it does not detract from further enjoyment of "Genkyouien."

* * *

_**Naruto Genkyouien**_

_**- **__**ナルト**__**- **__**幻**__**脅**__**威宴**_

**Chapter Fourteen: Dawn of the Little Lily (Part Two)  
**

* * *

Answering Naruto's question, it took seventeen minutes and thirty-nine seconds, most of which were spent by the lilies stopping each other's wild attempts at awakening the boy.

Yurimi had been quick to offer mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Yuria quickly struck her down, both for trying to kiss her mate and for being unoriginal.

On a positive note, this prevented Yurina from proposing the same solution.

Kokoro did not bother with suggestions and just went and did it…or at least, she tried. Horniness-enhanced speed was no match to a nine tails' righteous (and jealous) fire.

Yuria stated that there's nothing a good punch in the gut cannot solve. Sayuri was horrified that Yuria would do something like that to her husband, to which a flustered Yuria responded by stating multiple times (around twenty-six) that they were not married. This led to Yurika reminding her younger sister that the institution of marriage is utterly meaningless to Kitsune hence there was no reason to be flustered, which itself led to further pointless wrathful shouting.

Yuriyo suggested pinching his nose until the lack of air made him wake up. Then she spontaneously combusted.

Yurine, in one of her occasional bouts of brilliant idiocy, suggested an "anti-lullaby." Her argument being that, if a lullaby could make children fall asleep, the "anti-lullaby" should be able to wake them up.

Then she began to sing.

The Higashiyama lilies, plus guests and waiter, woke up ten minutes later, unsure of what exactly had happened.

Some things are better left unknown.

They were arguing on the worth of having Yurina shine very bright Celestial Fire in front of Naruto's eyes (because apparently no amount of tails prepare a Kitsune for these kinds of situations…or they're just idiots, the whole lot of them) when the boy in question woke up by himself (leaving a very unhappy –and frustrated, in more than one way– Sayuri within the seal), quickly noticing he was strangely comfortable.

"Welcome back, Naruto-sama."

"Ah, Kotono-" Naruto looked up from the fox-woman's lap…and made an odd face. "I can't see your face."

"I can't see yours either," Kotonoha mirthfully replied, all the way looking down at her considerable bust.

"You're not gonna hug me, are you?" Naruto's voice sounded a bit frightened.

"I'd rather not add to your developing trauma, Naruto-sama."

"Thank you. Really." He did sound relieved.

"Still, I must say it's a bit disheartening to know there will be no hugs from now on."

**Sayuri can hug onii-chan. Sayuri's still fwat.**

"Ah! I-I-I d-didn't say that!" Naruto hurriedly whispered. "I-I'm happy to be friends with Kotonoha-san. So…just don't suffocate me, okay?"

"I'm sure we can find a way around that issue," The swordswoman responded mirthfully. "And, please, drop the '-san'. I would be much happier if Naruto-sama called me just by my name."

**Sayuri will always call onii-chan onii-chan. 'Coz onii-chan's Sayuri's onii-chan.**

"Will you drop the 'sama'?"

"Of course not."

"Muuu, you're unfair."

The four-tails giggled.

"Oh, come on, retinas don't burn THAT fast!"

Whoosh!

"Damn it, Sayuri!"

"Riyo-nee-chan, be nicer, please!"

Naruto grimaced. "What's going on over there?"

"They are trying to figure out the best way to wake you up."

"All of them?" Naruto was riddled with disbelief.

"Not really. Yuri-sama is drinking tea with Sayoko-san over by Yurisa-sama's table. They probably noticed you're already awake, but do not seem to intend to let the girls know. Yuriko-sama and Yurika-sama disappeared at some point, but it's not hard to figure out what those two are up to."

Two less OCs to worry about. You know how that works.

"My sister and her newest human friend are right here."

"Hey." Tenten slumped down to the boy's right side. "Looking comfy."

**Munii?**

"Ah…" Naruto blushed a bit, grinned and scratched his right cheek. "…ahaha, yeah, it's very comfy."

"Ufufufu, Naruto-sama you flatterer."

Tenten looked at Kotonoha and Ayame. "And you two are sisters."

"Ayame-san is an only child, but if you refer to the Kitsune currently in possession of her body then, yes, I am her sister, Katsura Kotonoha. Please to make your acquaintance."

"Her sister," Tenten repeated. Her eyes glanced down at Kotonoha's bust, then at her own, then at Kotonoha's once more. "For some reason I'm really pissed off now."

The swordswoman made a face that begged for a hug. "Why does that always happen?"

'**coz Koto-chan's got huge bwebs. Sayuri's are not that big.**

_They're big enough._

Massive eye-rolling ensued. "Gee, I wonder," Kokoro mumbled. Looking down at what she could see of Naruto from her position behind her sister, she pouted.

"It's not fair. I'm the one who's in heat, but you're the one who's closest to him."

"Wait, what?" Tenten jerked her head towards Ayame.

**Sayuri wuvs onii-chan the most!**

"I can build a meaningful relationship with Naruto-sama precisely because I do not chase him like a vixen in heat."

"What she said," Naruto muttered very quietly. "I love you, Kotonoha."

"Ara, how sweet."

**Mugyuu…**

Naruto rolled his eyes. Figures. _I love you too, Sayuri._

**Waaaai!**

Wiggle, wiggle.

"I hate you two."

"Now that's not true," Kotonoha quickly responded.

"You fox-chicks keep getting weirder and weirder…"

"You haven't seen anything," Naruto commented. Then he gave a good look at Tenten. "Why are you here anyway?"

**Who is she?**

"And he finally notices," Ayame muttered.

Tenten gave Naruto the evil eye. "No way in hell I'm telling you."

"She's training to be a magical girl," Ayame explained matter-of-factly.

"DAMN YOU!"

"…what?" Naruto's brain went 'ping' for a moment there. "You know what? Forget it. I have the feeling I'll only get hurt if I insist."

**Lywical! Magical!**

"Awfully smart of you," Tenten admitted.

"Thank you…I think."

"So, shouldn't we, like, tell the others I'm…huh?"

Puzzled blue eyes met nervous carmine.

"Uhh…" He turned to Kotonoha. "Since when has she been here?" He inquired, pointing at the little owner of those frightened eyes.

"The very beginning," Kotonoha, Ayame and Tenten spoke simultaneously, also sweatdropping as one.

"She's been looking at you very attentively all this time, Naruto-sama."

"Heeeh…" The little Kitsune went awfully stiff when Naruto's eyes reached her once again. "Hello there, Mayuri-chan."

**He-llo!**

The two-tails avoided Naruto's glance by dropping her face. Her tiny hands clutched her red hakama until her knuckles went white…er. Of course, Naruto was not one to desist so quickly.

"Thank you for looking after me."

From another table, Yuri and Yurisa attentively watched the scene. Kotonoha also was very interested in the outcome of this, only more from the Naruto side than the Mayuri side.

The cute little albino Kitsune still refused to look up. Naruto decided to go for a more direct approach. It worked with Sayuri, as well as with Yurine and her twin-tailed daughter, right?

Just like the Harmonious Lily and her half-Celestial daughter, Mayuri stiffened when Naruto's right hand reached for the crown of her head. She did so, however, for a very different reason. A rather unfortunate reason, in fact.

Even the sometimes slow Naruto noticed the trembling of Mayuri's shoulders and how it traveled down her arms and torso to take control of her entire body. Putting aside of thoughts of petting, he rested his hand on her shoulder, futilely attempting to stop her unease.

"Mayuri-chan?"

His words only strengthened the effect. Yurisa was stopped by her mother from going over to look after her daughter. With but a simple gesture from the Matriarch, Yurisa slumped down and watched in agonic stupor.

More than a little worried, Naruto's hand reached for the underside of Mayuri's chin and raised her head

"Mayuri-chan, look at me—"

His breath was caught up halfway up his throat, choked by the stunning, even frightening expression on the little foxgirl's face. Tenten actually took a step back; so taken she was by Mayuri's anguish.

As if she were trapped in a silent, prolonged torture, Mayuri's face was contorted in a disturbing mask of agony. Her lips were fiercely pushed together, as if pushing back a scream, and her pupils had become awfully thin, surrounded by a web of tiny capillaries clouding the white of her eyes. Sweat was rapidly gathering on her forehead and her neck.

Her eyes were on him, but Naruto knew she was not looking at him. She was looking at something only she could see, and it terrified her.

"Mayuri-chan, l-look at me…"

Tears formed on the corners of her eyes. A desperate Naruto went for desperate measures.

"Look at me!"

The group of foxgirls arguing some distance away were finally made aware of the futility of their argument (Naruto was awake, after all), only to meet the sight of Naruto holding the second smallest of the lilies against his chest. This seemed to make Mayuri's intangible torture even worse, but Naruto did not give up even then.

"It's okay!" He cried. "It's okay, Mayuri-chan!" He knew his words felt awfully empty, but still, he tried. "Don't look! Look at me! Look at nothing else but me!"

A little too forcefully, he seized Mayuri's head between his hands and forced her eyes to meet his. She was still trapped in her own world of suffering.

"Look at me! Look at me, Mayuri-chan! Don't be afraid and LOOK AT ME!"

Mayuri's facial muscles twitched in disturbing ways.

"DON'T LOOK OVER THERE! STAY HERE WITH ME!"

Somehow those words actually had an effect. Mayuri blinked, and Naruto somehow knew she was back in this world. Her eyes were no longer staring at a phantasm.

"Sheesh…" A worried-looking Naruto ruffled Mayuri's colorless hair. "You got me really nervous, ya know."

While the little foxgirl's shuddering gradually relented, Naruto gently picked out her loose tears. Mayuri was now fixated on the boy's smiling face.

"Dunno what is it that scares you so much but, whatever it is, we'll kick its ass! Right, Sayuri?"

**Mugyuu?**

"Well, I will definitely help," the older Sayuri intervened. "The younger me, that is."

**Munii?**

Mayuri stiffened once again when the mighty nine tails approached them. It was understandable after Sayuri's previous comments.

"Mayuri."

Sayuri's hand fell on the two-tails' head, hard.

"You need to relax."

The nine tails sat down next to Naruto. "The very fact I am here is the proof that history can be changed. I guess this timeline must have already changed just because I came here. So, how is it?" She made an odd face. "Ah, right, right. I guess no matter the changes, it's still a messy tale, huh."

"Yurisa-nee!"

The blonde four-tails was startled by the sudden call. "Ha-hai! Sayuri-onee-sama?"

"Mayuri will stay in this table for a while; is that okay?"

The motherly Yurisa blinked at that, but quickly corrected herself and responded with a gentle smile. "Of course, onee-sama."

"Alright." She turned back to Mayuri. "So, be grateful! You get to keep onii-chan for a while." She pouted. "Don't get too cocky."

Two equally confused individuals turned their heads from Sayuri to each other. Naruto and Mayuri blinked in unison.

"Umm…hi." Naruto sweatdropped. His attempt at welcoming the girl to his lap was stopped when he came into the most interesting of sights.

Mayuri's lips were trembling. The way her eyes shifted from looking down to looking at him to looking back down added to her overall image of undiluted hesitation.

"Mayuri-chan?"

The Sorrowful Lily parted her lips for a moment…but then closed them and buried her face in Naruto's chest, sobbing quietly.

"Huh. Weird girl."

"Ri-Riyo-nee-chan!"

Naruto could only turn to the adult Sayuri wearing a mask of confusion.

"Just leave her be, dear," she declared. "I have to correct myself. The one I hate is the Mayuri ten years from now, not the one in front of me. Still, given that they are one and the same, I cannot stop my blood from boiling when I see her in your arms, onii-chan."

"Still, right now she needs it. I truly hope I—no, we…I hope we can change Mayuri into someone I will not grow to despise. I think we're already making progress, actually."

She winked; a wink only for him to see.

Naruto nodded. So it was not his imagination. A single word had escaped Mayuri's lips in that split moment; more a weak, raspy growl than anything else, but definitely distinguishable. It was the first word Higashiyama Mayuri spoke in almost 35 years.

"…_why…"_

At Sayuri's request, dinner was a silent affair.

**Mugyuu…Sayuri wants to be hugged by onii-chan…Mayuri should burn.**

* * *

"My…how quaint." Yuri held back after a glance to the gloomy hallway lined with darkened, moldy pipes. Behind her, most of the lilies shared similar expressions of…discomfort. Manabu Akamon—I mean, Higashiyama Koushiro, stayed behind to clean up.

"Don't expect me to apologize." Naruto pouted. "I'm mad at you, ya know."

"How come?" Yuri asked in a sweet tone.

"For the whole killing everyone thing!"

"Ara, is that so."

Naruto waited for a few seconds; until it became obvious the Matriarch had nothing else to say.

"Kotonoha, I don't like that mean woman."

"Awww, that's too bad. Come here."

"Kotonoha!"

"Naruto-sama."

A vein popped out of Ayame's head at the two embracing affectionately. "You two are doing this to piss me off, aren't you?"

Sayuri (adult) stepped next to her mother. "Thank you for bringing us all here, Mother. Your skill just does not cease to amaze me." In a lower tone, she continued. "Truly, there is so much I could have learned from you…"

Yuri could only respond with a pained glance. "I take it Sayuri-sama will explain things now."

"Of course."

The nine tails presented the base facts while the large group made it to the seal.

"Had I not presented myself today, you would have spent the night getting on good terms with onii-chan. Am I wrong, Mother?"

"No, you are not, Sayuri-sama."

Sayuri nodded. "You intended to gauge onii-chan's intentions. You wanted to see if he intended to use my power for personal gain. By the end of the night, you would be certain that onii-chan had nothing but my best interests in mind, and he wanted me to be free from the seal more than anyone else. Then, you would reveal you had figured out a way."

"Once you had his trust and cooperation, you would have spent the next three evenings examining the seal and making adjustments to your original jutsu. You would confirm the suspicion that, indeed, the sealing involved making a contract with Shinigami-sama, one of the few beings in this world with a greater control over souls than you. You would reverse engineer the jutsu, _**Shiki Fuuin**_, as it is a more restricted variation of Spirit Jutsu such as _**Embrace of the Death God **_or _**Soul Mastery**_,or Sayoko-san's _**Gaze of Oblivion**_."

"In any case, you learned everything there was to learn about the structure of the prison that contained me…well, almost. Unfortunately, that 'almost' made the extraction go awfully wrong."

Sayuri pondered something. "Speaking of Spirit Jutsu, how much have you taught Yurimi-nee-chan so far?"

Everybody noticed Yuri hesitate for a moment before answering with subtle, but noticeable, reluctance.

"I already taught her _**Embrace of the Death God**_," Yuri admitted, and Sayuri whistled.

"That's a tricky jutsu."

"Yurimi seems to perform better the more difficult the jutsu. She's also learned _**Brand of the Spirit Diplomat**_, and I know she's been working on _**Soul Forging**_ when she thinks I'm not looking."

Yurimi actually looked away, and Yuria held back a chuckle. She knew why her mother had hesitated to flaunt her prized daughter's prowess.

_Thanks, mom. But I already…_

She shot a glance at Naruto, who attentively listened to the conversation, only a little bit confused.

…_I'll become strong, in my own way._

"It's good that you're cultivating her talents, Mother, but Yurimi-nee is not really a fighter at heart. She's really a lot like you in that respect." Sayuri's smile became more enthusiastic. "Maybe in this timeline she'll become the wondrous Kitsune she has always been meant to become."

"I…I am flattered, Sayuri-nee-sama."

"Hahaha, it's okay, it's okay. Just don't suck poor onii-chan dry, okies?"

Wink, wink.

"Oh my." Yuri mumbled in amusement.

"Hawaa…"

"SA-SAYURI!" Naruto and his mate screamed in simultaneous outrage.

Yurimi, however, had dropped her glance and assumed a meditative face.

"I…I can't promise anything."

"YURIMI!"

Tenten inched her head closer to Ayame's. "So, the flat one with the short silver hair has the hots for Naruto?"

"Yeah…" Ayame growled.

"…but Naruto's with the shortie with the big boobs."

"…sorta."

"…damn. And the cutie pie with the twin tails is also into him, right?"

"Who, Yurina?"

"You didn't notice? She's been looking at him the whole damn evening! Look!"

Indeed, the half-Celestial would shot quick glances at the orange-loving blonde every four seconds or so.

Ayame's only response was gritting her teeth, and Tenten wisely backed away.

Finally, the lighting abruptly increased as the narrow passage led to the ample room which housed the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.

"Wah, it's Sayuri! Sayuriiiiiiii—OOF!"

A few lilies shrieked when a sudden explosion rocked the prison beyond the bars, blowing little Sayuri away before she reached the bars.

"Once per chapter is enough," The adult Sayuri declared, all the while the rest of the clan gaped at her.

"You blew her away with an explosion!" Naruto cried.

"I can take that."

"Mugyuu…" Little Sayuri moaned within the darkness.

While the rest of the group stepped inside the cage, adult Sayuri stayed on the other side of the bars.

"The seal is meant to contain Higashiyama Sayuri, regardless of what time she comes from. If I go in there I won't be able to get out," she explained. "That's why I had to make a deal with Shinigami-sama before coming here. If I had made the trip straight away I would have appeared inside onii-chan's body, unable to get out or do much of anything."

Very few actually listened to the explanation, however.

"Sayuri…hello."

The little foxgirl looked up at the first to reach her prone form. "Ma…mama…"

The Matriarch softly caressed her youngest daughter's golden hair. "It's…it's been so long…it's been hard for you, hasn't it?"

"Mama…" Sayuri's eyes quickly watered. "Sayuri…Sayuri was…MAMA!"

Almost thirteen years later, the family was reunited again. Sure, five lilies are missing, but that doesn't really matter.

Beyond the bars, the older Sayuri, Naruto, Ayame and Tenten watched the family reunion, as the little nine tails shared hugs with each and every single of her relatives. The reunion between Sayuri and Sayoko was particularly emotional, as the two joined in resonant bawling. It was deafeningly touching.

"Well, all's well that ends—Kokoro stop humping me."

"Tch."

Tenten backed away very slowly.

Sayuri shook her head. "It will end when she is out of this prison in a way that does not harm anybody."

"What's with the yucky water anyway?" Tenten complained. "My feet are soaked."

"Actually the level's lower than it was before," Ayame, still pressed against Naruto's back, stated. Sayuri grinned.

"Oh, so you've noticed?" Sayuri seemed a bit impressed. "This whole place is a reflection of onii-chan's soul."

"Your soul is a sewer," Tenten stated.

"Shut up."

"Putting some thought into it, I'd say the water represents onii-chan's hesitation and fears," Sayuri added. "Now, it's up to onii-chan to change how this place looks like, but I guess I can help a little, if only for tonight."

The entire group was awed when the place was gloriously transformed from the depressing sewer system to a marvelous alpine prairie. When the others looked at Sayuri in search of an explanation, she simply smiled.

"I thought it would be a nicer place to sit down and chat. Drier, too."

The ominous bars had been replaced by a cute white fence that seemingly anyone could jump over. The paper strip with the kanji for "seal" was the lone reminder of Sayuri's prison.

"But…" Sayuri hesitated. "…this kind of change…onii-chan, do you feel any different?"

"Well…" He scratched the back of his head. "…I suddenly have this weird urge to yodel."

"Ah, that's okay…"

Sayuri's smile took a hungry quality Naruto did not appreciate at all.

"ONII-CHAN!"

Tenten and Ayame quickly scampered away from the path of Sayuri's mighty pounce.

"Whoa!"

"Onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-oniiiiiiiiiiiiii-CHAN!"

"Oh crap, she's doing it again!" Yuria called from beyond the thick bars. "Yurina, Yurimi: to battle!"

"Ah? Ha-hai!"

"Yes, honorable sister."

"DON'T PLAY ALONG WITH HER!" Yuriyo provided an excellent tsukkomi. It was fruitless, though. The trio were already pulling at Sayuri's tails to stop her from smothering poor Naruto (where would his spirit go if he was asphyxiated while inside the mindscape, anyway?), and getting their heads set on fire as a consequence.

It took Mayuri, of all people, to twack the back of Sayuri's head with one of her tails for the mighty nine-tails to stop. The little two-tails got one hell of a glare for that.

Yurine, the last to greet Sayuri, had trapped the little foxgirl in a bear hug and a threnody of hawaa's. Sayuri could only set herself free with, of course, fire.

"Onii-chan!" She called. Surprisingly enough, she actually remembered there was a seal this time. "Pet me!"

Naruto actually bothered to offer an apologetic glance to the older Sayuri before going to tend to the infant Kyuubi's need for brotherly affection.

"Heheheheheh…munyaa…"

Less than a minute later, little Sayuri was drowning in her own word of bliss, courtesy of Naruto's callused hands on her tails. She was small and flexible enough to curl herself like a kitten on Naruto's lap. Her large, furry tails were another story, however. Sprawled all over the place, Naruto looked like he was wearing a skirt of golden fur.

Few of the present missed the nostalgia present on the older Sayuri's face for an instant. Still, she quickly masked her deeper emotions and sat alone on the other side of the silly-looking white fence.

"Well, let's begin the Q&A! Who goes first?"

"Q&A?" Yurisa asked the obvious question. Sayuri shrugged.

"Well, if I start talking I'll probably end up saying more than I should, and then Mayuri would get mad and she would come and we'd end up fighting again." She explained. "Happens more often than you'd think. Anyway! You ask questions, and I answer to the extent of what I can share with you. So, you decide the order or does the eldest Kitsune go first?"

Her eyes were on Sayoko as she finished that sentence. Yuri spared her from having to talk by seizing the right herself.

"Let us begin with the primordial question. In which way did my jutsu fail in your timeline, Sayuri-sama?"

Sayuri shot a grin at her mother, but nodded and acquiesced.

"It is rather simple, in fact. As you would have inferred in a day or two, the Fourth Hokage's technique summons the Death God to remove a soul from its body. In exchange for responding to the summons, Shinigami-sama also takes the soul of the summoner. It's a rather telling demonstration of the difference between humans and youkai: humans need to give their very existence to accomplish the same thing a Ghost Kitsune can do with nothing but enough tails. Six, if I'm not mistaken. The point is that, by all means, Sayuri should be dead; her soul consumed by the Death God."

"With this knowledge, you would come to the conclusion that the modifications visible on onii-chan's seal are meant to contain Sayuri's existence within an appropriate receptacle, instead of becoming Shinigami-sama's latest snack. This is true, of course. The problem is that you focused entirely on the seals you could see, and you never noticed the concealed ones."

"Wah!"

The smaller Sayuri chose this moment to jump off Naruto's lap, chasing after a fluttering butterfly. Her eyes gleamed like the cat who's found its next toy. The group followed the little nine-tails' antics for a few seconds before adult Sayuri continued her explanation.

She shrugged. "Even if you had found them, I'm sure you wouldn't have been able to figure them out anyway. I only know of them because I read Konoha's Forbidden Scroll."

"When the Fourth sealed Sayuri within Naruto's body, he also split her chakra, separating the yin chakra from the yang."

Yuri's eyes instantly widened, as those words made complete sense to her. While her head dropped to a meditative state, Tenten took the chance to ask.

"Yin and yang chakra?"

She did not like the 'ah, right, they don't teach you this in the academy' look she got from Sayuri.

"Everything is made of opposites. Everything is yin and yang. Even chakra. Some have more yin, like, let's say, Yurine-nee-chan or Sayoko-san. People like Chiyuri-chan and your much-admired Tsunade, on the other side, have mostly yang chakra. The power to destroy versus the power to restore. Imperfect beings that we are; we spend our entire lives striving to find balance, generally without success. It's fundamentally impossible to have equal parts yin and yang: it's simply against our nature."

"So you're saying that's just a part of Sayuri over there." Yuria pointed at the little Sayuri, whose nine tails swayed almost hypnotically as she stared at the butterfly.

"The vast majority; I am mostly yin chakra," Sayuri clarified.

"So you mean that's the evil part of Sayuri?" Yuria insisted.

"Well, I wouldn't call her 'evil'…"

Whoosh.

"Waaaaaaaai!" Little Sayuri wagged her tails happily at the visage of the burning butterfly. The harmless creature twitched its wings one last time before it stopped moving for good.

"…okay, so she's the evil part," adult Sayuri dejectedly accepted. "Sayuri, dear!" She called for her younger counterpart. "Would you please stop burning pieces of onii-chan's soul?"

Naruto jerked his head to the dying cinders left by the incinerated butterfly. "Wait, WHAT?"

"You probably won't miss it anyway."

The blond gaped at his mate.

"In that case, where is Sayuri-nee-sama's yang chakra?" Yurisa asked.

"Oh, she's around, I think. It might take a while, but if we walked around, we'd surely find it...her? I dunno."

"Then, when I used _**Kagai Kaiin**_…" Yuri prevented the discussion from being diverted.

"As you reached for an incomplete soul, the jutsu sought the means to make up for the void you created, Mother. To complete the soul of the being, 'Higashiyama Sayuri', your jutsu sought out the souls of anybody within reach and homogenized them with my own chakra, using onii-chan's body as the boiling pot. How many would it have claimed if left unchecked? I can't even make a guess."

"While your death stopped the jutsu, it was Shinigami-sama's direct intervention which saved both mine and onii-chan's life. In my timeline, what's left of the Higashiyama Clan is still being punished for what happened that night…but I won't go into details."

Once again making an effort to remove the melancholy from her expression, Sayuri strived for a smile.

"Next question?"

"You will excuse me for my rudeness, but may I ask a second question before conceding the right to my lilies?"

Sayuri acknowledged her mother's respectful tone. "You may."

"How can we, then, release my youngest from this seal?"

Sayuri chuckled. "Simple. We ask Shinigami-sama to do it. That means you need a means to reach the Sanzu River…that does not involve dying, of course."

Silence ensued. Some distance away, little Sayuri sniffed around for her next burnable target.

"…no, I'm not telling you how to reach the Sanzu without dying."

Yuri sighed very quietly. "I guessed as much. I should get to work, then."

"You should." Sayuri nodded. "Now, anything—"

"Wait."

All eyes shifted to Naruto. It was not hard to tell why he attracted all the attention.

It was not very often he made such a serious face.

"You said…" He began. "You said the Fourth's jutsu summoned the Death God to take Sayuri's…your soul, giving his also as payment or whatever."

"Yes…" Sayuri nodded. She had an idea of where Naruto was getting to. In her mind, she was a bit surprised he of all people would figure it out first.

"…but, the Fourth put you in me… the Death God didn't take you."

Several pairs of eyes narrowed. Sayuri almost chuckled. It took them long enough to get it.

"Souls are souls are souls," Sayuri joked. "Everything that lives must die. What belongs to the Death God goes to the Death God…sooner or later."

Yurisa gasped in horrendous realization; her hands quickly going up to cover her mouth.

"But that's enough of that!" The nine-tails put an end to that bitter trail of thought. "Yurin-nee, you're next!"

Naruto, however, still seemed to be deep in thought. However, he guessed he could bring back the topic in another time. Sayuri seemed to have a schedule of sorts.

"Hawaa?" Yurine was startled, taken aback by the awfully serious conversation taking place until just now. "Anoo…ma-maybe…about Yurina-chan and Yuriyo-chan…?"

"Aww, sheesh…" Sayuri, clearly uncomfortable, scratched the back of her head. "Out of the frying pan and into the fire, huh?"

"In my timeline…like I said…Yurina-chan was very affected by your death, Yurin-nee, to the point that she blamed her own sister for not saving you." A shrug. "Of course, it was a baseless accusation: it's not like Yuriyo asked the Void to save her."

Her eyes met the half-Void's. "The Void is a very selfish little thing. Just like my soul belongs to the Death God, your existence belongs to the Void, Yuriyo-chan; there's no way it was going to let some rampant jutsu take you instead. Unfair, yes, but it's the way things are."

"With your sisterly bond damaged beyond repair, Yuriyo abandoned the clan and roamed the world on her own, like your usual run-of-the-mill Kitsune, until she died at the age of 302." Noticing the looks on Yuriyo and her sister's faces, Sayuri spoke further. "Your future self was claimed by the Void after using **Avatar of Oblivion **to slay the rampaging Five-Tailed Bijuu in Earth Country. I was surprised to hear that your last deed in this world was such an altruistic, selfless act, after a life of pointless self-gratification and debauchery." A snort. "Yurina-chan apologized to your tombstone."

"The most interesting thing was that someone had actually predicted you would go like that. I think it was Setsuna-san."

"As for Yurina-chan…" She looked at the blond with twintails. "After Yuriyo left, she devoted herself to her new life in Konoha. It wasn't easy, with everybody hating Kitsune and all that, but I like to think she was happy with onii-chan. After he died, she moved back to Higashiyama, and she's been living there until the present time in my lifetime. It's a bit of a boring life, but at least it's peaceful."

"Yurisa-nee-san." Sayuri offered a placid smile to her four-tailed sister. "I can imagine what you want to ask about. Same as Yurin-nee, am I wrong?"

Yurisa did not say a word, but the way she dropped her gaze and shyly nodded said everything.

"Unfortunately, you did not live to hear Mayuri's voice again. In my timeline, it happened…two years from now. I cannot really tell you the circumstances, but the artificer of that accomplishment was, of course, onii-chan."

Yurisa and Naruto exchanged uneasy glances.

"It would not be proper of me to talk about the circumstances that led to Mayuri's change…besides; thinking about what she's done repulses me to this day."

"I can make this clear, however: the Higashiyama Mayuri from my timeline has gone completely and utterly insane. And I'm not talking Kotonoha-insane here."

"I'm here, you know."

"Her crime is abominable, and her heartlessness is an insult to everything I once held dear."

"I'm a woman, with feelings…" Kotonoha pouted some more, seemingly impervious to the trace amounts of killing intent Sayuri was releasing.

"I hate her, and I have sworn to myself I won't die before she does. I WILL stop her madness, even if it kills me."

"And Yuri-sama didn't bring Makoto-kun for some reason; I hope Koushiro-kun is keeping him company."

Sayuri sighed; it was the sigh of a tired, aged woman. "I…I'm sorry. I'm sorry you had to hear that. It's just…it's a really touchy subject…where I come from."

"I…I see. So-sorry for bringing it up, then…" Yurisa quietly apologized. Mayuri did not complain about her mother's fingers digging into her shoulders, as if afraid Sayuri would leap at her any second.

"I mean, I'm grateful for Yuri-sama's favors towards my family, but, really, sometimes I'm a little lonely…I could use some kind words every once in a while…"

"Aww, come on…even with all your odd quirks you know everybody loves you!" Naruto spoke comforting words to the slightly depressed swordswoman. "I know I do! Well, not like THAT, but, uhh, ya know…"

The four-tails giggled at the boy's initiative. "Thank you, Naruto-sama!"

"Kotonoha!"

"Naruto-sama!"

"I'll kill you both," Ayame growled at the embracing duo.

"And I'll help," Tenten added.

"We're having a serious moment here—ah!" Sayuri noticed the action taking place outside her current field of view. "No fair! I can't go in there!"

"Yurine too!" The five-tails, eager for anything to lift the heavy mood, jumped into the fray.

"Stop it, mothe—ahh screw it." Yuriyo just gave up.

"Hawaa!"

"No, wai—ggggrrgrrgble." The sounds of an enviable death.

"Death by symmetrical docking…he can't complain," Yuria stated…and then she cracked her knuckles. "And if he survives, I'll kill him."

"You are quite cute when you act the jealous wife role, you know."

"I'll enjoy utterly destroying you one day, Yuriyo."

"You foxgirls have no shame," Tenten concluded. Ayame was busy shoving her fist in her mouth and biting, HARD.

* * *

"Muuuu~"

Sayuri was still pouting. Ayame and Tenten had been displaced two steps away from Naruto, to make way to a Yurine who was all smiles. While Yurimi's attraction to Naruto was obvious and Yurina's own was noticeable if you bothered to look, Yurine's eagerness to offer her breasts as pillows for Naruto had no reason other than her natural niceness. Most unfortunately (a very subjective choice of words, though), Kotonoha was awfully clingy to the boy, for reasons not even she understood. However, a strange glint in Yuri's eyes told the swordswoman the Matriarch might know more about what lies in her heart than Kotonoha herself.

In any case, after making sure their combined voluptuousness (which totals for higher circumference than Hoshigaki Kisame is tall) would not cause Naruto's demise, the two fox-women reached a silent agreement. Holding on to the other's shoulder, together they circled Naruto and caught him in a motherly embrace.

The boy had never been surrounded by this much soft flesh before.

"Looking comfy," Tenten muttered, feeling a bit angry about the whole thing. How could he be so…calm in the middle of all this madness?

"Yeah…" Naruto sweatdropped and scratched the side of his head. "…pretty much."

There was no denying it: he was comfortable. He did not get hugs very often, so he was quickly growing fond of them. Besides, these two Kitsune practically exuded "motherly" all around them. Sure, one of them had a grin on her face that would not look odd on little Sayuri, and the other was lovers with a skull, but still, caught in their embrace, he felt like a small child…and did not mind in the slightest.

"Tch." Adult Sayuri gave up. "Awwight, next question. I believe Yuria-nee-sa—Yuria-nee-chan's next."

"Alright! Question time for Yuria-sama! But first…"

With absolutely no shame or hesitation, Yuria covered the few steps that separated her from Naruto and harshly let her bum fall on his lap.

"Oof! Wh-wha-! Yuria!"

"Don't think I'm enjoying this!" The three-tails declared, activating her tsundere protocols. "I have to make my claim as your mate, ya know."

"Uh huh."

Yuria positively shrieked when Naruto rested his hands on her thighs.

"I have to rest my hands somewhere, right?"

Yuria glared at Naruto's mock-innocent grin. "I'll get you for this."

"Hai, hai."

"I gotta admit; I like the brat's style," Yuriyo told her sister in a quiet tone.

"So nice…" The twin-tailed beauty wistfully watched the scene.

It was Yuriyo's turn to glare. "…you're hopeless, Yurina."

"Now, question!" Yuria leaned on Naruto's chest for further comfort…and somehow enjoying the grownup Sayuri's blatantly envious look. Naruto was doing his best not to look at his mate's tantalizing cleavage over her shoulder. "Was that really my jutsu back there?" She could not stop herself from smiling as she said that.

**Her** jutsu. It sounded so…right.

Sayuri could not stop herself from returning the smile. The girl truly held to anything that could give her hope, didn't she?

"One of many," The nine-tails responded…then she hesitated. "Okay, maybe not that many. But, really, you don't need an extensive arsenal, anyway. Everything you need is already there, in a most beautiful and nicely wrapped package."

Yuria blushed in a very Naruto-esque way, even scratched the back of her head for good measure; an action that did things to her chest Naruto found quite delectable.

Naruto had seen Yuria as pretty since the very moment they met. When he met her determined, blazing eyes later that night, after he had thoroughly beaten the crap out of her, Naruto thought she was beautiful.

At this moment, Yuria was in close physical contact with him. His mind quickly recalled every single inch of her body he had seen, and he had seen a lot. He could not recall any other female with a body like Yuria's. Heck, her muscles were almost as well-defined as his! Naruto did not know what kind of haphazard routine she had been following, but Yuria had somehow managed to work out every single muscle in her body. He had seen it; damn, he could feel it!

Neither Sakura nor Ino had bodies like this. Hinata hid hers under bulky clothes, but Naruto doubted the Hyuuga had that kind of body. Kotonoha was really strong and athletic, but any firm musculature she might have was masterfully disguised by the softness of her…well, her.

In the literal sense of the word, Yuria had the most athletic body he had ever seen. And it clicked in him.

She had curves and she had muscle.

_God damn, this must be what they mean…_

By 'they', he meant every single man he had often listened to as they drabbled on about women.

It was as if he had been blind all these years, and all of a sudden, he could see.

_Yuria…Yuria's hot. Thinking about it, Yurimi's pretty hot, too…only for different reasons. Damn, this is tricky shit._

He had had short bursts of awareness for the past few days, mostly instigated by Yurimi's unmistakable advances. This time, however, it was his mind initiating a response to a natural increase in hormonal concentrations.

As he became more and more aware of his surroundings; namely, of the horde of very beautiful females around him; a pleasant yet uncomfortable tingle in his chest grew notably stronger. He was getting a bit dizzy…and red on the face; that he knew.

"Huh…so, what happened to me in your timeline? I wanna know!"

Sayuri chuckled. "Well, it would be a nice change of pace after all the depressing stuff I've said so far…but I can't. At least, not much."

"Huh? Why?"

"It was a request," Sayuri replied. "From the Yuria in my time, I mean. She knew you'd be curious, so she was very specific on what I could tell you."

"Wha—why would she do that?" Yuria's pupils shifted to the side. "That bitch."

"Uhhh…" Naruto sweatdropped at that. "Tha-that's not the best thing to say about yourself."

"But it's not fair!" Yuria crossed her arms under her bust, and Naruto shuddered. _Oh my God! What the hell?_

Some people are hit rather hard by puberty. Naruto is basically a victim of circumstances.

"She's very thoughtful; she just doesn't want to either hinder or inappropriately aid your growth," Sayuri explained. "But it wouldn't be fair to leave you with nothing after having answered the other's questions, so I'll speak within the limits of what the future you deemed acceptable."

"While the survivors of the Higashiyama Clan were pardoned and allowed to live in Konoha, it was obvious you were no more than prisoners. You were not trusted enough to be allowed to go and if it were necessary your very lives would be used as a buffer against youkai incursions. Still, you continued your training, and Naruto taught you everything he could. It wasn't really much, but it was more than enough."

"Many things happened in your first years in Konoha, but I won't go into details. The Hokage allowed you and only you to accompany onii-chan on his missions. You fought together. You were there when he passed the Chuunin Exam. You protected Konoha together from threats both human and youkai. So, when onii-chan became unable to fight anymore, he proudly gave you his headband, and you took his place as a true ninja of Konoha."

"The future you has always regretted being away on an S-rank mission the day onii-chan passed away."

"In the end, you were the only one who stayed in Konoha after his passing, if only for a short while. It made sense: you were the only one amongst us the people of Konoha actually liked, and you certainly enjoyed being a kunoichi…but I shouldn't really go any further, I guess. Things get a bit complicated after that, anyway…from a historical point of view, I mean."

"Yurine-chan? Yuriyo-chan? Any questions?"

"Ah…umm…no…not from me." Yurina scratched her cheek as she answered. She had questions, but somehow she feared the answers.

"I have one," Yuriyo interceded. "From your description of my death in your timeline…I guess I can assume I never learned how to control the Void, right?"

Sayuri nodded. "Sayoko-san never got the chance to teach you, and you didn't bother with the other Kitsune who might have been able to help you."

While the discussion was undeniably interesting, Naruto's newly developed mentality was all of a sudden more focused on Yuriyo's shapely figure. While Naruto did not know of the Night Lily's specialization of seduction and manipulation (even if she still has almost null actual experience), he could definitely tell the girl knew how to show off her body. While the others comfortably sat on the soft grass (and little Sayuri ran all over the place), Yuriyo was regally sprawled on her left side, resting her head on her left hand. The slit on the side of her yukata revealed tantalizing amounts of leg, and the dangerously loose piece of clothing had slid past her right shoulder, baring it for all to admire.

Her clothes, her expression, her velvety voice and even the gestures she made with her free hand as she spoke: everything was meant to attract all attention to her, to make her the center of the world. It was unbelievably arrogant, but, gods damn it, it worked….almost.

There was no doubt in Naruto's mind: Yuriyo outdid both Yurimi and Yuria (and pretty much everyone else) in, well, hotness. However, he still was more drawn towards those two than towards the half-Void. Of course, he had interacted far more with Yuri's daughters than with the sexy granddaughter, but there was something else…

The answer was very simple, but it would only come to Naruto after a little time dealing with the lilies.

"So…Yurimi-nee-chan, you're next," Sayuri continued the Q&A session.

The short-haired princess shook her head. "I pass. I have no interest in a timeline that no longer concerns me."

Sayuri blinked…and the giggled. "Ahahaha…wise beyond your years, sister…I truly hope this time you take the path you've always deserved."

Next in line. "Mayuri? Any question?"

Needless to say, she jested. After five full seconds of absolute silence, Sayuri sighed.

"Sheesh, no sense of humor at all. Okay then, last one! Sayuri!"

A pair of brown-tipped golden ears perked up in the distance. "Munii?"

"Come here for a moment, will ya?"

Sayuri disappeared in a burst of flame, startling everyone when she appeared an instant later in front of her adult counterpart, separated only by the white fence.

"Sayuri's here," the grinning little foxgirl declared.

"What the hell was that?" Yuria made the obvious question, which, surprisingly enough, Tenten answered.

"_**Shunshin no Jutsu**_."

Even Naruto recognized the name. "Wha-wha-how?"

Little Sayuri shrugged. "Sayuri was doing it all the time when she was fighting with mama, so Sayuri wanted to do it, too. I put some fire in it, because I wike fire."

The other Sayuri could only laugh at that. "Ahahaha, no, no, I wasn't using any movement jutsu, little one. That was just reinforcement."

"Aaah…" Sayuri actually pondered for exactly 1.3 seconds. "But I wike this better. It has fire."

"Fair enough. So, do you have any questions you'd like to ask me?"

"Um!" An eager nod. "Sayuri has a quesshun!"

Even the adult Sayuri was a bit surprised. She had expected a "mugyuu?" or something. "Umm, okay…fire away."

Pun intended.

"Nee, nee, Sayuri…Sayuri's bweasts are weally big, ne?"

"OW!"

Naruto's attempt at a facepalm ended up smacking Yuria on the face.

Yuri and Yuriyo were holding back chuckles, and the adult Sayuri was actually blushing a little. Was she actually that blunt as a child?

"Uhh…well…while they're not as…umm…notable as certain members of our clan, yes, I could say I'm proud of my bust. Why do you ask?"

Sayuri's tails wagged excitedly.

"Nee, nee, did you get onii-chan to squishy squishy puni-punii?"

Yuria felt Naruto burying his face in her hair. "Kill me now."

"Where's the fun in that?" His mate promptly answered, eliciting a groan from the embarrassed young lad.

"Haaa…most unfortunately, onii-chan died before my bust was available for squishy squishy puni-punii," Sayuri explained…but it seemed the words did not satisfy her little self.

"Mugyuu…oniiiii-chan! You pwomised!"

"Well, sorry for dying!"

"So, you promised." With a raised eyebrow, Yuria twisted her neck to interrogate her mate.

"Uhh…"

He did not need to look around to know he was getting similar looks from everybody else. Oh, well, Yuriyo was just amused by the whole thing, same as Kotonoha.

"…you would have done the same thing in my situation."

"I highly doubt it," Yuria argued.

"Speaking of which…"

All eyes moved to Kotonoha.

"Ah…" The swordswoman blushed a little. "…I-I…I am in no position to ask, but…"

Sayuri actually looked a bit embarrassed herself. "Of course. How rude of me. Your questions are more than welcome, too, Kotonoha."

Impeded from bowing properly, with Naruto leaning against her and all, Kotonoha only inclined her head. "My gratitude, Sayuri-sama."

"I wanted to ask…how did Naruto-sama pass away in your timeline?"

It was as if someone had taken a knife and dug it straight through Sayuri's heart. It was impossible not to recognize the very definition of pain on her otherwise lovely face. Dejectedly, the powerful quasi-goddess dropped her head; her eyes hiding behind a veil of golden threads.

"_**Kagai Kaiin **_reached only for the yin-part of my chakra…of my soul. To compensate for the lack of yang, it seized the souls of everybody within reach, transmuted them into Spirit-type chakra and mixed it with my own; adding more and more until my chakra naturally assimilated the foreign infusion and converted it into yang chakra compatible with Higashiyama Sayuri…a most inefficient process, which explains the tremendous amount of souls it demanded."

"Onii-chan's body was the boiling pot for this process, and it destroyed him from the inside."

"Can you imagine? My chakra was running through his system without control, together with his own and the chakra of dozens of different sources. No chakra system is built to handle that kind of strain. Even after it was over, he was left with a permanent imbalance: my yang chakra remained within his body, after all."

"Ever since that day, every single time onii-chan used chakra he moved a step closer to the grave, as his chakra system degraded further and further. Still, onii-chan, wonderful onii-chan that he is, fought until his body could not take it anymore."

Her teary eyes reached for Mayuri's. "He fought so hard to save you…even though he knew it would kill him."

"It was a combination of Chiyuri-nee's and Mayuri's powers which kept onii-chan alive for a little over ten years. But even they did nothing but delay the inevitable."

The uncomfortable silence that followed was filled with Sayuri's long sigh. Her body shuddered for a second, as if she were trying to shake off an uncomfortable feeling. When she was done, she was back to her collected self.

"Which brings me to the second reason I'm here."

Everybody listened.

"I came to this time with two purposes in mind. The first has been accomplished: avoiding the tragic demise of the Higashiyama Clan."

"The second is avoiding onii-chan's own tragic end."

"B-But, if Yuri-sama is not going to use her jutsu anymore…" Kotonoha boldly inquired, and Sayuri shook her head ominously.

"Unfortunately, even if he's not ravaged by Mother's _**Kagai Kaiin**_, my very presence in his body will eventually destroy his chakra system in the same way."

"The seal is meant to contain the existence known as Higashiyama Sayuri. The Fourth Hokage split my chakra in yin and yang, allowing the yang to roam freely within onii-chan's body while hoping the yin would be fully contained by the Death God's power."

"As you have noticed already, this is not true at all. Sayuri…well, the yin part of Sayuri, she can use her chakra freely. With diminished effects and a narrower scope, but she can use her chakra. This is because the Death God's seal is a conceptual technique."

"Conceptual?" Yuri asked.

"The main difference between gods and mortals is their multidimensionality. Gods observe the universe from a perspective far beyond our understanding. That's why even I, with all my power, cannot be counted as a divine entity: my awareness is limited to four dimensions."

"Shinigami-sama's seal contains the concept 'Higashiyama Sayuri' all the way to the eleventh dimension. I have no idea what this means; I can only repeat what Shinigami-sama himself told me. What I know is that, while that seal would prevent me from leaving onii-chan's body or even from returning to my own time, should I enter; it does not restrict my chakra in the same manner. And…well…my yin chakra is not very kind to onii-chan's body, at least not in its raw form."

"Sayuri, right now, lacks the skill and the self-control needed to 'dilute' her chakra into a form that is safe for onii-chan to use. My yang part has a similar problem: while it is not harmful to onii-chan by itself, it creates an imbalance because onii-chan himself favors yin chakra. However, I can see that my yang chakra has somehow 'contained' itself. It is only released when onii-chan is hurt, and it mostly explains onii-chan's superior healing ability."

"Bu-but!" The smaller Sayuri intervened, much to everybody's surprise. "Sayuri helped onii-chan! When he went splat! And when the Pwetty Beam made the fugly faces go boom!"

"IT WAS YOU!"

"Oh stuff it," Naruto easily dismissed Tenten's cry of outrage. "And you stop mentioning the 'splat' thing!"

"Mugyuu…"

"Yes, yes…" Sayuri actually stopped herself from reaching to pet her younger self's head. "…you may have helped him, but it will only harm him in the long run. Your chakra is not even suitable for regeneration anyway."

"That's why I'll train this little one here."

Silence.

"…eh?" There's no agreement on who said this. It might have been everyone…but Sayuri.

"Munii?"

…okay, and Yurine.

"Hawaa?"

There you go.

The Sayuri from another timeline giggled amusedly. "Who better to teach this little one how to use her powers? There's a limit to what Mother or Sayoko-san could teach her…and there's nobody else in this world who knows how to properly use _**Kakuton **_jutsu. I had to learn by trial and error myself."

"…it was…nasty."

"Besides, if onii-chan's going to rely on her chakra more and more in the near future, it's necessary to make sure it won't kill him or render him impotent or some other horrible, horrible tragedy."

"She has her priorities straight," Ayame murmured. Naruto was a blushing mess. Apparently he was aware of the concept of impotence.

"Can I ask…?"

"You can, Kotonoha."

"Thank you." A bow of her head. "I know Naruto-sama is not one to overly rely on Sayuri-sama's chakra to gain more power. Naruto-sama wants to prove his worth by his own means, using his own power."

"That's the way, my bro."

Naruto and Yuria exchanged smiles for a moment, and Naruto's heart began to beat faster.

Sayuri nodded. "I am aware of this. It is another of onii-chan's wonderful traits. However, as much as I hate to agree with Mayuri on this, some things are just inevitable." Her face hardened; the face of one who had fought and killed to survive. "Things are changing for you, fast."

"Both Shinkirou Kougon and Kuromiya Fubuki are extremely sensitive chakra sensors, the former more so than the latter."

Yuri was the only one who immediately understood what Sayuri was getting at.

"Oh gods…" The look of sincere alarm on her face was not very appealing to her lilies.

"Now that Sayuri's begun to externalize her chakra again, those two know I am here, in Konoha, and not in Higashiyama, where I would be safe. In that respect, things have not changed in this timeline. They will come, soon, and their intentions…well…"

"Wh-Why would they want to—" Yurisa began.

"Because they like the status quo," Sayuri declared. "Divine law states that there are two Kyuubi, one of them the Bodhisattva of Shinkirou. This has ensured a delicate balance between Celestial Kitsune and all others—no, between Celestials and Voids, for hundreds and hundreds of years. A third Kyuubi is a destabilizing factor for them, and they won't tolerate it."

"But it was Inari-sama who—" Yuri insisted.

"Inari-sama will not save your daughter!" Sayuri exclaimed. "The gods will only intervene if the clash of three Kyuubi escalates to a point where the world is under threat."

"So, we have to get ready. If only, we have the relief that they will not act personally until it becomes obvious there's no other way to get rid of me…well, her. Personal pride, plot convenience and all that."

"And also," Sayuri turned to Naruto. "If the little one is busy training with me, she will not bother onii-chan in his training."

The image of a certain haughty loli filled Naruto's mind, and he felt a strange but not unwelcome feeling of elation in his chest. Then the image switched to the same haughty loli tenderly and erotically sucking his fingers, and he felt like his heart wanted to burst through his ribcage.

The adult Sayuri clapped twice. "Alright, it's decided. We'll start tomorrow, first time in the morning." She smiled at the younger her. "You will become a strong Kyuubi who will protect onii-chan and everyone else, right?"

"Hai! Sayuri will do her best! And set the bad guys on fire!"

"That always works," Yuria agreed.

"Well, with that said…" The older Sayuri grinned as she spoke…and a strange tune filled the place. Naruto was quick to react.

"Wha—what's that?"

There were mixed reactions from the lilies. Most of them looked either defeated or exasperated. Yuriyo was plain horrified. Her mother actually looked excited.

"Oh gods, no…"

Sayuri, on the opposite side of the spectrum, was all smiles and excitement. "Ah! Waaaaai!"

Kotonoha had to strain herself to keep her perennial smile. "Oh…my." The twitch on her forehead was impossible to conceal, however.

"Wha…really, what's that music?" Naruto insisted.

"Karaoke time!" Sayuri declared gleefully as she got back on her feet. "Sing with me, Sayuri!"

"Waaaaai!"

"Sing?"

"Me too, me too!" Yuria was quick to join, eager to have some mindless fun and drive her relatives insane. The two Sayuris were quick to welcome their favorite nee-chan into their impromptu show. Like that, the odd trio of tall, shorty and midget began their song of infamy while dancing a haphazard can-can on both sides of the fence, at the same time an electric guitar joined the odd music with a just-as-odd riff.

"_I wanna burn this pwace._

_I wanna burn this pwace._

_Tell me mommy, what is out there I can burn?"_

Now even Naruto and Tenten were twitching. "Don't tell me…"

"Yeah," Ayame tiredly responded to Naruto's suspicion. The boy just groaned.

"It actually has complete lyrics."

"Gods I hate this fanfic," Ayame declared.

The adult Sayuri began to sing, her face radiant like it had not been in centuries. She was a child again.

"_Evwybody's hearts go doki-doki; ears go twitchy, kyun-kyun-kyun!_

_Eyes look awound, twitchy-twichy, and then there comes a weally big WHOOSH!_

_Evwybody runs, para-para, and it's nice, once again it's Suu-mmeh_

_No, it's not! It's so hot! Evwy-body! Huwwy, huwwy! CWOTHES AWAY!"_

Tenten's face was the very definition of "what the fuck." Yuriyo was seriously considering spearing her ears with her tails. Yurine was clapping along, her left breast bouncing against Naruto's overly stiff face.

What little Sayuri lacked in vocal technique she made up for with sheer enthusiasm.

"_Cwothes on fire unneeded, so why wear them? Evwything's better with no cwothes!_

_Sweaty, yucky, want some water? Ah, it just went poof an' smoke!_

_And now it's all smokey, nee-chan, kaa-chan, evwybody's go-ing cough-cough-cough!_

_Nobody knows what's going on, but they all know it was me!"_

Yuria and the alternate Sayuri joined the little nine-tails for the next part, leading to the chorus.

"_Let me show you what I just did, it's weally awe-shum!_

_That funny thing over there, I weally made it burn!_

_It's pwetty and nice, but now I think the best paht is,_

_that things get jumpy and evwyone goes wiiiiiiild!"_

Yurimi closed her eyes, as if it could make the whole thing go away.

"…The **Fire Song**."

"_I-don'-knooooow why you are wunning-it's juuuust my-house-that's-buhnin'!_

_Blazin', scohchin', smoldewin', glowin', flamin', wazin' to ashes!_

_Evwyooooone's just-too-loud, the houuuuuse's gonna-fall-down,_

_Droppin', plungin', tumblin', sinkin', collapsin' to the gwound!_

_And then the fiiiiire's just-gonna-gwow; it waaaaants to-burn-some-moar!_

_Flawin', kindlin', searin', meltin', broilin', gleamin', flashin'!_

_It ghwows and ghwooooows, consuming all; it's hot and it neveh sto-ops!_

_Twees burn, wocks burn, we burn, air burns: the fun just neveh ends!"_

* * *

More tense that he had felt in quite some time (and that's saying a lot), Naruto took in the forest around him. It was a scene he had gotten used to, having lived his entire life in Konoha, so it was not very often that he actually bothered to admire the sights which surrounded him.

Yuria was still sleeping like a log, as far as he knew. For someone so enthusiastic about training, she seemed quite attached to his bed sheets already. It had been a tricky ordeal to get off the bed without disturbing her rest: she was also abnormally clingy.

We could go on a long diatribe on Naruto's thoughts about sharing his bed with the small but voluptuous three-tails, but the word count is high enough as it is. Long story short, as much as it pained him (and terrified him), Naruto felt like he could get used to sharing the bed with Yuria.

But, why did he not wake her up, anyway? He had promised to help her train, and Uzumaki Naruto fulfills his promises.

Basically, he had a gut feeling. He felt it was not a good idea to introduce Yuria to Setsuna, yet. He could not really explain the feeling, but he went along with it.

Also, he felt like he needed some time away from the three tails. It was not that he disliked her, or felt uncomfortable around her; the very opposite. He was too comfortable around the pretty, spunky foxgirl, and it was making him feel things he just did not want to feel at the moment.

After carefully closing the bedroom door behind him, he was surprised to find breakfast already served on the table. Kotonoha greeted him with her perennial smile. Ayame had left early to meet with Teuchi.

It was a quick and silent breakfast, to make sure Yuria's sleep remained unbothered. He was not allowed to leave, however, until Kotonoha caught him in her warm and delightfully comfortable embrace. The boy almost fell asleep again, enraptured by the feel of his body resting against hers. It was truly the pinnacle of comfort.

"Be careful," she had whispered before (reluctantly?) letting go.

Naruto needed to relax. Setsuna could show up any time. He had absolutely no guarantee that the fox-loli would show up as promised, however. He could only believe. And he chose to believe.

Bending his knees to drop his body, Naruto decided to practice a bit before his little sensei arrived. He had a patch of grassless soil in front of him, and he rested his right hand there, acquainting himself with the rugged, grainy feel. Sending a bit of his chakra, he stuck the hand to the ground. That was the easy part. The days he spent mastering the tree-climbing exercise at Wave felt so far away…

Slowly, very slowly, he pulled the hand away, creating an uneven column of chakra between the two surfaces. He had to focus on the motion of chakra. Anything worked, as long as he did not stop it. He went for making the chakra rotate around an axis parallel to the ground. Once he had a proper, stable motion, he tested how easy (or how hard) it was to control the "structure." Waving his hand up and down, the chakra column grew and shrank accordingly. Of course, it got harder the further he raised his hand, as the chakra got "looser." He could solve this by adding more chakra, but then it would be harder to "compress" it and shrink the column.

He hoped it would be enough to please the Kitsune.

"I see you got the hang of it."

The column dispersed to inexistence the moment Naruto stiffened. He had actually skipped a beat there. And why was his heart beating so fast? Why…why, why, why?

"Ah, ah, it won't do if you lose control so easily."

His upper body shuddered for an unknown reason. The corners of his lips were twitching. What was this?

_Ah._

An answer. His answer.

He sighed mentally.

_Idiot._

He stood and turned to face her. Her sundress was light blue this time, and she had changed her ribbon to a cerulean one. He also noticed the white choker around her thin, elegant neck. It was not a training outfit, but neither was the one she had the first time, after all.

Regardless, she carried that slightly mocking (or was it teasing? No, that was Yuriyo) smirk he was already used to.

"Good morning, boya."

* * *

Higashiyama Sayuri had not slept. She had gotten used to a different kind of biorhythm in her future timeline. She needed little sleep, usually staying awake for months, or even years, before sleep claimed her. Of course, when she did sleep, she slept a lot. Her longest slumber had last seventeen months. She remembered waking up to find her Citadel Gehenna in the midst of a terrible succession war.

It was one of the most annoying afternoons in her long life.

It was an interesting night, the last one. After an hour or so of singing her lungs out (she couldn't believe she still remembered 'The Mugyuu Song'!), Naruto and his group (Ayame, Yuria and Kotonoha) retired for the night, not before getting a promise from the Matriarch to research the jutsu to reach the Shinigami's realm. Sayuri had also exchanged a few words with Ayame concerning Tenten's magical training.

After that, it was the turn for the ladies of Higashiyama to retire to their tents. She had lied to her mother, claiming she had made arrangements for the night. She spent the night by the river shore, gazing at the stars and waiting for the inevitable company.

She had entered Konohagakure right before sunrise, cloaked in an illusion strong enough to fool any human who was not a Genjutsu Master. She knew the Hokage would have been able to see her, but fortunately he did not make it a habit to patrol the streets of Konoha.

In a matter of minutes, she was standing before the bed, watching her most beloved's sleeping face. She scowled at Yuria's overly possessive hold on the boy, even as she stained his t-shirt with drool.

_Really, she doesn't even realize how fortunate she is._

Stopping herself from touching him, Sayuri entered his body and reached for the seal.

"Zzzzzzzzz….munya-munya-munya-munyaaaaa…."

She sweatdropped. It was a bit embarrassing, her younger self.

"Sayuri."

"Zzzzzzzz…..munya-munya-munyaaa…"

A roll of eyes. "…Sayuri."

"Zzzzzz…mugyuu…Ilyaaaa…Ahcher's your onii-chaaaan…zzzzzz…"

A twitching vein.

Whoosh.

"Munii?" The little Sayuri blinked, as she returned to the world of the awake. "Mohnin' mohnin'…mmm…it's hot…"

"Good morning, Sayuri." She was a nine-tails. She knew patience. The flaming Kitsune rubbed her eyes groggily.

"Ah?" Behind the cloak of fire that covered her, Sayuri recognized her older counterpart. "Ah, it's Sayuri. Hello, Sayuri."

"Hello to you, too."

Not even aware that she was combusting, the little Sayuri clumsily got on her feet.

"It's time to train, Sayuri," the other clarified.

"I'm hungwy."

"No, you're not!" Sayuri spat back. "You haven't used enough chakra to be hungry."

"Mugyuu…I want wamen."

"Ra—oh for the gods' sakes, let's just get started."

An instant later, the gloomy sewer was replaced with a barren wasteland, devoid of any and all signs of life. A simple and rather childish trail of pebbles marked the boundary of the prison, and the paper strip with the seal mark rested on a round rock slightly larger than the others. Little Sayuri stared up at the cloudless canopy of their training field.

"Waaaa…"

"This is a good setup to practice without risk to onii-chan's soul, you see. He probably won't even notice what we do here."

"…Sayuri doesn't get it."

A mild chuckle. "Of course you don't. Now, it won't be easy to teach you chakra control, so we'll tackle that slowly. It's better to start with something you can pick up more easily…hmm…"

Eighteen tails swayed from side to side at a sedate pace while the older Sayuri pondered how to begin. Finally, her ears perked and her lips stretched into a grin.

"Got it! I'm sure you'll love this jutsu: **Nuclear Energy Shadow Clones**!"

"Munii?" Sayuri did not seem very impressed. The future counterpart smirked dangerously.

"That **EXPLODE**!"

"Waaaaaaaai!"

Double wiggle-wiggle.

* * *

"Bye-bye, mistress! Have fun!"

Setsuna cursed under her breath as she departed that morning, leaving Tobi behind. Sometimes she wondered why she still kept him around.

Ah, right. She needed someone to take care of the chores. She could do it herself, true, and she actually enjoyed it, but she had a reputation to maintain. What kind of super villain took care of the dishes anyway?

Also, he was a frighteningly good stylist.

Right before dismissing the summons, Setsuna had told Naruto they would meet again "early in the morning of the day after tomorrow." Thinking about it, they never agreed on a place, so she was going to the place where they trained the last time. Also the place where they…

She walked a little faster, as if that could cool down her overheated cheeks. Was that steam coming out of her ears?

"Baka!" She hissed to herself as she walked. "Baka, baka, baka! Stop thinking about—why did I even—but it was goooood…" She caught herself drooling. "DAMN IT!"

She would have been very pissed if she had not found Naruto at their undetermined meeting spot. The boy did not disappoint her, though.

Her body moved by itself, hiding behind the nearest tree. A second later, she wondered just what the hell she was doing.

Naruto seemed lost in his thoughts. His back was to her, so she could only watch him standing there, in the middle of nowhere, thinking about gods-know-what.

_He's waiting for me._

It was obvious, but, still…

_He's waiting…for…for m-m-m-me-why the hell am I blushing!_

She almost hurt herself when she ran her nails down her cheeks in frustration.

Still, she waited to settle down properly. It would not do for her to show up all hot and bothered like that. After all, she was not only the superior race, but also the mistress. Naruto was the lowly student/minion; the tool for her to reach the World of DFC and destroy Kotonoha (not in that order).

While she checked for wrinkles on her dress, Naruto squatted down. It took a while, but what he was doing eventually became obvious to her.

"Heeeh…" She muttered to herself. "He actually went and did it."

She ignored the tiny smile that adorned her lips.

"_Aaah, look at him."_

"Hmm."

"_He's been working hard, hasn't he?"_

"…yeah."

"…_he's been working so hard…for you, you know."_

Setsuna dropped her blushing face a bit, unable to stop her smile. "…yeah."

"_That kind of dedication; that kind of loyalty…he barely knows you, you know. But still…"_

Her fingers gently slid on the rough trunk she was hiding behind, as if longing for the feel of another's skin.

"_He cares. He thinks of you as a friend. He made you feel good. Feel like a woman."_

"Hnnn…" Setsuna moaned quietly, remembering the touch of his rough fingers in her most intimate spot.

"_He accepts you the way you are…he's nothing like __**that man**__."_

"…he isn't, hmm?" Setsuna whispered wistfully. "Bu-but, he is…the Kyuubi…"

"_Oh, but think about what __**he **__can give you. Think about what he can do for you. Maybe, just maybe, he could…"_

"He-he's just a brat," Setsuna resisted. "I'm not a shotacon."

"_Oh, but this isn't really about what he lacks. It's about what he has. What he can share with you. What you have sought for so long…it's been so long…"_

"So long…" She squeezed her thighs together.

"_Do you want him, grandma?"_

"I…I…" She frowned. "Grandma?"

"…_oh crap."_

She turned, and her twitching eye met an overly familiar spiral mask; the lower half awfully close to her right ear.

"Uhh…umm…" Tobi wracked his mind for a moment. "Uh-uhh…ooooooooo…" An 'ominous' sound. "…I'm an illusion of your subconscious, ooooooo—oof!"

Even with his masked head in the clutches of Setsuna's right hand, the Uchiha trickster managed to get away before he was consumed by her Void Fire.

"Tha-tha-that-To-To-I'll KILL HIM!" A tsundere's furious hiss. "Aaaaargh!"

After forcefully shoving several thousand volts of electricity through her body, Kiyoura Setsuna found her center again. No time to lose anymore. Naruto was playing with his chakra construct.

Taking a deep breath, she walked out of hiding.

"I see you got the hang of it." She mentally complimented herself for her even tone, and managed not to smirk when the boy went awfully stiff and lost control of the construct.

How cute.

"Ah, ah, it won't do if you lose control so easily."

The boy's shoulders shuddered for a moment there, but he did not move. What was taking him so long? Did she scare him or something?

He did look surprised when he turned to face her. What was the big deal? In any case, she had manners she chose to follow.

"Good morning, boya."

There was a strange silence after that. Naruto would not respond to her greeting, choosing instead to just look stupid. Not that it was odd coming from him, she thought, but still, it was unusual for that moment.

What if—what if she had something on her face? Why is he blinking so much? Why is he—is he…?

Her lips parted a fraction of a millimeter.

_He is._

He was crying. A single tear from each eye, the one from the left a bit faster than the other one.

He was crying, but still, he smiled.

And she blushed.

"Wha-wha-why are you—"

His smile grew so he closed his eyes. He had never looked more childish. He had never looked more handsome.

"It's so good to see you, Mistress!" He bowed, and sniffed.

Setsuna's lips parted a bit more, and her cheeks became redder and redder. He called her…so spontaneously…and his smile…and…

"Ahh-uh…ahh…hmm…" In the end, she just pouted and turned her head aside.

"…idiot."

* * *

**CHAPTER 14 END**


	22. PreChapter 15 OMAKE: Wagtail?

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Sekirei, the manga by Sakurako Gokurakuin published in Square Enix's Young Gangan magazine. Neither do I own Gabriel Blessing (eww…) nor his crossover fanfic, "In Flight." This omake was written without his permission, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't care.

He better don't.

…ahem.

As usual, I do not own School Days (which is a property of Overflow) or Naruto (which I guess belongs to Weekly Shonen Jump). Higashiyama Sayuri and all the other original characters unique to Project Sayumayu (to which "Genkyouien" belongs to) are most definitely mine, though.

* * *

**Author's Note: **While this omake is most definitely not canon within the "Sayumayu" setting, you really, **really **should read it if you want the next chapter to make the slightest bit of sense in your heads.

You've been warned.

* * *

It was a peaceful day in the Higashiyama Shrine. As a traditional Japanese style residence, it had grown 'out' instead of 'up', and it consisted of a gathering of single- or double-room structures surrounding a vast yard of rich green…at least in springtime.

Uzumaki Naruto, favored of Higashiyama, tranquilly enjoyed a popsicle. It was not a particularly warm day; but that had not stopped Yurine from making the things.

Don't ask why Naruto is in the Higashiyama Shrine. Just…go with it.

"I kinda feel like I'm in an inn when I'm here. I mean, they have hot springs and everything…"

"Onii-chan!"

Naruto turned to the familiar pitter-patter sound of Sayuri's small feet as she approached.

Don't ask why she's out of the Death God's seal. Just roll with it. Nod once and smile or whatever.

That day she was wearing a variation of her usual white one-piece, this one having a large ribbon on its back. Speaking of her back, it was unusual that the little foxgirl didn't have her tails out. Unlike most Kitsune, who often only revealed a single tail out of convenience, Sayuri was always proud to display her full collection. Watching her tail-less was undeniably odd.

Also…

"Why are you wearing green contacts, Sayuri?"

"Nuuuh!" the blonde foxgirl shook her head fiercely. "Sayuri's not Sayuri! Sayuri's Kuu-chan today!"

"But, you just called yourself…" Naruto stopped himself. He had quickly learned that it was easier—and less likely to end up in immolation—to just play along. "…forget it. So, why the contacts, 'Kuu-chan'?"

"Mugii!" Some things just cannot be changed. "This is Kuu-chan's natuwal eye coloh!"

"…o-kaaaay…" Naruto hesitatingly accepted that answer. "So…what's up?"

"Lookie!"

Naruto finally turned his attention to what Sayuri held in her small hands. It was a little pot full of packed brown-black soil. A tiny sprout was an oasis of color in the middle of the barren earth.

The boy looked at his former tenant, wordlessly asking for an explanation.

"Sayuri—eh, not, that is, um, Kuu-chan's ghowing a pwant! 'Coz Miya said I should make somethin' pwod…pwodugh…pwoductive!"

Naruto could wholeheartedly agree with that, but…

"…who the hell is 'Miya'?"

"Ara, that would be me."

Katsura Kotonoha had abandoned her usual kimono garb for something more like what Yuria would wear…except for the color, that is. The shrine maiden clothes were rich in violet tones: light for the ankle-long hakama and darker for the two-hand-widths-wide sash with which she tied the wide-sleeved shirt.

Sayuri did not look happy for some reason.

"Muuu!" She vocally complained. "The bweast size's all whong!"

"Ahaha…" Kotonoha repeated, this time not so amiably. "I cannot make my bust smaller at will, 'Kuu-chan'."

"Well, you should," the pouting little foxgirl insisted as commandingly as a little girl can.

"Haa…"

The adult Kitsune sat to Naruto's right, allowing Sayuri to claim the opposite side. The gentle smile she offered Naruto was returned tenfold by the boy's sunny grin.

"So, um, Kotono—"

"Miya!"

Kotonoha stifled a chuckled at Sayuri's oddly channeled enthusiasm.

"Just go along with it, Naruto-kun."

"…haa." Shaking his head, Naruto willed himself to walk the less painful path. "Can you explain this…?" He made some exaggerated gestures with his arms. "This whole thing?"

"Ah! Ah!" the little girl to Naruto's left jumped on the tips of her toes. "Kuu can expwain! Kuu will expwain!"

Naruto sought the older Kitsune's advice. Kotonoha nodded, so Naruto offered his attention to Sayuri.

"Ne, ne, you see, the Authoh wants to explain how the next chapteh wohks!"

Naruto's pupils widened in realization.

"Ah, right, that unholy abomination he calls 'Chapter 15'."

"Um! Sayuri nodded in agreement—that kinda hurts, you know—. "So today I'm Kuu to bweak the Fouhth Wall!"

"You don't need to be this 'Kuu' to do that," Naruto muttered in monotone.

"He got the idea from Gabwiel Holy!"

"I have no idea who you're talking about, but I'm pretty sure that name's awfully wrong."

"Ahchangel Gabwiel!"

"You're not even trying, are you?"

"Takako-chan!"

"And off you go to places I will never follow you to."

"Maa, maa…" Kotonoha defused Naruto's rapidly growing frustration with her soothing voice. "It's just the author returning a kind gesture, Naruto-kun."

"That…really doesn't tell me anything," Naruto stated. "But I take it; it explains why Yurimi's wearing that?"

In front of the trio, Higashiyama Yurimi was engaged in combat practice, with, of all people, Higashiyama Yurine as her sparring partner. The young two-tails—whose tails remained hidden, in fact—was wearing what could only be described as men's clothes. She wore a rather badass-looking long black cloak and, for some reason, a black mask covered the bottom half of her face.

Noticing the three's attention, Yurimi turned her face away to conceal it from their view.

"P-Please don't look this way, Master. This is extremely embarrassing for me."

"How is it in any way more embarrassing than what you **always** do!"

"Hehe!" Sayuri giggled. "Onii-chan, nice tsukkomi~!"

"Don't giggle like you have nothing to do with it!"

"Alrighiiiight! Heeere I come~!"

"And why did Yurine-chan cut her hair, anyway…?" Naruto mumbled.

Yurimi gasped at her opponent's sudden declaration.

"No, wait, Yurine—"

"_**BEAR FIST!**_"

Four pairs of eyes followed Yurimi's impossibly-aerodynamic flight path, well beyond the boundaries of Higashi—.

"Ishumo Inn!"

—yama Shrine.

"Hawaa…" Yurine muttered after Yurimi disappeared beyond the tree line. "Yurine, might have gone a little too far…"

A cute little tongue poked out of between Yurine's lips, and she bumped the side of her head with her right hand's knuckles.

"Te-he~"

"'Te-he' MY ASS!" Naruto promptly exploded, jumping off his seating place by the edge of the inner courtyard. "And what's with that stupid attack name!"

"Bu—it's Musubi-san's special atta—"

"**IT'S JUST A PUNCH!**"

* * *

"Hawaa…" Yurine muttered with a pouty expression on her cute face. "Yurine too…"

She was looking at Yurimi, whose head currently rested on Naruto's lap.

"No way."

"Muu…Naruto-kyun's not fair…"

"I'm being extremely fair right now!"

"Hawaa…"

"Master…" Yurimi spoke while staring at Naruto's face from below. "This is highly inappropriate."

"It might just be the most appropriate thing we've ever done!"

"No, Master," Yurimi insisted. "I should be placed face-down, so I can give you proper servi—"

"Alright, no more words are coming out of that mouth in this omake."

"But, Mast—"

The two-tails was paralyzed by the firm, cold glare that struck her from above. The 'slave' subtly rubbed her thighs together. Her Master looked so dreamy when he actually commanded her.

"…yes, Master."

"So!" Naruto continued, hoping to get the discussion back on track. "Aren't we supposed to be explaining something…?"

"There's no hurry, no hurry!" a new yet familiar voice reached the seated group from a distance, as three more members of the Great Spirit Clan approached.

The Night Lily's, Higashiyama Yuriyo's, attire was as revealing as usual. This time she wore an awfully short purple Chinese dress with a V-cut that exposed her cleavage and the skin all the way and past her bellybutton. X-shaped strips of cloth connected both sides of the risqué outfit. The half-Void had tied her long black hair in a ponytail with a plain and thin purple ribbon.

Her twin sister, Yurina, wore a body-length black dress with a contrastingly tiny white underdress which revealed dangerous amounts of cleavage. A frilly black and white choker adorned her neck, and she also wore long brown boots with black stockings. Curiously, the Darling Lily had let her blonde hair loose that day, allowing it to cascade down in a way some would call elegantly.

Sayuri suddenly got on her feet, leaving her plant on the floor to plant her hands on her hips in a cutely defiant way.

"Whong, whong, whong, it's all whoooooong! Mugiiiii!"

"Wha-what…?" Naruto mumbled.

Sayuri pointed at Yuriyo. "You! You're not big enough! In evwy way that mattehs!"

"Hey!" Yuriyo complained, squeezing her moderately-sized breasts rather shamelessly. "That hurts! They have feelings, you know?"

"No, they don't," Naruto deadpanned.

The young Kyuubi then pointed at Yurina, scowling like an unhappy movie director.

"And you! You're no 'tsun' and all 'dere'!"

"I-I'm terribly sorry!" Yurina apologized with endearing honesty.

"Muu…" Sayuri mumbled to herself. "That's why I wanted Setsuna for this…"

"That would be wrong for completely different reasons!" Yuriyo retorted.

But Sayuri's criticism was not finished.

"And Mayuri's just whoooooooong! Mugiiiiiii!" the little girl chided with a shrill, stomping the wood underneath with her tiny left foot.

"I have to agree with you, but I feel our reasons are completely different…" Naruto moaned pitifully.

Mayuri was…she was…

…actually, it might be safer to just refrain from describing it.

Let's just say she was wearing clothes far more transparent and with way more chains and leather straps than a little girl should be ethically or legally allowed to wear.

"_Ah…"_

All eyes went to the normally inexpressive young Kitsune. Even after she decided to use words again, listening to her soft, throaty voice was almost a privilege.

"_I…forgot to put on underwear…"_

And Naruto felt a part of him; a beautiful, precious, oh so pure part of his soul, disappear forever.

It happened on a fairly regular basis ever since he met Sayuri.

* * *

"So, what can you tell me about this Gabriel whatever?" Naruto suddenly asked.

"And why does Naruto-kun want to know?" Kotonoha wondered.

"So I know who to blame for that," the boy grumbled, his left thumb pointing at Mayuri. The girl had seated formally on the wood floor just behind and to the left, and was currently deeply engaged in a round of intense staring. It was not that she did not that before—because she did, a lot-, but somehow that day's choice of wardrobe made things considerably more unsettling.

"Ara, well..." Kotonoha carefully chose her words. "He's a certain author the TYPE-MOON fandom loves to hate...or hate to love. We're not really sure anymore."

"...why am I not surprised I didn't understand half of that?"

"That's because onii-chan's human," the Green-Girl-for-a-day responded. "So the Power is weak in onii-chan."

"It almost worries me..." Naruto mused to himself. "How little I care..."

"But anyway!" The protagonist switched gears. "Now that I'm comfortable and in good company, shouldn't we explain whatever it is we have to explain?"

"Ah!" Sayuri gasped. "Sayuri can—"

"Anybody besides Sayuri?" Naruto interrupted. "Her voice gets annoying after a while."

"Mugyuu..."

"Then please allow me, if you will have me," Kotonoha offered.

Naruto nodded and smiled, which Kotonoha took as her cue.

"As it happens, that thing the author called 'Chapter 15' is absurdly huge."

"That's what she said."

"You're not making any sense, Yuriyo," Naruto knocked the interruption aside.

"It covers six full days of plot, but novels encompassing much longer periods of time have been written with less words. It's insane and speaks volumes of the author's limitations as a writer."

It hurts because it's true.

"In any case, the author has decided to split it in six parts."

"Huh?" Yurina intervened while she struggled to adjust her dangerously short underdress so that her panties wouldn't show. "I thought there would be seven..."

"I don't think the author has made a final decision on that," Kotonoha admitted. "Anyway, the issue is, the parts will not be set chronologically, but thematically."

"Huh?" The ever eloquent Naruto inquired.

"Instead of presenting a sequence of events consecutive in time, each part will focus on character development involving Naruto-kun and one of the characters original to the Sayumayu setting. For example, the first part will be about Naruto and Yuria, if I remember correctly."

"Hey, speaking of Yuria, where is she anyway?" Naruto pointed out.

"Mom and Yuria were both after the role of Musubi in this omake," Yuriyo explained. "They decided to leave it to Rock-Paper-Scissors."

"Mm-hmm?" Naruto urged the half-Void to continue.

"Mom used Rock...on Yuria's face."

"Hawaa..."

"Don't think you can dismiss anything and everything just by speaking cutely!"

"Ahaha~" Yurine gleefully giggled, placing her face between her hands. "Naruto-kyun called me cute~"

"No, I didn't!" Naruto retorted. "Do you even listen to anything I say!"

Naruto stared at Yurine for a moment before turning to Kotonoha.

"Do you think it's okay if I just pretend I didn't hear any of that?"

"I'm sure Yuria-sama would not mind."

"Great. So, anything else we have to say?"

"Hmm..." the busty swordswoman thought about it for a moment. "Well, I should also say that every scene will be numbered. That way, when the last part of the chapter is released, both the thematic and the chronological order of the scenes will be made completely clear."

Naruto nodded.

"That...sounds pointlessly complicated."

Most of the lilies nodded in agreement.

"The author likes complicated things like that," Kotonoha admitted.

"No, seriously," Naruto insisted. "I'm not even sure I got it right."

"The author believes the average reader is more intelligent than Naruto-kun."

"Hey!"

Yuriyo snorted.

"That's a hell of a lot of hope to have, if you ask me."

"Nobody asked you," Naruto immediately retorted.

A sudden clattering sound drew many pairs of eyes to the floor, where Sayuri's little potted plant was...shaking.

"What the—whoa!"

Female shrieking and squeaking ensued when the tiny plant Sayuri was looking after suddenly began to grow out of control, sprouting countless vines which captured most of the Higashiyama lilies and enveloped them in most indecent manners.

"Oi, oi, I didn't know this was that kind of story—gyah!"

"Ri-Riyo-nee-chan, this is too embarrassing—haun!"

"Hawawawawawa—!"

"No, no, stay away! This body belongs only to Master—wait. Master, by any chance, do you enjoy this kind of exhibition play—"

"Not listening!" Naruto promptly turned to Sayuri, who idly made the vines that dared approach her spontaneously combust. "Where the hell did you get that thing from!"

"Kuu found the seeds in Yurie-nee's woom!"

"Why would you take anything from that woman's bedroom!"

"Kuu got the soil over there."

Naruto turned his eyes in the direction Sayuri's finger pointed at, and gazed at the distant smoking crater where he was absolutely sure there had been a mountain just the day before.

"...alright, can somebody explain to me **why the hell I didn't notice that before!**"

"That's probably because you're stupid!"

Naruto glared at the scene of perversion unfolding just some steps away.

"Can't you even keep your mouth shut while you're being tentacle-raped, Yuriyo!"

"Um, Naruto-kun," Kotonoha spoke while she slashed away at the outgrowths that threatened to add her to the orgy. "Technically, they're vines, not tentacles—"

"**I DON'T CARE!**"

"Onii-chan, you need to welax."

"I'll relax when you explain to me why you would **blow a goddamn mountain up** to fill a tiny pot with soil!"

"Ah," Sayuri blurted. "Well..."

Naruto, Mayuri—who the plants did not approach for whatever reason—and Kotonoha watched silently how Sayuri wracked her brains out to remember just why she decided to do what she did.

Suddenly, the proverbial light bulb lit up...in Kotonoha's mind.

"I see!" She gasped in realization. "Because of all the organic matter she burned and piled together, that soil must be packed full with nutrients! That might also explain why it's growing so quickly."

"It doesn't explain why it's such a technici—ahn!" Yuriyo's comment was interrupted by a lusty moan.

Naruto stared at Kotonoha.

"Come on; I know I'm an idiot, but I even I can tell that's just retarded." He shook his head. "Besides, I thought we had agreed this is a horror plant from Yurie's bedroom."

He sighed.

"Whatever, let's just get rid of this."

An instant later, there were kunai in Naruto's hands.

"Ah!" Sayuri gasped in excitement. "Onii-chan has swords!"

The kunai were promptly flung over Naruto's shoulders in frustration.

"Alright, now you're just grasping at straws!" The exhausted boy complained. "First, they're not swords! They're not even remotely close to swords!"

"Mugyuu..."

"And second, I don't..." he paused. "...alright, so I **do** like swords! But the context of the joke was all wrong!"

"Mugyuu..." Sayuri actually looked embarrassed. "I'm sowwy..."

The only male resident of Higashiyama Shrine sighed again.

"It's...it's okay. Just...just leave the gardening to me from now on, okay?"

"Um!"

Naruto noted that Sayuri did not seem particularly disappointed at having to give up on this particular hobby.

"Oh, oh, ohhh!" Yuriyo's voice was strongly mixed with moans and laughter. "Damn it, Naruto, I might just dump you for this thing!"

Something fiery glowed in Naruto's irises.

"Alright, that's it: _**RAGE. ON.**_"

The battle that followed was as epic as it was pointless, so we'll just skip it and move on to the aftermath: a panting Naruto in the middle of a disaster zone, in the center of a circle of exhausted, collapsed Kitsune in not-fully-explainable states of undress.

"Phew!" Naruto wheezed, wiping the sweat off his forehead. "That was a surprisingly tough battle...and I didn't know the Pretty Beam could be used like that."

"He-heh~" Sayuri giggled with childish pride.

Naruto put the battlefield that once was a courtyard behind him. He walked towards Mayuri, who had never moved from her sitting place.

"Alright, now that this is done and over with, let's get you some proper clothes."

"_Ah..."_

The quiet, throaty voice of Higashiyama Mayuri suddenly had a huskiness it had never possessed before. It could barely be heard against the sound of dancing chains as she got back on her feet.

"_I...kinda like this..."_

And there it was again.

Existential trauma.

Naruto looked away from Mayuri, from the charred landscape and the pitiful forms of the fallen foxgirls. He looked up, at the cloudless sky.

It was a beautiful spring morning.

"...ne, Mayuri..." he spoke, and his voice expressed a mournful solemnity most unusual from him. "If I won the Holy Grail War, could I wish for a new soul...?"

* * *

_**OMAKE – End**_


	23. Lily of Many Petals, Setsuna Side

**Author's Note: **I was wrong! The first part belongs to Setsuna!

* * *

_**Naruto Genkyouien**_

_**- **__**ナルト**__**- **__**幻**__**脅**__**威宴**_

**Chapter Fifteen: Lily of Many Petals—Setsuna Side**

* * *

**Scene 1**

With a satisfied sigh, Naruto relinquished his control over the chakra pillar. He was all smiles as he stepped out of the river, having proved that he could perform Setsuna's exercise even on the water's surface, while he also stood on it. Setsuna was impressed, but she was not one to show it openly. Besides, she was still a little flustered.

"_Wha-wha-wha-why are you smiling like that?"_

_Naruto shrugged, his bright smile not faltering in the slightest._

"_Because you came. You really came."_

_The little Kitsune stiffened and turned away, hiding her flushed cheeks from the infuriatingly adorable brat. Did it really mean that much to him…that she was there?_

"_O-O-Of course I came, idiot." She argued with a pouty tone. "I promised, didn't I? I'm a Kitsune, you know."_

_She does not acknowledge her human part, it seems._

"_Yeah, you promised." Naruto's smile became more serene; a reflection of his gratitude rather than his elation. "Thank you, Setsuna."_

_The loli wanted to bury her face in her hands. Why, oh why was she blushing like a goddamned schoolgirl?_

"_I-I-I-It…it's…whatever. And it's 'mistress', boya."_

"_Of course, mistress."_

_She had to take a deep breath to hold back the nosebleed._

"See?" Naruto called for his teacher's attention. "Told ya I could do it on water, too."

"So-so I see…" Setsuna nodded, more to herself than to the boy approaching. She REALLY needed to settle down. "Good. I must say you pass with flying colors. It's not often I praise a puny brat like you, so be grateful."

In just a few hours of interaction, Naruto had already gained a deep grasp of Setsuna's language. He could appreciate the magnitude of her praise.

"Thank you, Kiyoura-sama," he responded with a slight joking tone.

"Hmph." She turned her back to Naruto, walking away as she spoke. "We have seven days, boya. Seven days to make up for the three weeks you wasted doing who-knows-what before we met."

Naruto would normally argue against that, but he really did not want to remember the time he "wasted" with Jiraiya. Then again, he learned the Summoning Technique, which allowed him to meet the Kitsune.

"How much is twenty-one divided by seven, boya?"

"Eh?" Surprised by the sudden math problem, Naruto winced while his gears worked. "It's…three, right? I think it's three. Nah, it's definitely three…right?"

Setsuna rolled her eyes. "Really, sometimes I hate myself…" She muttered. "Yes, Naruto, it's three."

"What this means is that, every day for the next seven days, we will spent three days within my _**Izanami**_. The alternate realm exists outside of the normal time flow, so that's not an issue. You will have some troubles at the end of every three-day cycle, but it's nothing a strong guy like you can't handle."

Somehow Naruto did not like the tone she used for that last sentence.

"When we're not inside the jutsu, you will continue working on the exercise."

"Eh?" A tilt of his head. "I thought I had already—"

"Don't be stupid, boy." She turned again, so they were facing each other. "Now you have to extend your chakra without a support surface. No ground, no tree, no water, nothing. Just projecting your chakra to the air."

"Oh…" A second of thinking. "…sounds tricky."

"Not really. Chakra is weightless, so you don't have to deal with torque. The issue is that you have to switch the way you've been doing it so far. Until now you have just released your chakra and controlled its motion, while you moved your arm to determine the length. The point of this new exercise is learning how to extend your chakra using only chakra control."

"So, to help you with that, I'll give you a hint." Setsuna's lips curved slightly upwards.

"Do you know the Eight Gates?" She asked, and she took a step closer. Naruto's brain was forced to do some serious work yet again.

"Ugh…rings a bell…" Scratch, scratch. "I'm sure there was a lengthy explanation at some point…just, where…ugh…uh?"

Naruto noticed Setsuna had a book in her hands (_where the hell did that come from?_), and the two on the cover…

"Eyebrows!" He pointed. "Fuzzy Eyebrows' crazy Taijutsu! The Gates! And then he kicked Gaara's ass!" His impetuous outburst faded… "And then…damn, I should stop by the hospital at some point."

"Right." Setsuna threw Volume 10 of the "Naruto" tankoubon away. "Those Gates. Well, right now we're only interested in one of them."

Quickly approaching him, Setsuna firmly placed her left hand on his left shoulder to prevent him from moving. Stepping around his frame, she reached for his back.

"The seventh Gate, known as the Wonder Gate."

Naruto shuddered when he felt two fingers poking him.

"Right here, at the tailbone."

"The function of the Eight Gates is to restrict the overall flow of chakra that can flow throughout your body. It is a very adaptable system, and one of the many self-imposed limiters every single person has. What they don't tell you is that these eight spots are also the places where your chakra will flow the easiest through."

"Didn't they make you hold a leaf on your forehead as a child, boya?"

Memories of Iruka-sensei quickly filled the blond's mind. "Yeah! Yes, that's…how did you know?"

Setsuna shrugged. "It's the most basic chakra control exercise." She stepped away from him one more time. "Do you know what part of the body is the hardest to channel chakra through?"

Wave Country.

"The feet!" Naruto answered with confidence, and Setsuna approved with a nod.

"Because it's the part of your body furthest from your center, and the part of your body where your pathways are the thinnest. Well, the Wonder Gate is the exact opposite. It's one of eight spots where your chakra control can be maximized."

"Not many take advantage of it, though. It is understandable: firing jutsu from your crotch is not precisely something people find acceptable."

Naruto suddenly got a very odd image of himself firing a Pretty Beam from between his legs, shouting "FOOOOOOOO!" at the top of his lungs.

"Now that's one thing I did not need to learn."

"Too bad." Setsuna was not remorseful in the slightest. "My point is; it should be easier to project your chakra from your tailbone than it is to do so from the palm of your hand."

Something clicked in Naruto's brain at that. Something he was told before…many, many chapters ago…

"Chakra, from there…you mean, like a—"

"_The truth is; our bodies' chakra system is underdeveloped and very inefficient; inferior to humans in every way. Our tails are a different story, however. There are more pathways in a single of our tails than in a human's entire body, and they are extremely well-developed. The only thing better would be if our tails were entirely made of chakra…which is the nine-tails' case, in fact."_

Yurimi's words. Chapter seven.

Setsuna smirked when she noticed the boy had figured it out.

"There's no point in me teaching you Kitsune Jutsu if you don't have a tail."

* * *

**Scene 13**

A threesome of two fox-women and one boy walked the less populous, more peaceful streets on the northwestern edge of Konohagakure.

"I'll get it by tomorrow, I swear!" Yuria's voice was very insistent and full of energy. "This is the last time I end up soaked like this!"

"Uhh…uh-huh," Naruto uttered while doing his very best not to look at the enticing jiggle of his mate's bosom. "That's the same thing you said yesterday."

"I swear, I'll do it!" Naruto gulped when Yuria pressed herself against his right side, enveloping his right arm with her left. "And when I do, you'll teach me your Shadow Clone jutsu, right?"

"Ugh…uhh…"

On Naruto's right, one Kiyoura Setsuna was quietly fuming at the scene, her pretty face reddening more and more by the second.

That stupid girl, acting as if she didn't know the effect she had on Naruto (she doesn't).

That stupid brat, getting all flustered and idiotic just because of those…ugly…meaty…things!

And their arms locked like that, like…like…all lovey-dovey and…she didn't…she couldn't…

Startled by the sudden direction her thoughts were taking, Setsuna shook her head.

Jealous? Of course not! This had nothing to do with jealousy! It was…it was…uhh…HONOR! That's right, it was about honor!

She was his teacher! His mistress! She should be his entire world!

He should be raptly listening to her words, not drooling over that muscle-head, big-breasted Lolita!

Oh, she would show him! She would make him regret not paying attention to her! She wasn't sure how yet, but she would show him! She couldn't get too violent on the Higashiyama bimbo: she did not want one of the Great Clans after her head, after all. Besides, Naruto would probably get all violent again, and then he would carry her away, bend her on his lap and…

Setsuna stopped walking for a moment, her gaze lost on oh-so-very-pleasant, nosebleed-inducing memories of her limp, sweaty body, dominated by stinging pleasure; her tiny tongue gleefully reaching for Naruto's finger coated in her sexual secretions.

_Tha…that doesn't sound so ba—UGH! Focus, Kiyoura Setsuna, focus!_

She hastened her pace just long enough to catch up to the other two.

_They didn't even notice me stopping back there!_

She glared at the couple.

_C'est la guerre!_

"So, yeah, the reinforcement thing's still a dead end, but I'm taking it easy on that side. Ah, also, I'm—"

Yuria did not finish the sentence. Naruto, also, shifted his attention from the femme clung to his right arm to the one who had now claimed his left. Setsuna's left hand now seized his elbow, while her right arm snaked around his arm so that their hands were also clasped together.

Setsuna mentally smirked at Naruto's attention, and very physically scowled at Yuria's. "What?"

"What?" Yuria spat back. "What do you mean, 'what'? What do you think you're doing?"

Setsuna angrily looked away. Tsundere protocols, activated. "It's…my prerogative as sensei."

Yuria's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Last time I checked, teacher-student relationships don't involve holding hands like that."

"Last time I checked, you didn't give a damn who the boy holds hands with."

Yuria held back an angry response. Setsuna was right: Yuria did not really care about Naruto, at least not in THAT way. Still…

…yes, it was matter of HONOR! Honor it is! Just because their relationship was the result of a mistake did not mean she would just let this suspicious loli make her move! Besides, Naruto's supposed to go to Yurimi!

Uzumaki Naruto belongs to the Higashiyama Lilies!

"Wha-whatever!" Yuria concluded. Then, she refocused on the object of the discussion. "Naruto!"

The three-tails accented her claim by burying Naruto's arm in the beckoning valley of her bosom. She might not be Yuriyo, but Yuria certainly knows her own assets.

Setsuna's eyes glowered with righteous loli fury. That bitch was going at it again!

"Boya!"

The four-tails followed Yuria's example, making a point by shoving Naruto's left arm against her…umm…chest.

This, of course, resulted in one very flustered young lad. He could get Yuria, but…Setsuna?

…no, thinking about it, he couldn't get Yuria, either.

"Umm…please don't hurt me?"

"NARUTO!"

"Okay, that voice's new."

After making sure there was not a third person pressing her chest against any part of his body, Naruto looked for the source of the call. It was not really a new voice, just one he had not heard in quite a while.

"Sakura-chan?"

In a collision course with Naruto's odd threesome walked another just as strange threesome…or appealing, depending on how you look at it.

Haruno Sakura walked in the company of her old best friend, Yamanaka Ino, who was accompanied by her newest friend and training partner, Higashiyama Yurina. The two blondes were getting along surprisingly well, considering their different personalities. Then again, it was hard for someone not to get along with the Darling Lily. Unlike Hinata, who was just pathologically shy, Yurina was malleable. A follower, not a leader. Even if discussing fashion tips with Ino did not really interest her, she could maintain a conversation for hours.

Of course, it was a relationship based on mutual benefit. Ino got a new training partner and companion for idle girl chat, and Yurina got a punching bag.

After their morning training, Ino had invited Yurina for lunch. In the way, they met Sakura; a girl with a mission.

"NARUTO!" The pink-haired kunoichi repeated before standing in front of the boy with an imposing, tense stance, hands on her hips. "Where have you been all this time? You-ah."

Setsuna (who had very quickly let go of the boy at the first sign of unnecessary company) returned the girl's stare. She remembered Sakura, as well as the other female blond. They were there that time…

"Ugh…" Setsuna felt her cheeks redden. _There's something seriously wrong with me._

"You are…" Sakura also remembered.

In another surprising bout of insight (he's getting more and more of those), Naruto also remembered.

"She's a friend!" He claimed, maybe a little too quickly.

Some distance behind, Ino sighed.

"Haa…do I even want to go there, Yurina-chan?"

Looking at the foxgirl, she was met by a distant, longing gaze, obviously not aimed at her.

"Onii-sama…"

Doki-doki. Waku-waku.

Ino sweatdropped. "This is too much…"

Sakura put aside her questions concerning Naruto's increasing female company.

"Anyway, what have you been doing all this time?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. That was an odd question.

"Umm…training? You know, for the finals?" He smiled confidently. "It's gonna be huge, I tell you!"

Setsuna held back a snort of amusement. _At least the brat's got confidence._

Sakura blinked. For a second there, she had actually forgotten that Naruto had also made it to the finals.

"Ah…ah, right."

Naruto made a face. "Somehow I feel I have been terribly insulted by that reaction," he deadpanned.

"Aaah, anyway!" Sakura is quite loud in this scene. "You have to come with me."

Massive blinking.

"Why?" The obvious question, poised by Naruto.

"To look for Sasuke-kun, of course!"

Silence. Several blinks here and there.

"Sasu…ah, right, there's a character by that name in this story, isn't there?"

Yes, there is.

Yuria chuckled. "Around your age, fellow teammate and unwilling rival? Yeah, rings a bell."

Naruto nodded. "Um, right, that guy. Cool guy. Kinda jerkish, though. Wonder what he's up to?"

"Hasn't even had a line, the guy," Yuria added. "Maybe something happened to his Voice Actor."

"Sugiyama-san? But he's such a nice guy," Setsuna added her two cents.

"Um. Let us offer a prayer for Sugiyama-san," Naruto decided.

Sakura's exasperation reached a peak when Naruto and his two companions clasped their hands together in prayer.

"Stop screwing around!"

"We're praying here!" Naruto and Yuria shouted back. Sakura paid no heed to that.

"Naruto, Sasuke-kun's been missing for weeks! He disappeared from the hospital! I've been looking for him everywhere; I don't think he's in Konoha!"

Naruto had a neutral expression on his face. It was the awareness that, a week before, he would have felt hurt by Sakura's overt preference towards the last Uchiha.

His eyes crossed paths with Yuria's.

"…huh. Who would have thought?"

Yuria, the only one close enough to catch those words, tilted her head in confusion. With a reassuring smile, Naruto dismissed them and refocused on Sakura.

"Kakashi told me he would be training Sasuke this month…the bastard. They're probably together somewhere."

"Eh? Really?"

Naruto shrugged. "Just sayin'."

Sakura was about to sigh in relief…when a sudden thought restored her unease.

"Bu-but!"

Behind Naruto and Yuria, Setsuna hid a smirk.

She could use this.

Pleased that there was nobody around skilled enough to notice, she sent her chakra towards the cherry-haired, capturing her within a subtle Enchantment.

"We-we have no proof of that! We don't really know if they're together! Naruto, what if—"

Sakura stopped herself. Unlike Naruto, she was stressed with the whole Orochimaru ordeal. More specifically, his threat before departing.

"_Sasuke-kun will seek me…to seek power…kukukukuku…"_

Something like that.

"What if what?" Naruto inquired. He liked Sakura, really, but he did not need this at the moment. It only reminded him that Kakashi had chosen to train Sasuke and not him. Sakura's reluctance to justify her nerves did not help matters.

"Umm…no…nothing, it's nothing!" Naruto stiffened when Sakura took the hand Setsuna had released. "Let's go!"

"Where?" Naruto insisted, pulling away. Setsuna found the situation more and more amusing, all the while tinkering with Sakura's emotions.

"To find Sasuke-kun!"

"I'm telling you, Sasuke's fine!" Naruto retaliated, pulling away the insistent hand. "He's training! And I have stuff to do!"

Setsuna pulled the obnoxious anger string.

"Like what?" Sakura returned her hands to her hips.

"Like training!" Naruto raised his voice in frustration. "What I've been doing all this time!"

And hanging out with foxgirls, but that's another matter.

"Oh, that's not important; you can do that later!"

"Not important!" Naruto was outraged. "I need to become even stronger to beat that Neji!"

Setsuna's eyes gleamed. There it was: her chance.

She could see it, clearly, in Sakura's mind. Even if the pink-haired girl acknowledged Naruto's growth as a ninja, she still did not believe he could defeat Hyuuga Neji. Apparently, she had been vastly impressed and intimidated by the Hyuuga genius.

Setsuna really had to hold back on a lot of chuckling. It was just too easy.

Take that thought, bring it to the forefront, and expand it. Then, let the girl shape it into words. It was so subtle it might not even deserve to be called "manipulation."

"Ah, come on, like that's gonna make a difference!"

"Fufufu," managed to escape from Setsuna's lips.

Too easy.

The others were caught in stunned silence. Even Ino, who actually agreed with Sakura on Naruto's chances against Neji, would know better than to voice such thoughts.

"What the hell, Sakura?" She mouthed almost voicelessly.

Yurina's hands had gone to her mouth, as if she had said the damning words. As if Kitsune were born to be mirrors of human emotion, Yuria was holding herself as if she had been the object of Sakura's words.

In a way, she was. Kitsune are proud youkai, after all.

Sakura, well, she knew she had screwed up the moment the words came out. The uncomfortable silence only confirmed the heavy, bitter feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Like the little Bambi staring up at the mouth of a shotgun, Sakura sought out Naruto's eyes.

"Na-Naru—"

Sakura felt a pain she was awfully used to, as Naruto walked past her without saying a word.

This pain, Sasuke had inflicted on her dozens of times.

Naruto had just rejected her. Dismissed her. Ignored her. And it was her fault.

This was not something Naruto could just laugh away like he always did.

"Na-Naruto, I'm so—"

Naruto reached the rooftops even before Sakura finished turning her body to call him out. He departed at an impressive speed, leaving a group of five females on the street.

"Onii-sama…" Yurina longingly watched at his departing form, staring in the same direction long before he left her sight. His body language had spoken pages to her. She had seen it all: the shock, the denial, the realization, the acceptance and the final disappointment.

Yurina is slow to anger. Sakura's actions did not reach that dangerous threshold. She could only stare at Sakura with the sternest disapproval.

Setsuna took a deep breath. It was her turn in this scene. This was when she scolded the insolent pink-head for hurting Naruto's feelings. It would have been better if Naruto had stayed a bit longer, to witness how she stood up for him, but beggars can't be choosers.

_Alright, then, let's do—_

This is the scene of interrupted lines.

Sakura was pretty much a mess in her mind.

_What was I thinking? Wh-why did I say that?_

It was not a lie –she really couldn't see what Naruto could pull off against the Hyuuga–, but she would have never said such a thing to Naruto's face.

Only, well, she just did.

_Oh, he really, he was…_

She had seen everything Yurina had seen, too. She had disappointed him.

_I'm his teammate! Wha-what…I-I have to apologi—_

Sakura's mind was a mess, and a certain someone was very eager to mess up her body, too.

Harshly pulled by the front of her clothes, she found herself staring at the very angry eyes of one Higashiyama Yuria.

"Ah, Saku-!"

Ino had intended to intervene, but a sharp glare from the three-tails was enough to root her on the spot. Yuria and Yurina exchanged glances before the former returned her focus to Sakura. Yurina gently took Ino's arm. When the blond kunoichi looked at her, she raised her index to her lips, asking for silence.

Setsuna was shooting daggers at Yuria. The bitch stole her plan!

"You…" Yuria quietly growled. "The only reason I don't slap you is because I'm not sure I can control my strength right now."

Sakura tried to back away, but Yuria only pulled her closer, their noses almost touching.

"Who the hell are you, anyway?" The menacing Kitsune wondered out loud. Sakura wanted to ask the exact same thing.

"Umm…uhh…"

Given the girl's reluctance to utter anything other than meaningless monosyllables, Yuria turned to Ino, raising an eyebrow in inquiry.

"Umm…Haruno Sakura, my friend and Naruto's teammate."

Yuria's grip tightened.

"Is that some sort of joke?"

Ino took a step back. She really did not want to be the object of Yuria's attention any longer. Her eyes were scary.

"He is training," Yuria spoke to Sakura. "Training! Training hard! He's bearing with this annoying loli—"

"Oi," The annoying loli retorted.

"—to become stronger! He's giving it his all, like he had never done before!"

So far Yuria had only used a single hand. When Sakura tried using chakra to pull herself away from Yuria, the foxgirl clutched her with her second hand. Not that she really needed it; she was just making a point.

"He will fight that genius boy or whatever. And he WILL win! Not because he has to prove himself to YOU, or to ANYBODY ELSE!"

"He will win because he WANTS to. Because he CAN!"

Sakura was roughly shaken on each capitalized word.

"To win, he needs to train. He doesn't need 'teammates' like you."

Sakura complained like a kicked puppy when Yuria harshly pushed her away. The three-tails turned to Setsuna.

"He can win, right?"

Setsuna snorted. She does that a lot. "Of course."

Yuria nodded. "I'll go look for him. See you tomorrow or whenever."

"Yes, yes, get the hell out, you sassy bitch. _Va-t'en!_"

"And what the hell did I do now?"

"Just go!" Setsuna barked.

"Ok, ok, sheesh! To the roofs we go!"

With that, Yuria departed in the same direction Naruto had left just before. Sakura did not respond to Yuria mostly because she was still trying to understand why she did such a stupid thing.

"The boob freak has a point," Setsuna intervened, staring Sakura down like the insect (Setsuna thought) she was. "Naruto has no time for you anymore. He has things to do, and if you get in the way, that girl will give you a world of hurt."

She pulled a loose lock of hair back.

"And I'll be right behind her."

The small four-tails released a deep, noisy sigh.

"See what you did now? He was supposed to buy me lunch. I should beat the daylights out of you just for that."

With that, Setsuna walked with the obvious intention of departing the scene.

"Who-who are you people?"

Setsuna shrugged. Why should she bother responding to that girl's questions?

With three people gone, it was Yurina's turn to feel uncomfortable around the two human girls. She hoped they wouldn't ask many questions.

"Ino, what the hell just happen?" Sakura turned to her best friend for support. Her face was a mixture of confusion, anger and self-loathing.

"You screwed up; that happened."

Sakura groaned and fell on her knees, defeated. What the hell just happened, really?

Yurina did not have much to say, therefore…

"…hawaa…"

* * *

**Scene 20**

Yakushi Kabuto is a pretty damn good spy. He is also a pretty damn good killer.

It was his top notch stealth skills which he relied on that night, avoiding ANBU patrols to reach the appointed meeting spot. The amount and frequency of patrol had increased considerably since the partial destruction of the Hokage Monument, which was as much as mystery to him and his master as it was to the people of Konoha. It was also an unexpected crutch in Orochimaru's plans, but it was not something that could not be dealt with.

He was to meet Orochimaru's as of yet nameless benefactor; a mysterious person seemingly interested in the Snake Sannin's research and ambitions. Needless to say, Kabuto was wary of the fact such a person even exists, and Orochimaru was not so stupid as to trust this nameless sponsor. Nevertheless, it could not be denied that her contributions to Orochimaru's research had been valuable. They traded in both information and jutsu, but she always did it via her odd assistant, the masked man known only as Tobi.

That's why he was hiding, both from Konoha's ninja and from the person who set up the meeting. It was time for the mysterious benefactor to reveal her face. However, it was not necessary for Orochimaru-sama to show up in person for something like this. After keeping her identity secret for so long, it was only fair. And he was not only to simply show up without taking a good look first.

"Are you going to come out already or are you intending to slither around some more?"

Narrowing his gaze, he emerged from the foliage he had used as cover. A very odd place had been chosen for the meeting: the small patch of forest between the Hokage's tower and the mountain. Due to the mysterious beam cannot attack on the monument; tremendously large boulders stained the otherwise immaculate greenery. While it was a good, secluded place, it was still too close to the tower and the academy for Kabuto to be comfortable.

It was as if…he had been tested. This person wanted to see if he could actually make it past the security on the first place.

Concealing his dark emotions the way he was used to, Kabuto met Orochimaru's secret helper.

"I am Doctor S."

Kabuto blinked. "O-kaaaaaaay…"

Setsuna—that is, the _infâme crapule_, Doctor S, was unfazed by Kabuto's reaction. She was annoyed for a different reason.

"I am to meet Orochimaru here, _vis-à-vis_. I have no time for henchmen."

"What proof do I have that you are the person you claim to be?" Kabuto challenged.

The Doctor snorted. "_Excusez-moi_! Is this what I get when I choose to reveal my magnificent self to you?" A shrug. "Very well. It is of no importance. If your master is not interested in what I can offer him, then who am I to insist? _Au revoir_."

"You must understand Orochimaru-sama's wariness," Kabuto conceded. "It is hard to believe that you are willing to offer a gift of such magnitude without asking for anything in return."

"Hmm…such lack of forethought, boy…you're not very smart, are you?"

Kabuto had to put some effort into keeping a straight face. Who was she to say such things? She's so fucking tiny!

"First, just because I did not ask for anything does not mean I will not get anything."

Kabuto was unusually wary. What could that possibly mean?

"And second, that trust you put in your master will be the end of you one day. Now, will the real slim snakey please stand up?"

"Excuse me—!"

Kabuto was startled when lightning crackled from the Doctor's thin fingers, aimed at a point far away from Kabuto's position.

The hissing sound that echoed from within the shadows chilled Kabuto to the core. Was it really…?

A tremendously big snake emerged from the shadows, slithering past Kabuto and stopping halfway towards the armored loli. Raising its head to the sky, the serpent opened its mouth, allowing its passenger to emerge in an upright position. Calmly stepping out of his unconventional transportation, Orochimaru presented himself before Setsuna.

"That was an excellent display of seal-less Raiton." He made a courteous, albeit playful, bow. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you, milady."

"I am Doctor S."

"…I…already know that."

"Of course. I only wanted to say it again."

"…very well." Orochimaru and his minion exchanged glances. Kabuto was still freaked out that his master was actually there. Did this mean he was not trusted?

"My dear Doctor, allow me to thank you for your most recent scroll. To have Kimimaro in fighting condition is truly a marvelous accomplishment. It is not every day I have the opportunity to meet a mind of such brilliance."

"Spare me the praise. It is a simple matter of experience."

Of course, if Orochimaru were as old as Setsuna, he would probably know far more than she does.

"Is that so? Then I am not wrong to think you are youkai?"

Setsuna frowned, and Kabuto looked alarmed. A youkai!

"And that Raiton just now was not seal-less ninjutsu." Orochimaru's "innocent" expression had changed into the gaze of a skilled mastermind thoroughly dissecting his opponent's secrets. "If I had to guess among the youkai races capable of harnessing lightning, I would say…a Lightning Kitsune, I beckon? To meet one able to channel jutsu without using her tails…truly a marvelous specimen!"

Setsuna narrowed her gaze. This man was good. Frighteningly good. However, it was of no consequence.

"It is of no consequence."

Well, there you go.

"I am grateful for your notes on wide-area seal arrays. They have been most useful."

"I'm glad to know that." Orochimaru kept his graceful ploy. "Now, may I inquire what the illustrious doctor gains from my plans in Konoha?"

Kabuto blinked. Was that it?

"You may not."

The legendary ninja chuckled. "Kukukuku…fair enough. Very well, I'm here, and I'm listening." His smile gained a predatory quality. "I do not wish to be disappointed."

Setsuna did not react, but she was wary. Her association with Orochimaru would end very soon; it was not good to draw his ire. Even if she believed he would not start a fight in the middle of Konoha, she could not really rely on that.

"Very well. You wish to know about the Sharingan…about the Uchiha Clan."

With the insolence only Kiyoura Setsuna can pull off in front of Orochimaru, she turned her back to the two ninja and walked over to one of the fallen pieces of the mountain to use it as a support for her back.

"It is a long story, make yourselves comfortable."

When she realized they two would not move from their respective places, she shrugged and moved on to the main point of the meeting.

"It all started around 150 years ago, with a human, Itou Makoto…"

* * *

**Scene 23**

"Gaaaaaaaah!" Naruto cried in pain and rolled on the grass the moment they left the alternate world of _**Izanami**_. Setsuna simply rolled her eyes at the boy's antics.

"Don't be such a wuss, boya. It's unsightly."

"It friggin' HURTS!"

Setsuna continued her light stretches, uncaring of the boys suffering. "By the way, I'll go to your place tomorrow, Naruto."

"Huh?"

"The textbooks you promised to show me."

"Ah. Sure."

"Good. Now, you know the drill: rest for 10 minutes and then move on to the chakra exercises."

"Ye-yes, mistress."

It was another demanding morning for Uzumaki Naruto. He had four days before the day of the finals, so he was doing his best. While the development of the chakra tail was going along nicely, he still had no idea what to do with it. His Taijutsu skill had not really improved substantially, but it was hard not to feel confidence with the way Setsuna worked him out every morning. Three-day sessions of doing almost nothing but dodging Setsuna's incredibly fast attacks definitely had to help him somehow.

That morning, however, Setsuna interrupted Naruto's exercise for what she called "Soft Taijutsu Practice." It was simply image training: a simulated performance in which the two followed the motions of a melee fight in slow motion so that Setsuna could teach him specific moves and correct flaws in his combat methods.

"You know, Naruto," Setsuna spoke as she reached for his head with a slow high kick. Naruto slowly kneeled down to evade, and Setsuna just as slowly spun away before he could slowly strike at her support leg. "Jyuuken's strength lies in its ability to inflict internal damage with a touch. That's why you have to make sure your opponent can't touch you with the tips of his fingers or his open palm."

Naruto weaved through a series of Setsuna's kicks.

"While I believe you will be able to at least match the Hyuuga's speed by the end of this training, there are circumstances that may make dodging his attacks unviable. Therefore, learning how to properly parry Jyuuken strikes must also be considered part of your training."

Raising the speed a bit, Setsuna got into Naruto's defense, using her left arm and her body turned sideward to conceal a palm strike with her right hand. Naruto managed to catch it in the last moment.

"Wrong. Grabbing his hand restrains your avenues of attack as much as his. Against a Jyuuken specialist, grabbing puts you at a disadvantage, and not just because you lose a hand to hold him."

"I will have the tail," Naruto suggested.

"He will have his White Eyes," Setsuna countered. "Besides, if he's good enough, he might be able to expel chakra from whichever spot you grab. That would be bad. Now could you please let go of my hand?"

"Gah!" The blushing boy immediately did as told. "So-sorry."

"Whatever." Setsuna's own blush was weaker and easily dismissed. "Moving on."

She switched to swift pokes and palm strikes, pretending to be using the Gentle Fist. It was an odd switch for Naruto. Setsuna rarely used her hands to attack, after all, and it showed. While she was a good actress, it was obvious this was not a combat style she particularly favored or was even used to.

"A Strong Fist user would dodge, make some distance and strike with superior speed and strength. Unfortunately, you're not yet at a level where you could accomplish that."

Naruto dodged Setsuna's attacks, but she was easily pushing him back.

"If you want to block Jyuuken, you have to use the same gentleness they're so proud of. Attack me and I'll show you."

They quickly switched roles, with Naruto moving on the offensive. He went with a right straight, but Setsuna slid her right wrist under his own. As she raised her arm above her head, his arm moved along until his fist was aiming above her head in a fairly odd manner. Following with his left hand, the girl easily pushed it aside with left palm. They froze in that position, with Setsuna's right arm bent in front of and above her head; her elbow pointing at the blond.

"Blocking is not the appropriate term, I guess. You're not meeting the opponent's force with your own. It's 'redirection', Naruto. Jyuuken attacks are not blunt or harsh. They are the smooth flow of the fan in the noble's hands rather than the brutish stab of the gladiator's dagger. To defend against Jyuuken, you redirect it away from your body, without restraining your opponent or yourself. Don't move against the flow; move alongside and disrupt it. Look at our current situation, boya. Who do you think has the advantage in the follow up?"

"You're much faster than me."

"Ignoring that."

"Well…" He was getting a bit tired of keeping his arm up like that. "…you can get me with your right elbow and your left hand."

"Right. I could do this…" Setsuna slid her right arm underneath Naruto's and projected her elbow towards… "I get your neck, and I keep your right arm on hold."

"Bu-but!" Naruto intervened. "That's only for a moment there! If Jyuuken can hurt with a touch, then the moment I can bend my right arm I can reach your head!"

"Oh, so true, so true…" Setsuna chuckled. It was evil in an arousing manner. "Then I guess I could do this."

The next thing Naruto saw was a beautiful leg grazing the tip of his nose. He was sure he lost a few epidermal layers there.

"The Hyuuga have their style so deeply ingrained in their minds that they almost never use kicks. They will sometimes use their arms even during moments when kicks would have worked better. In the same way, because they spend years training amongst their peers, they are far more accustomed to deal with thrusts and hand swipes than kicks."

"So, kicks are a good strategy against the Hyuuga…but a dangerous one. Obviously, after your kick there is a good chance they can disable your leg with a touch, so you have to be fast and careful."

A blushing Naruto nodded. "That's great and all, but…"

"What?"

"…you're flashing me everything, mistress."

"…slow training's over."

"Huh?"

The beatdown that followed will not be described for the sake of the author's ease of mind.

"Perverted brat! _Bien fait_!"

"How is it my fault…?" The unrecognizable mess that used to be Naruto grunted.

"My, my…don't you think that's a little too much, Setsuna-san?"

While Naruto's eyes brightened at the voice (and his body magically reconstructed), Setsuna's almost literally caught fire. Two sets of three tomoe spun wildly to greet the source of those words.

"YOU!"

Not-comedy lightning streaked out of Setsuna's right hand. There was a flicker of motion, and the flashing bolt dispersed harmlessly before it could touch a single fiber of Kotonoha's kimono.

"Hello to you too, Setsuna-san," the placidly smiling Kotonoha added, standing some distance away as if all was right in the world.

"What the hell was…?" Naruto blinked a few times. "How did she…?"

"_**Gyakujutsu**_," Setsuna hissed, even as she gathered more lightning chakra between her hands.

"Counter Jutsu…?"

"Now, now, it's not proper to reveal another's secret technique without permission, Setsuna-san." Walking over and past Setsuna, Kotonoha offered a hand to Naruto, who used it to get back on his feet.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, Naruto-sama."

"What are YOU doing here?" Setsuna's hateful stare had not changed in the slightest.

"Well, I had some free time, so I decided to bring some light snacks to the hardworking Naruto-sama and his sensei."

"Yay! Snacks!"

"Don't fuck with me, Kotonoha!" The tiny sensei shouted, releasing random bursts of lightning that fortunately did not get close to Kotonoha and Naruto. "You're planning something, I know it!"

"You think things too much sometimes, Setsuna-san," Kotonoha responded with a conciliating smile. "Like I said, I just bring snacks."

"Well, just where are those snacks of yours?" Setsuna taunted. "I certainly do not see them!"

"In the bag, of course."

"Urk."

Kotonoha rested her right cheek on her right hand. "You two said that at the same time, how cute."

"Not so happy anymore…" Naruto groaned. He was not looking forward to eating anything that came out of Kotonoha's leather bag.

"I can't believe you're still carrying that ridiculous thing."

"Now, now, Setsuna-san, this is no time to be jealous."

The loli laughed. "Jealous! Ha! Do you still have a brain, woman? Don't be ridiculous!"

Setsuna walk into Kotonoha's private space to face up her one true rival. Considering the difference in height and attitude, it was a rather amusing sight.

"You will have to let go, Kotonoha. Sooner or later."

"Are you giving me advice, Setsuna-san?"

What she got was a hateful glare from Naruto's teacher. "You're not worth my time as you are now."

"Hmm…"

Naruto only intervened when it became obvious that Setsuna was leaving.

"Wha-wait! Mistress Setsuna!"

Kotonoha raised an eyebrow. "You make him call you 'Mistress'? How absolutely adorable, ufufufufu."

Setsuna's furious expression was quickly complemented by the pink shade of embarrassment.

"S-S-S-Silence, you disgusting udder woman!"

That actually got to the normally imperturbable swordswoman. "U-Udder woman…"

"I'm leaving! I'll see you tomorrow, boy!"

"Wha-why? It's not even noon yet!" Naruto complained.

"You can train on your own the rest of the morning!" Setsuna barked back. "I won't stand another second in the presence of that twit and her abominable mammaries! _Répugnant_!"

"Still with the breast envy, Setsu—"

Kotonoha could not finish that sentence.

Naruto did not see his teacher move.

Faster that Naruto's trained eyes could follow, Setsuna closed the distance to Kotonoha. Next thing he saw, the small half-Kitsune had jumped until her waist was at the swordswoman's face level. It was a wide, midair roundhouse kick aimed at Kotonoha's face.

Setsuna's whole body glowed with a coat of lightning.

Kotonoha was able to see the attack. Her body could not keep up with it, though.

The kick sent the taller woman flying into the foliage. The sounds of multiple impacts revealed how many dozens of yards away she was blown.

But Setsuna was not done, oh no. Landing on her feet with no problems, she assumed a horse stance and gathered her might into a white ball of concentrated lightning chakra. Naruto did not need a doujutsu to tell that whatever was coming would be huge.

"Mistress, wai-"

"_**Raiton! Byakurai Mahou!**_"

It was precisely as the name described it: a demonic cannon of white lightning. Wide as Setsuna was tall, the massive lightning bolt vaporized the trees in its path until it exploded in a beautiful display of gargantuan white and gold sparks about a hundred yards away. In an instant, the thrilling scent of ozone filled the air, and a wave of wind and dust swallowed student and teacher altogether.

"Oh man, the ANBU are gonna have a field day with this."

"That woman…" Setsuna hissed, actually panting a little from the exertion. It was followed by a loud call. "The last time, Katsura! This is the last time!"

"The last time you interrupt MY student's training!"

"Mi-Mistress…"

Naruto was flattered for a second…then he remembered Kotonoha had just been blasted by a humongous lightning cannon.

"And the last time you make fun of my chest!"

And whatever respect Setsuna had garnered from the boy with the previous sentence died a shameful death. This was Kotonoha-san she had struck! Kotonoha!

"You're not worth my time, Katsura Kotonoha! Do you hear me? YOU'RE WORTHLESS! _Va-t'en!_"

When she turned to finally leave, she was met by Naruto's blue eyes. Needless to say, he did not look very happy.

"Think of what you're planning to do, boya. I'm NOT in the mood."

Naruto's gritted teeth and painfully clenched fists did not relent in the slightest.

"Try anything and I'll **break you**. You'll be licking my feet and begging to be allowed to bark in my presence. Step aside!"

Naruto's pupils narrowed at the same time his nostrils blared like a horse's, but he moved a step to his left. Nodding in approval, the small teacher walked past him.

"Good bo-ugh!"

Completely unexpected! Something smacked her face and made her stumble. After a second of white blurs in her sight, she noticed the cause: a whip of chakra attached to Naruto's tailbone.

"The tai—ugh!"

Busy as she was noticing Naruto's accomplishment, she did not see the fist until it rammed her gut, making her spit a glob of saliva and emptying her lungs. As her torso screamed in pain, her eyes blazed with terrible loli rage.

"Bastard!"

Her roundhouse left kick aimed at his temple was blocked by his own left leg, the two limbs making an almost perfect X. Naruto's leg fell fist; the heel aiming at Setsuna's face, but the fox-woman arched her body backwards to let the attack perturb the space in front of her.

"Why do you have to be…?" The two growled simultaneously as they regained proper footing. Setsuna's lightning-charged right fist would strike at the same time as Naruto's reinforced right straight.

"**Such a brat!**/**Such a bitch!**"

Setsuna's fist hit metal: the flat side of a douzuki. Naruto's was caught by the wrist.

"Maa, maa…" Kotonoha chuckled at a joke only she knew. "I know a bit of rough play between lovers is good from time to time, but don't you think you're taking it a bit too far, you two?"

If anything, Kotonoha sure knew how to push these two's buttons.

"L-L-L-Lo…Lo-Lo-L-L-Lo…" You could actually see the blood filling her skin from the neck up. "Lo…Lo…uuu…uuuuuuu-waaaaaagh! Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut uuuuup! Boobhead!"

"B-Boobhead…" Kotonoha muttered bitterly. "You know, I think I liked you more when you were quiet, Setsuna."

"K-Kotonoha-san!" Naruto's reaction does not even compare.

"But really, you two," The swordswoman easily took the role of admonisher. "Naruto-sama, do you really want to strike at your precious sensei?"

"Ugh…bu-but! She hurt you! With the kick and giant lightning thingy!"

"Ufufufu…" Kotonoha giggled at that, but quickly soothed the boy with her tender smile. "You fought for my sake. For that, you have my gratitude and appreciation. Let me give you a big hug later, ne?"

"Ah…" Naruto blushed a bit more, not minding Setsuna's laser glare. "Ahaha…"

Kotonoha's hugs were the best.

The breasts have absolutely nothing to do with it.

"I will admit the kick hurt a lot, but I'm almost insulted you'd think such an obvious jutsu could possibly harm me, Naruto-sama."

"Oh…uhh…sorry?"

"Apology accepted."

After exchanging one last smile, Kotonoha turned to her old acquaintance. "Setsuna-san, would you really lash like that at your beloved student?"

Cue more blushing. "Be-belo-guh! Be silent, Katsura!"

"On that note, I have not thanked you properly for taking over Naruto-sama's training. None of my specialties are really suitable for him, and there's little I could teach him in a week, so there was nothing I could do. Thank you very much, Setsuna."

"Hmph! Shows you the difference between us."

"Indeed."

Setsuna growled. She was not happy at all! "I-I don't need your gratitude, woman! And you!" She pointed at her student. "Don't act all stupid just because of her disgusting blobs!"

"Wha-wha-I'm not!"

"See you tomorrow, brat!"

Kotonoha stared at the spot Setsuna had occupied until she flickered away in a flash of electricity. "She ran away."

"Yeah," Naruto muttered bitterly.

"Fufu…" Calmly, Kotonoha sheathed her backsaw under her big obi. "She's become surprisingly impatient, Setsuna-san."

Looking at the tunnel Setsuna's jutsu blasted through the forest, Kotonoha shook her head.

"I guess we should move before the ninja arrive?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "I'm surprised they're not here yet."

Well, they're complete idiots after all.

* * *

**Scene 29**

"Heeh…boya, did you know there's a group in Konoha exclusively dedicated to guarding three spots in the sewers considered 'potential invasion entry points'?"

"Really? That's nasty."

Setsuna rolled her eyes. "It seems your ignorance doesn't surprise me anymore….actually, did it ever?"

Naruto made some random grunt before closing the door behind him.

The location was Naruto's bedroom. As promised some time ago, Naruto was showing Setsuna his academy books, to feed the fox-lady's strange interest in his village. Sprawled on her belly across the width of his bed, Setsuna's legs idly swung up and down while she read.

Orange juice was the best he had to offer, and that was what he offered.

"Oh, thank you." A smirk. "Surprisingly thoughtful of your part."

Naruto just rolled his eyes and sat on the edge of the bed, to Setsuna's right. He was so used to her rude remarks that he just did not care anymore.

Noticing the boy's bored expression, Setsuna decided it would be fine to throw him a bone.

"But I must say you got the hang of the Tail Technique fairly quickly, boy. I'm impressed."

"Aww, mistress is too kind. It's still not finished, you know."

"I know, but it's already good enough to try at least Kitsune Fire. I'll show you tomorrow and we'll see if you can pull it off."

"Really?" Naruto's eyes brightened at the perspective of a new (non-overly dangerous) jutsu. "Awesome! Thank you, mistress!"

"Hnn." Setsuna allowed herself a half-smile. She really enjoyed the stirring of her loins every time he called her "mistress."

"Haa…" Naruto allowed himself a moment of respite. He knew that Setsuna being busy reading was not an excuse for him to stop training. However, he took the liberty of leaning back until his body dropped on the bed next to his sensei.

Most fortunately (?), his inverted position relative to Setsuna meant that he could easily look up the skirt portion of her sundress…only to be reminded firsthand that Setsuna did not make it a habit to use underwear.

"Urk!"

"Um? What is it?" Setsuna turned her head to find Naruto turning his entire body to face away from her. "Naruto…?"

"I didn't see anything!"

He's never been very smooth.

It did not take Setsuna two seconds to figure out what happened.

"Naaaaaruuuuutoooooo…"

Lightning crackled over her hair.

"Wha-wha-wait a second!" Naruto backed away. "It's not my fault! You should wear underwear in the first place!"

"You should not look up my skirt!" The crackling electricity traveled down her left arm and rested on the open hand.

"It's not like I did it on purpose! It was just there! You damn exhibitionist!"

Setsuna's eyes glowed with righteous feminine fury. "Wha—what did you just—DIE!"

Naruto grunted with a constrained tone when the bolt of lightning fell upon him. Setsuna did not look very satisfied with this result.

"…boya."

"What…?" The blond growled and twitched oddly, waiting for the aftereffects of the attack to subside.

"…you could have dodged that."

Naruto shook his head like a soaked puppy. "I won't have you breaking apart my home, mistress."

"Hmm…" The smaller girl's expression became moody. "…tch. Boring."

Naruto gaped at his sensei as she went back to her reading. A sadist! She was really a sadist!

Crossing his arms, he pouted in protest. "I expected you to behave."

"I'm not a child you can force to stay quiet. And you peeked up my skirt," Setsuna declared, not taking her eyes off her read.

"I-I did not!" A blushing Naruto protested. "It was just…THERE!"

"Keep saying that to yourself, boya."

"Bu-bu-but…it's the truth!" Naruto was not very happy with this conversation. "Besides, it's not like I haven't seen it before."

It was a crude and childish counterattack…but it worked.

Slowly, very slowly, Setsuna turned her head to her right, looking for the insolent human boy. She could not hide the blush on her cheeks, so she did not even try. "…what did you say?"

Naruto pouted and looked away in just-as-childish defiance. "You heard me. I already know what's under your skirt, so there."

"So you're claiming I have no replay value."

"Huh?"

Setsuna rolled her eyes. "Moron."

"Don't call me names for no reason!"

"Oh, I have reasons. Lots of them."

A glare from the boy. "Now you're just asking for another spanking."

The lovely loli went awfully red for a moment there, but she quickly composed herself.

"H-Hah! That's your idea of a threat?" She blurted in a clearly mocking tone. "That was nothing but a stupid outburst. Now you know better than to try again…not that you could, being an immature human brat."

With one last snort, the mistress went back to her reading. "Now don't waste more of our time and get to—"

SMACK!

For some indescribable reason, the highly selective acoustics of Naruto's bedroom chose to echo that resounding smack for several tense seconds after the initial impact. Naruto, daring as ever, calmly crossed his arms in front of his chest and waited for his master's reaction.

It was interesting to him, just how long she took to prepare her reaction. He also had to commend himself and his teacher: before meeting Setsuna, he had never been that attentive to details.

That morning, he was completely aware of her twitching hands, her tense muscles and her trembling limps. She was fighting a losing battle…it was a shame, really.

Slowly, very slowly, Setsuna turned to face Naruto one more time. Her face spelled horrible murder. Naruto, however, was unfazed. He was far from an expert on women (who is?), but he was getting used to dealing with Setsuna.

"Ah, sorry, sorry, were you saying something?" Naruto asked in an utterly unapologetic tone. "I couldn't hear over the sound of my hand slapping your ass."

Setsuna's right eye twitched disturbingly. He was expecting the Sharingan to pop up any second now. This may be why he almost, ALMOST, failed to hear her faintly whispered word.

"…die."

"Hu—WHOA!"

With speed she generally saved for their most violent training sessions, Setsuna's right hand lashed at his throat. Naruto dodged and witnessed how her clawed hands dug into the headboard.

"MY BED! It's a new one, damn it!"

Setsuna roared.

What followed was the kind of scuffle seen in the backyards of elementary schools everywhere. Grabbing at whatever they could, the two struggled for domination over the other. Naruto had superior strength, but Setsuna had both flexibility and a fearsome pair of thighs.

"Y-You insolent-gyah!"

"Se-Setsu-OW! Y-You little!"

"Ha! Ho-how's that feel-wha! Wh-where are you rubbing? Boya!"

"Ah-ow-ow-OW! Hair! Hair! Stop it with the hair! Aaaaaaah!"

Yuria would have said it was reminiscent of two Sayuris chasing each other's tails…which, by the way, would be AWESOME to watch.

"Ah! Ge-get your filthy hands off my chest!"

"THERE'S NOTHING TO TOUCH THERE!"

"Wha—Narutoooooooooo!"

"Whoa-agh! Damn it, how can you be so strong and so frickin' tiny at the same time!"

"SILENCE! I'LL KILL YOU-gyah! Y-Y-Youuuuuuu-! Don't tickle me like that!"

"Anything's fair in love and war!"

"Gya-! Lo-lo-lo…lo-what the hell's love got to do with anything? As if I…could possibly…"

"I obviously meant war."

"Eh? Ah…a-aaaaaa-DON'T CONFUSE ME!"

"ARE YOU AN IDIOT?"

"NARUTOOOOOOOOOO!"

"SETSUNAAAAAAAAAAA!"

And the battle was on again. I'm sure the readers can make up for the lack of description in that last scene.

It was not something they would explicitly acknowledge, of course. That's why we call them "tsundere." Regardless, at some point, the angry scuffle became little more than a game. Maybe it was when Setsuna decide to use the pillows as a weapon. Maybe it was when Naruto decided to rely on tickling rather than grappling. At some point, the frowns became smiles, the sneers became smirks and the threats of bodily harm became hearty laughs and silly taunts.

"Think you're so hot, huh? Come here!"

"Like hell-wah! Don't break the pillows! Oraaa!"

"Kyah! Yo-you…stop that!"

"Oh, but that wouldn't be fun, would it? Wahahaha!"

"Ah! Ahn! Oh…gyaaaaa!"

Eventually, though, a winner was decided. It was Setsuna.

It ended with the small lady pining Naruto's arms on both sides of his head with her hands. Her body weight pinned Naruto's lower body to the bed. She was surprised to notice she had done quite the physical effort. She was breathing heavily, and she could feel a thin layer of perspiration coating her body. But she was smiling. It was the smile of the victor. It was also the smile of the cat that has trapped the innocent mouse under its paw. Unlike the innocent mouse, however, Naruto also had a tiny smirk of his own. She knew he would reverse the situation the moment she allowed him to.

They could see their own faces in the other's pupils. Their ragged breaths washed each other's faces. There was a strange…satisfaction, now that the game had reached this standstill. What was it, exactly? Naruto could not make anything of it.

Setsuna…Setsuna closed her eyes and shuddered. It was electric, this feeling.

"…Setsuna?"

There was no reaction other than a very quiet hum.

"…mistress?"

She opened her eyes, and captured Naruto's breath. Like the cobra that enraptures its prey with its hypnotizing gaze, Naruto was rendered unable to shift his pupils off Setsuna's red orbs.

A thin lock of black hair slid off the vixen's face and dropped until the tip caressed Naruto's right cheek.

Were her lips always this glossy?

"Say it again."

He was used to Setsuna's voice. It was usually quiet and flat, until she went into one of her usual angry outbursts. Why was it, then, that her voice just now had felt like touching a live wire?

His heart was suddenly beating painfully fast. It was scary. Was it something exclusive to Setsuna and Yurimi?

No…in his dream, Yuria, too, had pulled it off…do all women have this terrifying power behind their low tones?

"Wha…huh?"

"Say it again," she repeated in THAT tone.

"Wha…?"

"Call me mistress."

Naruto was still far from understanding fetishes (he's far from many things, it seems), but at that moment Setsuna could have told him to kiss Sasuke and he would have actually considered it.

"…mi…" He stopped for a moment. That came out a bit squeaky. After relaxing his expression and taking a few breaths, he tried again. This time, far more smoothly.

"…mistress."

"Hmm…" Setsuna closed her eyes and arched her back, as if thoroughly savoring the word. Naruto followed her muscles as they tensed and relaxed from head to toe.

"Haaa…" After reopening her eyes with a blissful sigh, Setsuna dropped her face half an inch closer to her student's.

"Say it again…" A desperate whisper.

"Mistress." Naruto was an obedient student…sorta.

"Again…"

"Mistress…" He, too, dropped his voice to a whisper. There was no point in being loud when she was so close.

"Again…"

"Mistress…"

"Again…" Setsuna was pleading by this point.

"My…mister—"

Unwilling to hold back any more, she captured those impudent lips from which that deliciously honeyed word came from. Unwilling to hold back any more, she kissed him with the intensity of decades of suppressed desire.

It is curious, how the term "adult kiss" itself sounds so very childish. It sounds like the kind of term pre-teenage girls would come up with…or not. Going with "adult kiss," then, Naruto has had his share of those. They're Yurimi's trademark, after all. Ayame's were adult in intention but immature in execution (this is not due to lack of experience, but due to sheer desperation).

Setsuna? Setsuna was raping him with her tongue.

Yurimi was passionate. Setsuna…Naruto was not sure what Setsuna was, but it was dangerous. With an intensity that stunned him, the small Kitsune struck and pretty much shoved her tongue in his mouth, moving it as if she intended to sterilize his tonsils. Her body, too: she mashed it against his frame as if she wanted to merge with him.

He was stunned for a short moment between her initial insertion and the point when she captured his lower lip between her own and the underside of her tongue (that takes some serious talent). Then he lost it.

He would later blame the adrenaline of the earlier scuffle. Because that was so NOT Naruto it was terrifying.

"Hmmnng!" The two moaned in unison: Setsuna, by virtue of the boy violently pulling his arms away from her admittedly-weak hold to grab her waist and the back of her head and deny her any chances of letting go. Naruto did it because Setsuna was doing amazing things with her tongue. She moved it so frickin' fast!

Realizing it was about time for him to do something about this kissing situation, Naruto hurriedly began to reciprocate. This was no time to take small steps; Setsuna clearly was not one to wait for him to build up his intensity.

In war, sometimes a straightforward frontal attack yields the best results.

In this case, the adrenaline really helped substantially. Without it, he probably would have put too much thought into how he moved his tongue. With his lack of experience, that would have likely yielded poor results. As it was, Naruto went for the same animalistic aggressiveness Setsuna was pouring into her kiss, and the demanding vixen apparently approved.

"Hnnn…haa…unf-unngh…" Setsuna's quiet moans mixed with the sloppy slurping sounds of their exchange. Naruto's mouth quickly filled with saliva, which the dancing tongues stirred around carelessly. Naruto pushed the back of Setsuna's head, strengthening the lip lock before using his tongue to forcefully shove a glob of the liquid into her mouth.

"Hnnnn!" Setsuna welcomed this offense, and her tongue greedily scooped the intrusion, rewarding the boy by allowing his tongue into her mouth cavity. Their tongues played some more, and they played rough, hooking their tips and attempting a slippery tug-of-war, failing, and then trying again.

"Mmm-mmm-gah-ah-aaaah…" Setsuna pulled back when the rubbing of her groin against Naruto's elicited a loud moan out of her. Even with his mental functions hampered by the whole situation, Naruto could understand.

Setsuna was not wearing underwear, after all.

He snarled, and the odd sound caught the girl's attention.

The nigh-sadistic grin on his boyish features made her skip a beat.

"Gyah!"

He pulled!

With his right hand, the one he had placed on the back of her head! He pulled her hair until the vestiges of tears gathered on the corner of her eyes! He pulled until her arms left the mattress; until her lower back screamed in complaint!

The pain…it was good!

"Ah…aaah…wah!" Like a spring, Setsuna's body was shot forward when he let go. She reacted quickly enough to support herself with her hands, and her eyes again met Naruto's disturbing expression.

"Ha-haan…" Her hips shuddered when she felt his right hand on the soft fabric of her sundress. The two hands traveled down to her rump and squeezed.

"Na-Naru—"

"Mistress."

The word flicked a switched within her. With renewed hunger, Setsuna leaned down and resumed their wild kissing, just as the blond expected.

"Hnn-ungh!" With a grunt, Naruto roughly pulled up the skirt portion of Setsuna's dress, shoving it in the space between their bellies and baring the lower half of the fox-woman's body. Not wasting a second, he let his hands fall on her buttocks, hard.

"Hnnnnnn!" Setsuna's cry was muted by their kiss. That delicious stinging feeling, again!

Her eyes, rendered wide open by Naruto's latest aggression, found that the boy's were also open.

Those blue eyes of his, they were smirking. She felt his lips twisting upwards and saw his pupils shine with the glee of a successful prank. They had traded places, somehow! She was the little mouse, and this mischievous cat would play with her until it killed her!

Naruto's hands squeezed as if he expected juice to gush out of her pores, and he pushed her down to stimulate her now-bare groin.

"Hnnnnn-gaaaaagh!"

Her world made a turn, literally. Next thing she knew, Naruto was on top of her, and her back was on the bed. It was now he who restrained her. His hands were clasped around her tiny wrists, and his weight fell on her abdomen in an uncomfortable manner.

Her body was shuddering. She had been awfully close to orgasm just there!

The boy lowered his face until their noses were touching.

"Did you like that…mistress?" He spoke in what was obviously a mocking tone, and Setsuna's eyes gleamed with excitement.

Yes! This was it! This was what she so painfully wished for! This savagery, this roughness, this violence! She was no crystal doll! She did not need any tenderness! Her body was bursting with lust! On the bed, she only wished for lust in return! Save the love for better times! The bed was for relentless passion and the fierce, lewd confrontation! Sex is a battle for prevalence!

Fight me, human boy! If you can, fight me unlike anybody else before! Males deemed more attractive failed at grasping this simple concept; this already makes you better than them! They looked down on me; they mocked me by treating me like a porcelain figurine! CURSE THEM!

If you are willing to play this game with me, Uzumaki Naruto, then I'll acknowledge you! Face me! Fight me! Kiss me! Hurt me! Taste me! Ravage me! Enjoy me! DOMINATE ME!

Play with me if you can, Uzumaki Naruto!

"You seem to really like my _derrière_, boya."

Naruto shrugged and taunted back. "It's the roundest part of your body, mis-tress."

He made a slight hump, making the vixen gasp in pleasure.

"But definitely not the wettest."

"Keep moving!" Setsuna hissed.

Naruto's eyes took a fierce expression. "If you want it, you do it!"

Setsuna squirmed under such a commanding tone and stare. "S-So-Such a disobedient student…"

She quickly wrapped her strong legs around his waist and pushed him down, which made Naruto groan and her moan in delight.

"H-How about…hmm…this?" She proposed as she dry humped him.

"Ahh…win some, lose some…" He smirked. "As long as my precious mistress is happy…"

"Hnn-haaah! Na-Naru—"

No further cue was needed. Naruto kissed her, and Setsuna moaned her approval. She struggled to release her arms, without success. She wanted to grab his back and hold to it until she left marks on the skin, but Naruto's grip was strong. Maybe he would be the one leaving marks.

They stuck to pretty much the same thing. Setsuna moved her hips wildly, rubbing her body against Naruto's clothes and caring for little else. They lashed at each other, tasting the other's mouth and, at times, the other's cheeks and jaw. Their faces had long become two messes of drool and, in Setsuna's case, hair stuck to such drool. There was no control; they did not bother to measure their breaths, just taking and releasing air as they kissed, but never letting go, no matter how much their lungs were complaining. Eventually, their breathing became a loud and relentless staccato of inhaling and exhaling, as Setsuna's motions became more frantic with the approaching climax.

"Nawu-hmm! Ungh-" Slurp. "I…I…hmmng-guh!" Her attempt at speaking was drowned as she was forced to swallow a mouthful of saliva. It was an endless thirst Naruto was more than happy to satiate.

There was no chance for warning, then. After this single, failed attempt, the two were too into each other (literally, to a point) to bother trying to utter a single word. There were a lot of meaningless sounds, though.

"Hng! Hmm! Ah! Hmm…nah-ah!"

But even these were mostly drowned out by the natural sounds result of their voracious kissing.

Unfortunately, Naruto was still not experienced at recognizing the signs of impending female orgasm. The fact there was no penetration also acted against him. The most he noticed was that Setsuna's leg grip became awfully strong and her kissing, incredibly enough, more intense. It was a desperate need to feel him just before the grand finale. Her skin down below was already aching due to excessive friction, but even this pain was nothing but an additional stimulus to make one last spurt.

"Hnn! Hnn! Ungh! Unnnngh! Ungh! Hnn! Hnn...hnn-mmm-mmmnnnngh!"

The climax itself was unmistakable. The sudden (and massive) increase in wetness down there; Setsuna's muffled cries; the chaotic, violent quaking of her tiny frame; the way her lower body stabbed his groin and lingered there…this awareness of Setsuna's ecstasy was enough to drive him past the edge and make the subsequent mess in his boxers.

Naruto's body wavered and threatened to fall to the side for a moment, but he managed to keep steady. He did, however, finally separate his lips form his mistress'. Setsuna did not find it within herself to complain, caught as she was in the reverberations of her climax. The boy quietly watched her as she slowly, very slowly, settled down. Her face made an awkward contrast: the mess of hair, sweat and drool against the utterly blissful expression she presented to him.

The face of a woman after the height is really something, the young ninja noted.

"Mmm…haaa, haaa, haaa, haaa…"

The four-tails blinked cutely as she regained full awareness. Her field of vision was covered by Naruto's head.

"Na…Naru…"

"…m-mistress…Setsuna…"

"Hmmm…haaa…" The Kitsune shuddered one last time before sighing blissfully.

Like that, the energy of the previous activity was quickly dispersed; leaving behind the awareness of what had just occurred. A rather terrifying awareness, indeed.

It was clearly visible on their faces, as they replayed the past few minutes in the minds over and over…and over…

"Uh…"

"Oh…"

"Umm…" Naruto went with anguish.

"Uhh…" Setsuna went with blushing. She had…she had, with Naruto! And, and, it was…

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"Guogh!" Naruto groaned when the loli buried her left knee on his side, pushing him away so that she could jump off the bed. Looking up, he met the eyes of a positively terrified Kiyoura Setsuna.

"I-I-I…thi-this wasn't…I…no…no, no, no, no, no way! I-I couldn't-there's no way…I…you…"

Cue irrational outburst of anger.

Emphasis on 'irrational'.

"PERVERT!"

"Gaaaah!" Naruto took the brunt of the attack; this time a very visible bolt of lightning that crossed the distance between them and struck his chest mercilessly.

"Ah!" Setsuna suddenly gasped and stopped the attack. What the hell was she doing?

"I…I…no…didn't…ah…s-so…aaah…s-see you tomorrow!"

Naruto was in no position to stop her from what pretty much was running away. Heck, the electric attack barely hurt anymore. Maybe he was developing a resistance to that stuff.

But, still…what the hell?

"I…I…what the hell?"

His pants were a mess. So were his boxers. Slowly, he placed a hand on his lips. They were still a bit moist, and…

"What…the hell…"

* * *

**Scene 34**

Two days before the finals.

To say Naruto was nervous that morning was an understatement. The events of the previous day were still fresh in his mind.

How was he expected to face Setsuna again after…that?

They had had their share of arguments and disagreements throughout their time together. It was interesting how their current dilemma was not a result of one of these.

There was an odd mixture of tension and relief when he saw her there, in their usual clearing, waiting for his arrival. It was good to know she had not abandoned his training because of…well…

"Uhh…" The word 'mistress' would not leave his mouth that morning. "Sensei?"

When Setsuna, expressionless, all-business Setsuna, turned to face him, the black tomoe of her special eyes were already swirling madly. Naruto did not even have a chance to breathe before he was caught in the illusionary world of _**Izanami**_. They were back in the barren realm of infinite spires this time.

"Eh…?"

"Let's begin," the Queen of Loli muttered harshly.

"Wha—WHOA!"

Naruto thanked the god of fast reactions. His body moved instinctively to his right just in time Setsuna's thrusting kick obliterated his precious family jewels. "WHAT THE FUCK!"

Electricity gathered in Setsuna's right hand as she made some really disturbing squeezing motions. "It's training, boya…training…"

At the sight of her deranged smirk, Naruto could only sweatdrop. "Oh man, you're still angry about yesterday, aren't ya?"

He needed no other response but the blaze in the small girl's eyes at the word 'yesterday'. "Haa!"

Naruto jumped to the left, and his eardrums shuddered when a ferocious bolt of lightning streaked the air less than a foot away. He raised his arms and took the full brunt of Setsuna's left roundhouse kick; strong enough to send him flying a distance away. He was still in midair when his sensei flickered to existence right above him; knees bent and pressed against her chest.

"Oh crud."

"_MARTEAU!_"

The double vertical kick was truly like an iron hammer, charged with a million volts of electricity. The ground and the rock spires nearby shuddered when Naruto's back impacted with the hard ground. Sparks and arcs of lightning crackled their way out of the resulting crater like glowing worms. Setsuna elegantly landed by the edge of the crater, disdainfully watching the cloud of dust raised by the impact.

"Stand up, boya. We're raising the difficulty level today, so don't be a wuss."

"Liar."

Dust and rock particles fell off Naruto's body as he stepped out of the cloud, glaring at his teacher.

"That's just your excuse to beat the shit out of me."

Setsuna bared her teeth and glared back at her student. "Are you questioning me, brat? Were you not the one who asked to be trained?"

"This is NOT training!" Naruto insisted. "This is you being irrationally mad because of yesterday!"

Setsuna lunged at the boy within the crater, falling on all fours when Naruto easily sidestepped her.

"NOTHING happened yeste—"

"It happened!" Naruto barked, and Setsuna blushed in surprise. "It happened, and denying it won't change anything! It won't change the fact that you enjoyed it!"

More and more blood filled Setsuna's lovely cheeks. "You-you…! Perverted brat!"

She struck with a second left roundhouse, which met the resistance posed by Naruto's raised right arm. A swift wrist motion changed the arm's orientation, and Naruto was soon holding the small fox-woman's ankle.

Turning her trunk counterclockwise, Setsuna changed the distribution of weight and force to launch her right foot upwards for another roundhouse kick, shifting support to her arms. Naruto had seen this coming; however, having already sent chakra to his legs for a high leap upwards and around Setsuna's left leg, which he let go of before the sweeping kick broke his right arm.

"You're always like this," Naruto prodded once he safely landed some distance away. "Acting like I'm some stupid pervert. Acting like everything's my fault!" The glaring match entered round two with Naruto raising the odds. "You kissed me first!"

Setsuna shuddered, containing her embarrassment. "I…I…I-I DID NOT!"

Naruto ducked and a line of lightning crossed the air above him. "You did and you know it!"

"Don't you DARE talk back to me, brat!"

"I will when you stop being such a **bitch** about everything!"

"NARUTOOOOOOOO!"

"SETSUNAAAAAAAAA!"

They went at each other without hesitation.

Naruto ducked again, this time a fierce left roundhouse to his neck. One of Setsuna's patterns was keeping a constant axis of her trunk and her attacking leg, which meant that, whenever she made a high kick, her body leaned very low to make a counterweight. In this way her kicks differed from standard front kicks, where the attacking leg and the upper body make a V-shape. Naruto had noticed this a while ago. He had even started to mimic her.

Suddenly, he saw it as an opportunity.

Having ducked, it was easy to follow with a reverse sweeping kick. Unlike ordinary sweeps, however, this one was not aimed at the supporting leg to break her balance. He was going for her face.

His left heel struck only air.

"How…!"

Her legs pushed together, Setsuna was spinning in the air right above him. She has used the momentum from her kick and changed it into full rotational motion, at the same time she stabilized her body into a horizontal axis!

Naruto was amazed. How could she do that with that body?

When she stopped her spin, Setsuna raised her right leg towards the sky, and Naruto knew exactly what was coming.

"_Hache!"_

The lightning-charged axe kick smashed the ground with tremendous power, blasting shards of rock in all directions. Naruto, who managed to jump away from the attack, still got his share of tiny cuts from the flying debris.

"Gah!"

He was still wincing at the many sudden cuts on his skin when Setsuna emerged from the impact point, leaping at him with every intention to smash her left knee on his face.

Setsuna thought the boy had just ducked again, until her flight was abruptly and painfully stopped by something that choked her. It was Naruto's right foot, wrapped around the right side of her neck!

_This is-!_

Slamming his right hand on the ground and pushing down Setsuna by her neck, Naruto struck with his other foot, making a strange combination of roundhouse and scissor kick. It was not a strange combination to Setsuna, of course, being one of her trademarked moves.

_La croisé noir!_

Setsuna blocked with her arms, but it was rough and clumsy, and her smaller weight was easily overwhelmed, so she was sent flying to her left side, rolling several yards after her body hit the ground.

"Guh!"

When she opened her eyes again, she was met by an airborne Naruto; his left foot held high above her, and ready to fall on her face.

_Hache!_

Naruto almost gasped when his falling heel was stopped by Setsuna's own. The moment of surprise and her far better support allowed the loli to overpower Naruto's axe kick and throw the boy away with the strength of her fearsome legs.

Setsuna quickly leapt to her feet. The right one was rapidly charged with electrical power.

"_**Raiton! Tsuigorai no Jutsu!**_"

Stomping the ground with her right foot, she sent her attack through the conductive minerals in the earth's soil. Naruto did not have time to react when the lightning bolt shot upwards from right underneath his feet.

Deaf to the blond's cry, Setsuna continued her relentless counterattack. A point kick to his right side had Naruto bending in pain, which made it easier for Setsuna to follow up with a classic Muay Thai move: clinching his head and smashing his face with a straight right knee strike.

While Naruto stumbled backwards with a broken nose, Setsuna stomped the ground with her right foot again, this time to spin counterclockwise in a standard circle dance with her left foot, to build momentum and step into Naruto's range one more time. When the tip of her left foot was pointing at her target, she stopped the motion and inched her body forward, transferring this built-up energy to her right leg at the same time she charged it with her lightning chakra.

The turning kick swiftly landed on the left side of Naruto's head.

"_Épée!_"

Naruto's flight only stopped when his body hit the vertical wall of a spire, burying itself within the solid rock and creating a spider's web of cracks in its structure.

"Serves you right," Setsuna mocked. "You have a long way to go before you can hope to match me."

Pieces of rock falling and hitting the ground were her only response. Setsuna rolled her eyes and walked towards the boy.

"Are you unconscious? Don't tell that's all it takes to take you out, boya." Her eyes became fierce and furious again. "I'm not satisfied yet!"

There was no response from Naruto. His body was literally stuck into the rock, so he was not falling from there any time soon.

"Come here, brat! I did not train a weakling these past five days! Don't mock me with your weakness!"

She reached the foot of the spire and rested her hands on her hips, frowning at the unmoving form.

"A moron you may be, but you are Kiyoura Setsuna's student! Have some pride and show some respect!"

Setsuna found Naruto's silence infuriating.

"Grrr…"

Naruto smirked.

"Get down here, boya—aaaaaaah!"

Setsuna screamed in shock when something grabbed her left ankle and lifted her upside down in the air, until she was staring at Naruto's…feet?

His knees were pressed against his chest.

"By the way, sensei?"

Setsuna looked up (meaning, down), to find Naruto's sickly-sweet smile.

"I got the hang of the Tail Technique."

A glob of mixed saliva and blood escaped from Setsuna's mouth when Naruto slammed his feet on her torso. It was her turn to be sent flying and to be smashed on a rock spire, still upside down.

Naruto jumped off his resting spot and dashed towards her. There was truly a tail of blue chakra popping out of his lower back.

After the running start, he leapt, obviously aided by chakra, and just-as-obviously readying his fist to meet her face.

Setsuna leaned off to fall back to flat ground. The moment she did that, Naruto's tail struck and wrapped itself around her neck.

_He can really extend it! And so quickly!_

She gasped when the choking tail lifted her back up the spire, so that Naruto could actually finish the punch he had intended to do.

"Setsuna!"

"Tch."

The tip of her left foot hit the underside of Naruto's chin before his fist could reach her face. She smirked at the sight of the blond's body arching upwards and backwards.

"Cocky brat…"

The same foot that struck upwards was now ready to repeat the dose in the opposite direction.

"Know your place!"

Setsuna's ever-popular heel drop fell on Naruto's belly like the angry fist of god. His body made another crater at the base of the spire.

Landing by Naruto's prone form, Setsuna spat the blood in her mouth near his face.

"I'm Kitsune, you idiotic brat! Do you seriously think I'll be scared of a silly tail?"

Naruto grunted when the loli planted her left foot on his chest.

"'I'm a perverted, shameless brat, unworthy of his magnanimous mistress'. Say it!"

What she got was Naruto's feral, mocking glare.

"'I'm a horny little bitch, who got off kissing her twelve-year-old student'. You say i—guk!" His words were stopped by a foot on his face from a steaming Setsuna.

"You-you-youuuuuu! _Vous pervers insolent!_ I'll kill you, brat! Right—gyah!"

Distracted by her own anger as she was, Setsuna did not even noticed when Naruto's left hand grabbed her ankle until he pulled. The small half-Kitsune fell at the same time Naruto moved up to smash his right fist on her jaw.

"Who's the brat?" Naruto yelled at the now-prone and moaning Setsuna, standing up with every intention of continuing the beat-down. "You're always like this! Why can't you just admit it!"

Setsuna tried a kick from her position, but Naruto easily caught her leg and returned her gesture from earlier.

The four-tails screamed when Naruto stomped his left foot on her crotch.

"Say it!" He yelled ferociously. "You kissed me! And you loved it! So just! Fucking! Say it—gah!"

Naruto groaned when Setsuna went for a nasty move and threw a handful of grit and dirt to his eyes. "Damn you—oof!"

She followed by ramming his gut with her head.

It was no longer a beautiful Taijutsu fight.

It was a bar brawl.

"Rotten brat!" Setsuna was shrieking. "You think you're some bigass gigolo, huh!" Sitting on top of him, she rained blow after blow on Naruto's face. "Mister Big Shot!"

She ripped his jacket and t-shirt to rake her nails on his bare chest, drawing blood.

"You're a brat! Hear me! A BRAT!"

While choking him with her left hand, her right hand punched his face countless times.

"A worthless!" Punch. "Useless!" Punch. "Weak!" Punch. "Perverted brat!"

With her swirling Sharingan eyes and her demented smirk, she made for quite the fearsome and disturbing sight.

"As if I, Kiyoura Setsuna, could be interested in the likes of—oof!"

She did not see the tail coming until it smacked her face and threw her away.

It was one fine pimp slap.

"Right back at you!" Naruto yelled as he stood to pin Setsuna with his own body. His chakra tail bound both her wrists together above her head, leaving his hands free to return the gesture.

"Stupid brat!" He punched her face. "Stop denying it!"

He moved his body down to sit on her thighs. It would not do for her to hit his back with her knees.

"You kissed me!" Punch. "On my bed!" Punch. "And you loved it!" Slap.

When Setsuna responded to his taunts with a hateful glare, he knocked it aside by backhanding her.

"Don't give me that look!" Slap. "You know what happened!" Punch; her nose broke. "You rubbed your bare crotch against my pants until you came!"

Setsuna was wearing her usual cerulean sundress, so he did not have to rip it off to shame her. It was a simple matter of grabbing the straps and pulling down. The fox-woman gasped when her fair-skinned chest was laid bare, and she gasped again when Naruto once again returned her gesture and raked his surprisingly sharp nails on her skin.

"You liked it, Setsuna! You liked it!" Naruto barked as he repeated the dose, making his teacher moan. "So stop acting like I raped you! Stop acting you didn't ask for it! You stupid, irrational, flat-chested—guaaaaagh!"

Naruto's body exploded with pain when Setsuna sheathed her entire body with electricity, capturing him and rocking him with tremendous voltages until her right arm got free to punch him away.

"Fucking brat!" Setsuna yelled as positions were switched once more. "Want me to say it! FINE!"

She did not stop smashing his face with her fists as she spoke.

"Yes, we did it! We made out! We kissed until our faces were a mess! I rubbed my pussy against your crotch until I came! And it was great! The best I've had in years! Thinking about it is making me wet again!"

She literally bore through Naruto's chest skin with her nails, and then slashed brutally to make him scream.

"THERE! I SAID IT! HAPPY NOW, BRAT?"

Naruto answered with a headbutt.

"VERY!" He yelled and they switched places again. "WAS IT SO HARD!"

Setsuna punched his left temple to knock him off her. Switch again.

"YES! NOW WHAT!"

Naruto pushed her away so she fell backwards. Switch.

"YOU TELL ME!"

Setsuna backhanded him and quickly mounted him.

"USELESS BRAT!" She backhanded him one more time and grabbed him by the ripped remnants of his t-shirt, pulling his face towards hers.

"I'll show you what," she hissed.

Then, she kissed him.

* * *

_**Setsuna Side – End**_


	24. Lily of Many Petals, Mayuri Side

**Author's Note: **Hardcore genre shift ACTIVATE!

* * *

_**Naruto Genkyouien**_

_**- **__**ナルト**__**- **__**幻**__**脅**__**威宴**_

**Chapter Fifteen: Lily of Many Petals—Mayuri Side**

* * *

**Scene 3**

"Nee, Naruto…" Yuria spoke very carefully, almost apprehensively. On the opposite side of the spectrum, Naruto was the epitome of relaxation. After his first training session of DOOM with Setsuna, his body was too worked out for him to just lie down and rest. A nice stroll around town felt like a good idea.

"Hmm?"

"I…really don't think this is the case, but…just wondering…"

"What is it, Yuria?"

The three tails shot a look at the third and last member of their group.

"…you didn't fall for Mayuri or anything, did ya?"

The boy almost tripped on his own feet. The Sorrowful Lily stiffened like a pole, her pale face acquiring a lovely pinkish hue as her eyes widened far more than it was usual for her. Not feeling herself able to look at Naruto at the moment, Mayuri focused on her sandal-clad feet.

Love? Bu-But, she had never…those feelings…and this human…Uzumaki…

"YURIA!" Half-irate, half-terrified, Naruto went with lashing at his mate. "What the hell?"

"Wha—just saying!" Yuria shrugged. "I mean, you were really insistent on having her come with us and all that…Yurisa-nee was really surprised, you know…and I remember last night at the dinner; you were all nice to her and all protective and making her sit on our table and all that."

Under the weight of such strong evidence, Naruto had no choice but to blush and look away.

"I-I have my reasons, okay?"

"Oh, stop that. Tsundere doesn't suit you." Yuria shrugged one more time. "Just to remind you: she's a child, you know. Even within Kitsune standards, she's the equivalent of a nine year old human, you lolicon."

"I can see that! GOD!" Naruto yelled, pointing at the little foxgirl. Mayuri's face had already returned to its usual expression, and the two-tails simply watched in silence the way she always did. Still, she flinched a little at Naruto's outburst, something the blond ninja actually noticed. "Agh! I mean! Ugh…not…not to say Mayuri-chan's not cute or anything-I mean, she's really, REALLY cute…"

Mayuri went straight back to red. Yuria just let her mate sink himself further.

"…lolicon."

"Argh! Agh…I mean…uhh…" His head dropped, defeated. "I'm just making a fool of myself, aren't I?"

"Yup."

Mayuri buried her face in her hands. This was so embarrassing!

"But it's worth watching little Mayuri all flustered like that."

Naruto groaned, before turning to the smaller foxgirl. "Sorry…it's not much, but I assure you I'm way more embarrassed than you right now."

Mayuri shook her head quite emphatically. She highly doubted that.

A far more mirthful Yuria wrapped an arm around the other two's shoulders. "Saa, come on, come on, forget I said anything…pfft!"

Naruto gave the evil eye to the snickering foxgirl. "I don't like you very much today."

Yuria "hmph'ed." "That's for leaving me behind this morning."

"I have my OWN training to do!" Naruto complained. "And you would have gotten mad if I had woken you up anyway, you bed-hogger!"

"True, but I would have still appreciated it."

Mayuri quietly watched the exchange. They truly made an odd couple.

"I know I promised to teach you stuff…" Naruto started. "…and I haven't forgot. We can start this afternoon, if you want."

Yuria's grin did not take long to show up. "Um! After your date with Mayuri-chan's over?"

"Agh! You…you…quiet, you!"

Yuria was too busy laughing to pay much attention to Mayuri's pretty blush.

"So, what did you do this morning, then?" Naruto inquired, and Yuria's mirth dissipated like footprints blown away by a sandstorm.

"…water walking."

"Any luck?" Naruto continued, even if he already knew the answer.

"…"

Naruto did not try to figure out Yuria's trail of mumbles and garbled syllables. "…I'll take that as a no."

"Jerk."

When her arm slid off Mayuri's shoulder, Yuria realized the little foxgirl had stopped walking. The human-Kitsune couple turned to look at the albino, whose eyes were transfixed on a glass panel, or, more likely, on what could be seen beyond. It was very little, as the construction seemed to have rather poor illumination, and the presence of nothing but tall buildings around limited the amount of sunlight that could make it through the glass.

"Heeh…hadn't seen this place before…"

It was not such a surprise. Uzumaki Naruto was not one to frequent antique shops.

Naruto and Yuria exchanged glances when Mayuri, seemingly uncaring of her company, opened the elegant (if a bit too old) wooden door and walked in. When Naruto hurried after the little foxgirl, Yuria rolled her eyes.

"Yup. It's love," she muttered before following. It was a joke, of course. She knew exactly why Naruto was treating Mayuri the way he was.

There was just something about that girl that made those around her want to look after her, to protect her.

Yuria found it odd, as Mayuri was the most unflappable person she knew.

In any case, it did not take five seconds for the couple to regret following Mayuri.

Tick, tock.

Tick, tock.

The beat of dozens –no, hundreds– of clocks hammered a maddening staccato inside their heads.

Yuria quickly grabbed Naruto's right arm and pressed herself against him.

"I'm scared, onii-chan."

"Who the hell is onii-chan?" Naruto hissed.

A nondescript old man who could have easily hailed from any of the Five Countries calmly cleaned his glasses with a piece of white cloth while he cautiously watched the trio. They were, after all, far outside the usual age range of his customers. He also recognized one of them as the vessel, but he was slow to prejudice, just as he was slow in pretty much everything else.

Returning to the old cuckoo clock he had been fixing before the three walked in, the old man focused his attention on the young little lady. Unlike the older two, who obviously did not want to be there, the white-haired, white-skinned girl was obviously up to something. She was already in her second round around the shop, examining the vast collection of clocks with what he thought was a critical eye.

The only reason for the shop to have lots of clocks and almost nothing else was that the shop owner had been a decent clockmaker, decades before.

Mayuri started her first round, walking slowly, very slowly, and stopping every two or three steps. Sometimes she closed her eyes, as if she wanted to lose herself in the ceaseless tick-tock.

Finally, to the surprise of the others present, she grabbed a clock almost the size of her torso and, with some effort, carried it to the counter, placing it next to the dismantled piece the old man was working on. Before he could say anything, Mayuri walked over to the opposite shelf and reached for a smaller clock to also take it to the counter.

"What…" The old man mumbled. "Do you want…hmm?"

Mayuri had inched her head closer to the two clocks, cupping her hand behind her right ear. Recognizing the obvious cue, the old clockmaker leaned closer and paid attention.

Tick. Tock.

Tick. Tock.

Tick. Tock.

Tock.

Tick-Tick. Tock.

Tock.

He blinked, and shot a disbelieving gaze at the young foxgirl.

"…off-beat?"

Mayuri nodded. To be precise, one of the clocks had a delay of one second every 144.7 seconds, and the other a delay of one second every 83.24. The rest of the clocks were fine, within a tolerance range of 0.09 seconds, plus-minus.

Not that he needed to know that.

Her job done, Mayuri offered a curt bow to the man behind the counter and left the shop, leaving a dumbfounded couple behind.

Naruto was the first to react.

"…what the hell was that about?"

"Don't ask me. Can we train now?"

* * *

**Scene 10**

Konohagakure was, truly, a most disturbing village. Were all human settlements like this, or was it just shinobi villages? Or maybe this particular place was just special?

Mayuri looked at a fruit vendor, announcing the "unbeatable" prices of the products he offered behind his wooden stall. A myriad of flashes of insight and possibility filled her mind, until it settled down on a specific vision.

The man, unwilling to leave his stall behind, found the end of his life under the weight of a gigantic snake.

How odd.

To her left, a trio of adolescent shinobi jumped from roof to roof, hurrying to whatever destination they had in mind.

Her mind showed her the girl of the trio, crying next to the broken form of one of her teammates, whose lower half was crushed by the rubble of a fallen building. Then there was a bright light…and no more.

How dramatic.

No matter where she went, no matter where she looked, she saw tales…and the conclusions of those tales.

Mayuri sighed tiredly. What an annoying and distracting power.

Konoha was a village of death. Death put behind and death to come. Past, present and future aligned in a single road of self-destruction. The Death God walked by their side and whispered sweet nothing to their ears as they slept.

It was truly frightening.

Mayuri blinked, and she suddenly was walking on the interior of a crater. Konoha was no more, having being reduced to a conical hole in the ground and a ring of rubble surrounding it.

She blinked again, and she was back. This was her cue to stop walking for a minute.

Taking a deep sigh, she cleared her mind…at least as much as Higashiyama Mayuri can clear her mind…then she frowned.

She was being followed.

With the power she wields, it is practically impossible to take Mayuri by surprise.

She looked beyond the restrictions of the dimensional and studied the worldline strongly attached to hers for the past fifty-eight minutes and twenty-one seconds.

Ara, there was another one.

A wordline attached to a wordline attached to a wordline. So her stalker also had a stalker of his own. No, it was not like that. They were allies. The second one was following her follower to look after him. How commendable.

The question remained: why was she being followed? To the world, she was Higashiyama Mayuri, the Sorrowful Lily. A young two-tails who had chosen to not speak another word, almost 35 years ago. Nothing more, nothing less. Her powers should be known to no one…save for those sensitive to them. But what were the chances?

So maybe they were not really after her. Maybe they wanted her to put pressure on her mother, or the Matriarch. In that case, wouldn't Yurimi make a better target?

Ah, but Yurimi has Kotonoha.

Interesting.

So, what to do? She was no fighter, and even if she were, it was two-versus-one, in the middle of a human village. It would be stupid of any youkai to start something here.

They could attack her the moment she left the village, before she reached the clan's camping grounds.

Uzumaki's apartment? No, the location was not the best; there were plenty of blind spots they could use and nobody would notice.

She could use her powers to lose them easily, but that would only raise unnecessary suspicions.

"Haa…"

Then, the best choice truly was…

* * *

The stalker's name was Sanzou, and he was youkai.

He was a Nuri-botoke, a creature born from a deceased person whose soul lost the way to the Sanzu River and instead was found by the Void. Instead of being consumed, the soul is returned to the now unliving body, to spread the Void through the world and push reality closer to the final Oblivion. We could call them "Void Zombies," but Nuri-botoke are actually capable of independent thought. Powerful wielders of the Void often have Nuri-botoke as lesser servitors. Being able to use Transformation techniques, Nuri-botoke are able to pass up for ordinary humans easily, despite being walking corpses.

It was not a happy existence, but Sanzou is undead, so he cared little. He looked forward to missions, for they represented chances to feed and wreak havoc.

After an hour of waiting patiently, he could not wait to find a chance to strike unseen. His brother following some distance behind was probably of a similar opinion.

And maybe, just maybe…yes!

The girl was finally leaving the busy commercial center of Konoha and taking to the suburbs in the northwestern corner of the city. Businesses were quickly replaced with large buildings stuffed with small apartments; an urban nightmare of structures seemingly built from the same mold. Smaller buildings also existed; two, three-story houses acting as multi-family residences. It was not a pretty part of town.

But, at this time, the flow of people was almost inexistent. The residents of this area were mostly off to their respective workplaces. There were also plenty of dark alleys from where to plan a…hmm?

What was that little girl up to?

Sanzou's eyes followed Mayuri until she disappeared. She had walked into a building long abandoned, from what he could see. Most windows holes were covered with wooden planks, while some were simply empty. The walls themselves appeared old, cracked and tired, as if moaning their sad fate of abandonment. It was an ominous presence of loneliness, a spot of shadow in the bright morning of Konoha, and definitely not a place any ordinary little girl would calmly walk into.

This oddity in her behavior would imply that she was aware of his presence. Still, why an abandoned…could it be?

Was she challenging him? Had she guided him to an abandoned place so they could have a proper face-off?

Sanzou held back a snicker. How utterly hilarious! Truly, the proud lilies of Higashiyama were haughty beyond belief!

Well, they would have to do something about that, right?

A hand sign later, his companion ceased his distant vigilance. His name was Tomu.

An exchange of glances showed that the two indeed were of similar thoughts, and Tomu had reached the same conclusion regarding Mayuri's latest actions.

Sharing identical smirks, the two undead mirrored each other's steps and approached the building.

The fight was on.

* * *

_Wha…?_

Sanzou was undead. He reveled in dark, damp places; the corners of civilization forgotten and forsaken by the living; the rotten fruits of times long gone, swept by the merciless hand of progress. Sanzou reveled in the places the living refused to approach, and it was in such places that he usually took his meals and enjoyed them. One of his few remaining pleasures in unlife was the ecstasy of sucking the bone marrow out of a young woman he had just killed.

He was used to such places: graveyards, ancient battlefields and abandoned buildings. But this place, this…house…was so far beyond his comprehension it made him uneasy.

There were spider webs everywhere. Literally everywhere. Eerie translucent blankets of silvery white cloaked and adorned the dark rooms and hallways of the house. Strange, beautiful spider webs in intricate, all-dimensional patterns that obeyed no known natural geometry; alien fractals born from the mind of a grandmother spider from distant aeons, and her sequitur of billions of skittering, slithering children.

Their feet rarely touched the floor, stepping instead on the tapestry born of uncountable spinnerets laid on top. Whenever they stepped on a particularly fragile sheet of webbing, it would fall apart smoothly, like cotton candy in a child's mouth, revealing _**those things**_.

The spiders.

Those incomprehensible things that were supposed to be spiders.

Those bodies, were they obsidian eyes enveloped in hellish flame? Were they bloody hands holding the darkness at the center of cosmos? Were they red orchids, concealing within their petals the end of this world?

Those unnatural, abominable things skittered away with the nauseous, maddening clackety-clack of their many legs like bloody diamond fangs.

"Tomu…" He whispered to his companion, struggling to conceal the hints of nervousness that demurely caressed the edges of his mind.

"Let's just find that brat and get this over with," the other intelligent undead replied.

No more words were said.

* * *

It just took a couple of minutes for the two to realize that the house was far bigger than it should be. It extended endlessly and became a maze of identical rooms, crumbling walls and groaning floors and ceilings. All attempts at dispelling this massive area illusion met with failure.

Okay, so she was a better illusionist than the average two-tails. No big deal. Worst case scenario would be that they wandered for ages until the brat either ran out of chakra or ran away from the house and dispelled the jutsu.

They were undead. Patience was something they had in spades.

Or so they thought.

"Guh!" Sanzou grunted in annoyance. Annoyance, not pain. The undead cannot not feel pain.

On the first minute since their arrival to this madhouse they learned that the seemingly fragile spider webs were subtly sharp as the finest blade. Their unliving bodies were riddled with lacerations, self-inflicted in their urge to pull apart the sheets of white that covered their way.

Unable to find their way around the labyrinthine passages of this impossible house, they tried using their clawed hands to leave markings on the walls.

It was pointless.

It became clear that they were walking in circles, re-encountering the same marks over and over again. It became infuriating when they found markings waiting for them in rooms they were sure they had not seen before. It became annoying when they found additional marks joining the ones they had placed, as if a miserable child were playing a pointless prank on them.

It became unsettling when the marks began to change. Horizontal became vertical, vertical became diagonal, diagonal became horizontal, horizontal became truncated, truncated became split…in the end, the simple lines they had used to guide their way had become deranged symbols of a language esoteric and impossible.

Then the marks disappeared.

* * *

They were intelligent undead. Unlike the standard zombie, they were gifted with supernatural physiques. They had strength and speed; dexterity and reflexes. They also had enhanced senses, including the ability to see in anything but complete darkness.

There was no trace of Higashiyama Mayuri, no matter where they went. They had long lost all sense of orientation, and finding the entrance again had become a dream, as ephemeral as finding the room they had just left.

They walked pointlessly, aimlessly, with Tomu in front and Sanzou watching his back. Tomu was tall and imposing, with short, neatly trimmed blond hair, as if that particular aspect of personal hygiene were his last attachment to a life he had abandoned long ago. He probably attracted his fair share of females in life.

Sanzou watched his partner's back, because it was pointless watching anywhere else. This infinite building was monotonous in its solitude. Webbing popped out like cotton from the cracks and gaps in the walls and floors. The furniture looked like it would collapse and become dust from the ages should it be touched by human or inhuman hand.

And then there were the paintings.

They were pristine, clean and beautiful; oasis of novelty in the dark, dusty and ancient building. Framed with the finest, most beautifully carved wood coated with gold, these awe-inspiring treasures were also explosions of color amidst the dead dull gray of the walls and the silvery white of the forest of spider webs.

The art depicted on them was strange. Unbelievable. Horrendous.

"Daughter": A naked young Kitsune, none other than Higashiyama Mayuri, with eyes closed as she surrendered herself and sank into a sea of squirming, swelling, crawling, gnawing amorphous limbs.

"History": A city, as ambiguous as it was universal –it could have been Konoha just as easily as it could have been Kiri–, swallowed by a shadowy, gelatinous blight that melted structures and tore the sky apart. The tiny figures of the city's inhabitants raised their hands at each other in a deranged orgy of self-destruction.

"City": Another city, this one as alien as the other was human. A colossal city-island of titanic, Cyclopean masonry, with impossible buildings that defied the Gods and prodded the sky, all blanketed with indescribable shadows that obeyed no possible Physics, and spewing sinister blood-like ooze from their windows like eyes.

"Judgment": A young human-looking boy with short, unruly blond hair and curious-looking whisker marks on his cheeks, lying naked on a cold, dull stone floor, his body gushing out blood from innumerable wounds and a mysterious stone of indefinite shape embedded on his chest.

"Present": Two men of slightly pale complexion and with their clothes and skins marred by an infinitude of tiny cuts, staring up at a picture of two men of slightly pale complexion and with their clothes and skins marred by an infinitude of tiny cuts, staring at a picture of two men…

Sanzou quickly jerked his head back.

Of course, there was nothing there but the swirling shadows and the swaying spider webs driven by an inexistent zephyr.

* * *

Sanzou walked in silence, hoping to catch a hint of the girl's presence with his superb hearing.

He heard nothing but the rubbing of webbing against webbing, and the insidious clacking of the eye-spiders' fang-legs.

And there were also the whispers.

It was a constant susurrus that began to fill the air around him at some point already far beyond his short-term memory. The sounds touched him, taunted him and seduced him, reaching lovingly past his ear canal and teasing the edges of his identity and his sanity. They ate away at his patience, his self-awareness and his mental fortitude, eroding the barriers of his ego with a plethora of pointless voices, wordless drivel and meaningless, sweet cacophony that challenged his perception of the boundary of illusion and reality.

He did not mention the whispers to his partner. If Tomu was hearing the same thing, then it was pointless to bring it up. If he was not, well, Sanzou did not want his partner to think he had lost his mind.

Then again, maybe he had.

With the passage of time (Minutes? Hours? Years?), the whispers grew in frequency, urgency…and understandability. They evolved into a chorus of teasing voices, both male and female, which spoke as one. A legion of madness, bent on swallowing his sanity.

_You are afraid…give in to the fear…give in to the madness…_

Sanzou felt an alarming tingle in his lower back; a sinful synesthesia of maddening words and libidinous caresses.

_There is no escape…only chaos…and then, nothingness…_

_Your life is not your own…_

_Everything that is will cease to be…_

_Your partner is gone…claimed by the madness…_

_Kill him…before he kills you…_

_Accept the truth…_

_Hope is a dream…_

_Your will is no longer your own…you belong to the madness now…_

_N'ghai, n'gha'ghaa, bugg-shoggog, y'hah…_

_YOG-SOTHOTH, YOG-SOTHOTH…_

Shuddering in a most non-undead-ish manner, Sanzou brushed off the deranged whispers. He was sick and tired of this place!

He reached for his partner.

"Oi, Tomu," Sanzou began, pulling the other Nuri-botoke by the shoulder. "We gotta do something-"

He had no face.

Sanzou, stunned, could only gape at his partner's destroyed head. Something had utterly crushed the front half of Tomu's head, leaving only the bloody innards of his cranial cavity. The stench of long rotten brain remains quickly filled Sanzou's nostrils, and the remaining undead reflexively took a step back.

"Wha…how…when…huh?"

That's when his noticed. Not the hand which he had used to pull Tomu to "face" him, but the other hand.

His bloodied, putrid, stinking left hand.

And the broken remains of Tomu's eyes, crushed like two ugly grapes within his merciless grip, the tendrils of muscle and optic nerve dumbly hanging off the edge of his palm.

* * *

As quiet as ever, Higashiyama Mayuri watched the blue sky from the very top of the two-story building. Her legs dangled dangerously off the edge, but Mayuri saw no threat.

The few passersby that walked in front of the building either ignored her presence or did not become aware of her. It was hard to tell.

With bored eyes, Mayuri looked at her treasure. When her mother found it, it was broken; abandoned in a heap of trash in Higashi Village. Yurisa had found it beautiful despite the fact that it did not work anymore, and took it with her to give it to her daughter.

Mayuri loved it, that silver pocket watch, and she always carried it with her. Even if the crystal was broken and scratched.

She watched the ticking seconds march without cease.

Tick. Tock.

Tick. Tock.

Tick.

Tock.

…

It stopped.

Mayuri watched the hands for several seconds after all motion ceased in the mechanism. After that, she sighed.

Winding the watch had no effect. She knew that, of course.

This pocket watch does not work anymore, after all.

The chain of black prayer beads rustled and sang together when Mayuri lifted her right arm. Gravity pulled the watch downwards, until it hung limply in the air, held by the same chain that held the prayer beads together. The same chain she always wore wrapped around her right arm.

After concealing the chain and the watch under the huge sleeves of her kimono shirt, Mayuri stood up.

It was time to end this.

* * *

Desperation consumed Sanzou's mind as he pointlessly pounded on what he thought was the front door. There was really no way to tell: all doors looked the same, and the many different rooms had long ago amalgamated into a uniform, shapeless blur in his broken mind.

He smashed his fists and his head without success. His body was ravaged by millimetric cuts after he lost all sense of self-care and simply dashed madly through the endless forest of webs. He had never longed for the sunlight this much, not even in life.

How long had he spent in this house of madness? It truly felt like an entire lifetime…

Broken, tired, defeated, Sanzou fell on his knees, his palms sliding down the door's surface and leaving small trails of brownish blood in their wake.

He turned to sit down with his back against the door, and his eyes widened in shock and horror.

There she was.

Staring at him from the opposite end of the room, Higashiyama Mayuri faced him with her tired, bored eyes. A universe of those abominable spiders surrounded her like an escort out of the realm of nightmares; their skittering noises boring through the last remnants of his sanity like maggots through his aged corpse. Their bodies were like fireflies, glowing with a peaceful white that concealed a point of darkness in their very center.

Mayuri approached him with slow steps, like one who has absolutely no hurry, uncaring of the monstrous, surreal creatures that crawled around her. Sanzou chuckled wickedly and shook his head; one last mental mechanism, a futile attempt at denying everything that happened since he set foot into this hell.

"No…" The intelligent undead sobbed. "You are not here…this is not…"

Mayuri moved a step closer.

"No!" The male huddled his legs closer and pushed them against his chest, as if he could hide himself like that. "Don't come any closer!"

Ignoring the cries of her opponent, Mayuri walked until she stood in front of him.

"_...your ignorance…was your end…_"

Sanzou's pupils became almost a single dot. Somewhere in the back of his mind, in the jumbled mess his memories had become, enveloped as they were in the non-dimensional ooze of madness, a single fact made it past the mess and reminded him that Mayuri did not speak. Ever.

"…_but…I don't blame you…for being ignorant…_"

It was such a pointless fact. Did it really matter anymore? So this Mayuri before him was speaking…so what?

Sanzou moaned pointlessly, shaking his head and looking at nowhere. The spiders began to climb up the walls and up his legs and trunk.

Mayuri took pity on this destroyed, broken thing.

"_I can…end it…I can…show you the truth…_"

"Yes…yes!" Sanzou bowed before the girl; soaking the hem of her red hakama with tears he did not know he was capable of shedding. "Please! End this! Please!"

"…_then…look._"

He looked up, and was met with a wondrous sight.

The spiders…no, they were not spiders anymore!

They were flying-no, floating!

They were surrounded by a sea of glowing not-spiders. Their fang-legs were gone, leaving only their glowing round bodies. Around him, the floor, the walls and the ceiling seemed to lose their rigidity and sway to the rhythm of an inexistent tune. The dark room was alive, filled with an intense aura of dread and might; life and despair. Sanzou looked in amazement, Mayuri looked bored.

The iridescent globes of pale white light danced around them. It was so terrible! So beautiful!

The truth of the world!

A cold breeze hit Sanzou's back, and he gasped in excitement. The door!

The door was opening!

He turned to face it, excitedly, and gasped again when he confirmed his thoughts. A vertical line of light reached him from the other side.

It was opening! He could see the light!

He was free! Finally free!

Mayuri turned her back to the door. She had no interest in looking at the **thing** beyond the Gate. So, she turned her back to the door and closed her eyes, letting her ears be filled with the Nuri-botoke's joyous laughter.

Sanzou laughed and laughed as he walked past the Gate, ignoring the door closing behind him…

* * *

Unable to control her shuddering, Mayuri took a deep breath…and opened her eyes.

She sighed in relief.

The building around her was just that: an old, abandoned building; its demolition postponed endlessly.

She inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, as if recovering after a thorough physical effort.

She had a terrible headache, but that was to be expected.

_**Mayuri's Nightmare Circus – From Beyond.**_

What a terrible, bothersome jutsu it was.

She stepped past the hole on the wall that once was the main entrance. Its door was long gone, probably claimed by some opportunistic scavenger after the building was completely abandoned.

The sunlight somehow made her feel dirty and shameful. Was she really worthy of this warmth? Did she really deserve the blessings of life, being the monster she was?

The world's response was to make a certain person walk in front of the building at this moment.

This was not truly a person, but a Shadow Clone. After fulfilling his mission, he had to present a report to the Administration Office. He was on his way to the apartment to get one of those forms, as the building was closer than the Hokage Tower, and he was sure he had one of those forms somewhere in his bedroom.

The clone was startled by a weight suddenly pressed against his left side. He was fortunate the impact was not strong enough to destroy him.

"Huh? Ma-Mayuri-chan?"

The little two-tails sobbed silently; her tiny hands desperately clutching the hem of his orange jacket.

So weak and tenuous it was; her hold on reality.

But she held her desperation within her mind and her heart.

This was Higashiyama Mayuri's atonement.

This was Higashiyama Mayuri's kindness.

* * *

**Scene 17**

To one Higashiyama Mayuri, Konohagakure was a very unsettling place. She wondered if it was the same for all ninja villages.

Ravaged by things only she could see, the youngest un-sealed lily almost desperately sought an oasis of peace in the madness. She had left her mother very early that morning; she would not have a chance at peace and quiet with her mother around, as much as it pained her. She had covered a considerable distance already, tracing the outer border of the village in a counter-clockwise direction before turning north and away from both the village and the Higashiyama camping grounds.

In this direction, walking became slightly more troublesome, being mostly uphill. It made sense, considering that further north she would find the mountainous countries of Waterfall and Lightning.

That was how she reached a familiar cliff. Not familiar to her, but to you readers, being the place where Naruto had his first close encounter of the Sayuri type.

She wondered if anybody had fallen to a horrible, horrible death there. It did not really matter, though.

The problem was that she was not alone.

She also wondered what the deal with the gourd was.

Gaara was bored. And a little bit nervous.

His siblings and teacher kept insisting on not killing anyone before the actual battle. His target had been denied to him the day before by the loud blond and the fox girl.

It had been so long…too long. Mother was craving, and he…he was just bored.

Seated on the very edge, uncaring of the frightening darkness below, the boy fought a battle he did not want to fight. Why should he restrain himself from killing?

"I know, Mother, I know…" He muttered for the n-th time that morning. "We're almost…."

Most unfortunately, "Mother" was not patient. In fact, "Mother" roared in glee at the visage of fresh, innocent blood. If "Mother" recognized Mayuri for what she was, even without her ears and tails, then "she" did not let Gaara know.

When their eyes met, Mayuri was paralyzed. It had nothing to do with the all-too-familiar rings around his eyes, or with the creepy "Love" kanji engraved on the side of his forehead. It had nothing to do with obvious "I want to kill you" expression on his face, or with the way sand slowly poured out of his gourd and crawled towards her as if possessing an ophidian mindset.

It had nothing to do with what her eyes showed her. It had everything to do with her unique, otherworldly sense.

**KILL.**

Her left hand began to shake, and it soon extended to the rest of her body.

**DIE.**

She saw death. Death in terrifying amounts.

She saw that which defined the being known as "Gaara."

**KILL-KILL-DIE-DIE-WANNA-KILLYA-MUSTKILLYA-BLOOD-WANT-YOURBLOOD-MOTHERWANTS-IWANT-WEWANT-DIE-DIE-DIE-KILL-KILL-KILL-YOURBLOOD-BLOOD-BLOOD-BLOOD-BLOOD-YOURLIFEISMINE!**

Falling on her knees, Mayuri groaned and emptied her stomach, sobbing even as she retched.

Was he really human?

Gaara shuddered with poorly suppressed desire. Even if it was just a harmless little girl, he wanted to kill her. Even if she wouldn't help him prove the worth of his existence, he wanted to crush her tiny body with his sand.

He remembered his teammates' warnings. Then again, they were not there, were they? And they were quite far from Konoha, so…

He allowed himself a small, albeit deranged; grin as he looked down at the seemingly endless pit under his feet. It wouldn't be a problem to dispose of her broken, unrecognizable body once he was done, either.

"Mother…Mother…do you wish for it?" He was almost pleading. "Are you thirsty, Mother? Will her blood be to your liking?"

Somehow, within the demented shrieks of the wicked monster, Gaara found a "yes."

Mayuri was still retching and heaving, even if there was nothing else she could throw up.

"_**Sabaku Kyuu**_."

The foxgirl's eyes widened in alarm when the sand began to rush towards her; quickly climbing up her legs and covering her torso, arms and head. She was trapped!

The vessel chuckled in satisfaction. Blood, blood for Mother!

"_**Sabaku Sousou**_!"

Gaara knew something was wrong the moment he gave the order. The sand behaved as expected, of course, imploding and crushing anything caught within.

Where was the blood, then? Where was Mother's blood?

The beast within also shrieked in frustration.

A soft thud coming from beyond the sand prison caught the boy's attention. Willing the pile of sand to settle down, he found his target.

Mayuri had fallen on her behind, still succumbing to uncontrollable shaking. Looking at Gaara with frightened eyes, she weakly used her arms and legs to back away from the dangerous boy. The taste of her vomit remained acrid and strong in her mouth.

Gaara was just confused. Had he aimed wrong, perhaps? No, that's simply ridiculous. The girl WAS trapped inside his technique! Why was she still recognizable?

Mayuri found wisdom in cowardice and swiftly decided to stand up and run like a cat out of hell. Much to her chagrin, Gaara was not one to quit after the first failed attempt. It probably had to do with the total lack of failed attempts before that point.

"YOUR LIFE IS MINE!" He growled inhumanely before lashing at Mayuri with a terrible and steel-hard sand spike. Mayuri turned, and her sight was quickly covered by the approaching weapon, aimed to drill a hole through her head…

It missed.

Mayuri was breathing heavily; her shaking pupils fixated on the sand spear which grazed the left side of her head by less than an inch.

Gaara blinked. Miss? There's no way it could have…

_NO!_

Gaara was not sure that voice in his mind was actually his. It did not matter. The voice was in the right. He had not missed.

The girl had moved, slightly to his left, just enough to dodge his attack.

There was a problem with this argument, however: he had not seen her move. She was in the exact same position she had been just before the sand reached her. Her legs had never moved in any way.

While Gaara tried to find a solution to this mystery not involving a witch's magic, Mayuri was listing her options. If she ran, would he follow? How far could he chase her with that sand? Was she forced to fight him? But, she had never…

She did not show her frustration. She needed to train more. If only she could use THAT jutsu…

…then, she would have to…

"Huu…uhuhuhu…" Gaara was shuddering too, only for a completely different reason.

The girl had somehow avoided death twice. How? It did not really matter. Wasn't it to be expected? Nobody wishes to die! So they crawl and struggle, desperately clinging to their weak, feeble existences!

"Yes…" An ominous growl. "…prove to me…prove to me how much you wish to LIVE!"

A wave of sand fell upon Mayuri's small form…or not.

It happened again. One moment his sand was about to drown the girl, the next she was standing in front of the sand wave, which fell pointlessly behind her. What kind of Shunshin was that?

Regardless, she was still standing on sand, which quickly began to crawl up her leg. However, she disappeared and reappeared instantaneously, appearing right in front of Gaara.

She pushed him gently, and it was everything she needed.

The Suna Genin did not scream as he fell down the gorge. This is Gaara we're talking about.

Mayuri did not doubt the boy would survive the fall. That sand was not normal…and neither was the boy for that matter.

The moment she touched him, she saw things…

…yes, the sand would protect him.

After shuddering one last time, and groaning at the dirtied state of her clothes (that first Sabaku Kyuu had still messed her up a bit), she walked away as if nothing had happened.

She was still looking for her peaceful spot, after all.

* * *

**Scene 22**

Four days before the finals.

It has already been stated before, but it is worth repeating. Higashiyama Mayuri is not an early riser.

She just does not sleep.

Her mother sometimes wondered why the circles around her daughter's eyes were not as pronounced as they should be. Given the extent of Mayuri's chronic insomnia, she should look a lot like a certain Jinchuuriki, if not worse.

It was, of course, the clever application of an unique form of Kitsune _**Henge**_ that kept Mayuri's face relatively fresh.

Higashiyama Yurisa was an early riser. Not at the same level as, let's say, Yurine or Yuria, but definitely better than the lazy twins and even Himeyuri.

She managed to wake up in time to notice her daughter, already fully dressed, leaving their tent. Quietly, she followed. It's not like she could expect any answers from Mayuri, anyway.

It soon became obvious that Mayuri had no specific destination in mind. She just wandered, like she had done for the past three days, most of the time without her mother's supervision. Yurisa obviously fretted about this, but she also trusted her daughter. Mayuri had already shown more emotions in the past few days than in the previous thirty-five years, so her mother felt that giving her mute daughter some independence might help a bit.

So, together, they walked. Well, not really. Mayuri walked alone. Yurisa only followed.

The four-tails had grown to love Konoha. She was impressed by the sheer amount of tree life that covered the village and its surroundings. She had already seen so many different kinds of plants, both known and unknown to her, and she knew she had not seen the whole catalog of flora Konoha had to offer.

And she was not the only one who enjoyed admiring Konoha's greenery.

Her name is Temari, and she is from Suna. With her trusty fan by her side, the young blonde sat under the shade of a tree, mesmerized by the simple hobby of plant watching.

Yurisa had long lost track of their location. She did not know they were circling Konoha's periphery clockwise, currently standing at the position approximately near the eight o'clock mark.

There was little point to describing the scenery, as it was composed of trees and more trees. There was, however, a strange patch of greenery making a scar between the side where Temari stood and the side Temari was watching. It was as if they had intended to build a road only to conclude that just grass was a-ok.

Another thing about this place was the sheer variety. As stated before, Yurisa had seen many different kinds of plants in Konoha, but always in small clusters of a single type. This place looked like some demented farmer had thrown in seeds of whatever he could find and hoped for the best.

It was odd, but pretty in a way. Temari, who had absolutely no knowledge of how to take care of plants, only admired the strange mosaic with a tiny smile on her round face.

Still, skilled ninja that she was, she noticed the two new presences. A little girl with shrine maiden clothes who stared at her with disinterest, and a girl who looked no older than 20 years old and seemed slightly confused by something. Temari wondered where she could get a cyan yukata like the one she was wearing.

The young lady offered a respectful bow. Temari only nodded in return and proceeded to resume her plant watching.

Or at least she tried. It failed the moment yet another person entered the scene; this one making a considerably more abrupt entrance.

"Whoa! Tch-tch-tch-careful there…damn, almost lost my footing on that landing…still sleepy—waaaaaaaaagh!" Naruto finished the sentence with a long, shameless yawn.

Mayuri instinctively took a step backwards. Yurisa was a little curious herself. Naruto just did not strike her as one to wake up before sunrise. And she was right, of course. However, the boy had something important to do, and since he had training with Setsuna, he might as well get it done.

After blinking a few times to wipe the blurry sight away, Naruto noticed it was rather crowded.

"Ah, Mayuri-chan! And…uh…" He blushed in embarrassment. "Yuri…Yuri…it's Yurisa, right?"

The four-tails chuckled and nodded. So many similar names could be confusing to some. "Good morning, Naruto-san."

"Um, mornin'."

Temari was in yellow alert. He would participate in the finals too, after all. Even if, from what she could see, he was a bumbling idiot with a disgusting lucky streak. Regardless, an idiot who could use the Shadow Clone was a dangerous idiot.

Naruto had noticed her, too. He was not worried because, well, he's Naruto.

"Ah, you are…Gaara's teammate."

Mayuri blinked. Gaara? That manipulator of sand who tried to kill her the day before?

Temari raised an eyebrow.

"I'm his sister," she coldly declared, surprising both Naruto and Mayuri.

"Oh…" For the second time since he arrived, Naruto felt uncomfortable. "Damn…must be tough for ya."

Temari blinked. She had not expected that sort of response. Somehow, it did not bother her as much as it should. Especially because the honest grin on the boy's face made it obvious he was not making fun of her.

"But he can be saved, you know."

Temari was stunned.

With one last grin, Naruto turned away from her, taking his time walking across the path of grass to make it to the kaleidoscope of trees on the other side. The pair of Kitsune watched from the distance. Yurisa was more interested in the tree Naruto seemed to be aiming for. It was one of the few that remained fully green while the other were already changing colors or even losing foliage at that time of the year. It was a thin, tall, straight tree, the kind children would like to climb but should not really be allowed to. Fortunately, Naruto was a ninja, so climbing was not an issue.

The mystery of Naruto's intentions reached a whole new level of intrigue when he took a small, transparent plastic bag from a pocket and a kunai from his pouch. Slowly, and very gently, he began to collect the fruits of the tree; oval-shaped olive-like drupes.

In the end, Yurisa could not hold herself anymore and went after the boy. While she was not the plant expert of the clan (that honor goes to Chiyuri), she was interested in gardening, flower arrangement and plant care in general. She was just curious.

"Umm…Naruto-san?"

"Yes?" He replied even as he stretched to cut off more fruit off a distant branch. It was tricky to walk on the thin branches, even with chakra.

"May I ask what are you doing?"

"Picking up fruit."

Yurisa sweatdropped. "Ahaha…yes, I can see that. May I ask why?"

"To make insecticide. For my plants."

It was only then when Yurisa paid closer attention to the tree itself.

"Neem…"

The Neem tree is the primary natural source of the metabolite Azadirachtin, a natural insecticide highly toxic to many insect species. Its biodegradability and low toxicity to mammals make it an awfully convenient solution to the problem of house plant pests.

Yurisa was aware of this, of course. Well, maybe not the chemical details, but of the application. Chiyuri had drilled it into her head.

"Ho-how does Naruto-san know this?"

"Ah, read it in a book some years ago."

"And…Naruto-san makes it by himself…?"

"Yup. It's kinda hard, 'cause I need a lot of seeds. I guess it would be better if I just bought it, but I like to save money whenever I have the chance. And I get to sell the extra raw oil to Yamanaka-san for some extra cash, so it's win-win."

His tongue poked out of between his lips for a second, followed by a chuckle. "Yeah, I know. I'm a cheap bastard."

He did not jump off until he had filled three plastic bags with the tiny fruits, and deprived the tree of most of its offspring.

"Naruto-san has plants at his place." It was not a question. Naruto nodded happily.

"Um! I like taking care of them." He walked, and Yurisa followed. "I don't really know why. I guess it's just…hum…dunno what word I'm looking for here…"

"Pleasant? Satisfying?"

"…yeah. Yeah, I guess." He smiled. "Thanks!"

Yurisa could only smile back. Soon enough, they reached Mayuri, who had been watching unmoving from a distance.

"So, you comin'? I don't think Kotonoha will mind having to cook breakfast for two more people…"

Yurisa shared a look with her daughter. After five seconds of Mayuri showing no reaction, Yurisa shrugged.

"We would love to. I hope we will not be much of a bother…" She honestly inquired. Naruto laughed uneasily and scratched the back of his head.

"Ah, ahahaha…nah, nah…I'm sure Yuria and the others will be happy to have you."

Yurisa was taken a bit aback by those words, but her face did not show it. Something about the way he said it…

Still, he walked, and they followed.

"Bye, bye, Tamale!"

"TEMARI!"

Mayuri followed her mother and Naruto two steps behind, while the two suddenly engaged in a discussion about plant care. It soon showed that Naruto's knowledge was highly specific. It made sense: he was only interested in plants he could actually grow in his apartment. Still, he knew craploads more about plants and flowers than any normal boy his age should. He could easily surprise one Yamanaka Ino, should she ever bring up the topic. He did not know that many things, but the things he knew he knew by heart.

Yurisa promised to show him her own collection should he ever visit Higashiyama, and hopefully they could get Chiyuri to show him her heavenly flower garden.

While they happily chatted away, Mayuri wondered.

Just who was this Uzumaki Naruto, with the power to make it into the hearts of every person he met?

As if on cue, Naruto stopped and turned to look at her, startling her for a moment.

"Now don't be like that, Mayuri-chan! Walk with us."

Yurisa also smiled, beseeching her daughter to do as told. A little reluctantly, Mayuri stepped in between the two. Still a little wary of touching the girl, Naruto only responded to her actions with a gentle smile before resuming the walk home.

Once there, Naruto quietly opened the door. "Kotonoha."

The first thing that can be seen from the entrance to Naruto's apartment is the room that acts as both dining room and kitchen. Four plain wooden chairs and a large rectangular table under a cloth that used to be white made the humble dining place. The annoyingly small mini-kitchen had only a single cooktop, making it difficult to cook without taking forever. The lack of an oven further limited the cook's options.

Kotonoha never complained.

"Good morning, Naruto-sama—oh, Yurisa-sama, what a pleasant surprise."

"You'll have to make some extra food, Kotonoha. Sorry."

The black haired beauty looked visibly surprised for a moment, but she quickly corrected herself and responded with one of her radiant smiles.

"Of course, right away."

While Mayuri looked at everything and nothing with honest curiosity, Yurisa had quickly fixated her eyes on the large plant standing on the furthest corner from the entrance.

"A Dracaena!" Yurisa exclaimed in delight. "May I…?"

"Ah, of course! Please, come on in…"

Yurisa had taken off her geta and made it halfway into the room. The plant that attracted Yurisa's attention was a three-and-a-half-feet-tall flowerless shrub, with dark green leaves that cascaded down like a fountain. The leaves were long and relatively wide. Naruto kept it in a large but plain ceramic pot with a noticeable crack.

Kotonoha curiously followed Naruto with her eyes as he stored the bags with fruit in the refrigerator. He was making a mental note to leave a clone to take care of collecting the seeds and pressing them that day.

On a wooden shelf nailed to the wall over the Dracaena, rested a much smaller plant. Yurisa gasped excitedly when she recognized it.

"A Pygmy Date! But it's so small! Like a bonsai! Inari bless you, this is…this is so pretty!"

The Miniature Date Palm is a type of palm tree, and it looks exactly like what the name implies. It had very long, thin leaves with dozens of just-as-thin leaflets each, all neatly arranged on a single plane.

Naruto was standing behind Yurisa, unable to hide his pride while the fox-woman complimented his work. Mayuri had taken one of the seats at the dining table. They were the only available seats, after all. Kotonoha returned her attention to the kitchen, smiling all the time.

The sound of a door being opened somewhere beyond sight caught their attention. Soon enough, Higashiyama Yurimi emerged; the freshness on her face being the clear indication that she came from the bath. If she was surprised by her older sister's and niece's presence, she did not show it: standard Yurimi.

"Yurisa-onee-sama. Mayuri."

"Good morning, Yurimi-chan. Have you seen these? Aren't they lovely?"

"Of course," Yurimi plainly responded before taking the seat next to Mayuri. Even if she had taken the job of cleaning the apartment in Naruto's absence, the first (and only) instruction she had gotten from the boy was "the plants are off limits." Kotonoha and Yurimi certainly admired them, but only Naruto handled them.

"Mornin', Yurimi."

The silver princess' face softened considerably. "Good morning, Master. I could not help but notice you left awfully early this morning."

"Ah, sorry, sorry, did I wake you up?"

"No, not really," Yurimi flawlessly lied.

"Ah, okay, okay. Yuria still asleep?"

"Yes, Master."

No matter how many times they heard it, Yurisa and Mayuri just could not get used to Yurimi's odd fetish.

"Ah well." Naruto turned to Yurisa. "I have a Peace Lily in my bedroom, but I don't want to wake up Yuria yet, so…"

"A Peace Lily!" The utterly gleeful Yurisa had to hold herself back. "It…It can wait, Naruto-san."

"Hmm!" The boy nodded happily. It had taken a few days, but he finally had a means to bond with Mayuri's mother. And few things made Uzumaki Naruto happier than making a new friend.

From her seat, Mayuri observed. She was happy for her mother. Yurisa was interested in Naruto solely for the reactions he elicited from her daughter. However, she could not help but see the boy as, well, precisely that: just a human boy…who happened to have Sayuri sealed within.

Now Naruto had her approval, and they had a common topic they enjoyed, regardless of the difference in age and maturity between them. It was a great thing.

So it was hard for Mayuri not to feel a bit jealous.

Why couldn't she bond with others like that? It was not that hard: Naruto wanted to reach out to her. She just had to take his hand, but…

…she was afraid.

Afraid it would destroy them both.

* * *

**Scene 32**

When Kotonoha and Naruto returned to the apartment, one more Kitsune was there.

Higashiyama Yurisa was worried. By this point she was used to Mayuri going off on her own, but the little foxgirl had always reappeared the moment she was expected to, as if blessed with a supernatural sense of timing. That evening, for the first time, Mayuri had not shown up at the designated dinnertime. Yurisa knew it was unlikely, but she had still gone to Naruto's place to look for her daughter or ask if any of the apartment's denizens had seen her lately.

The news of Mayuri's absence immediately spurred Naruto to action. Leaving Kotonoha and Yurimi to look after the distraught mother, he jumped off to the rooftops to search for the little two-tails.

Why? He wondered.

What was this abnormal drive to protect young Higashiyama Mayuri?

He groaned when a stray thought hit his mind. Maybe Yuria was right. Maybe he was a lolicon, after all.

He shook his head. It wasn't like that. It wasn't that simple…or disturbing.

"Aaargh! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

A one-man search quickly became a one-man city-scale sweep. As he searched for Mayuri, he reviewed everything he had learned about Kage Bunshin from Setsuna and his own experiments.

"_Kage Bunshin was never intended to be a combat jutsu, boya. The risk of splitting your chakra like that is not worth the benefit, and making a decently strong clone is just too demanding for anything but chakra monsters like you or your…mate."_

"_No…the Shadow Clones are tools for espionage, pursuit and wide-area exploration. They are meant to be used when wide coverage of territory or rapid intake of information becomes a necessity. But, I guess I don't have to tell you that, do I, boya?"_

Naruto remembered his sensei's enticing smirk, and the way he had mirrored it with one of his own. He had paid attention, and he had learned. With a teacher who punished lacked of perception with terrible bolts of lightning and Void Fire, he had quickly learned to be attentive and meditate on her advice.

Setsuna's first homework, besides the chakra exercise, had been to learn everything he could about the summoning technique, saying there was more to it than the "simple" act of summoning.

From Sarutobi Hiruzen, Naruto had learned of the possibility of combination techniques (thought these were not necessarily restricted to a shinobi and his summon) as well as of the mysterious art known as "**Weapon of the Soul**."

He remembered having discussed this new knowledge with Setsuna.

"_Good, my boy…" Naruto brightened. "…but not good enough."_

_Noticing the boy's disappointment, Setsuna snorted and shook her head. "Haven't your teachers taught you to look 'underneath the underneath' or something of that nature? Well, do that for once."_

"_Aww, come on! Gimme a hint!"_

"_No."_

"_Pweaaaase?"_

"_Urk…definitely not."_

"_Pwetty pwease? Ojou-sama? Mercy on your pitiful student?"_

_A flushed Setsune look away in mock-disgust. "Su-su—such words will definitely not help you! Idiot! And stop the puppy face, it-it-it's disgusting!"_

Naruto chuckled. Setsuna was a good teacher. Odd in many ways, but damn good. So he did as told and, for once, he pulled it off.

Looking underneath the underneath.

Setsuna had given him a hint. He just had to identify it as such.

"_Everything I teach you, I teach for a reason, boya. I'm not just rambling for the sake of listening to my beautiful voice."_

Naruto had rolled his eyes at that, but it had made sense in due time.

Everything she taught him was connected in some way. His chakra exercise led to a new technique and Kitsune Jutsu. His new knowledge of Kuchiyose led to Weapon of the Soul. Then, what about Kage Bunshin?

If it was not supposed to be used in combat, then what was it connected with?

After some thinking and tinkering, he had the answer. He had just showed it to Setsuna that morning, right before…

Naruto shook his head desperately.

_Bad thoughts! Bad thoughts!_

How would he look at Setsuna in the face the next day?

Holding back aside, he put that issue on hold. Tomorrow's problems would be dealt with tomorrow. The current issue was…

It was a matter of time before a clone found Mayuri. He was about to call for her when he realized she was not alone. In fact, she was with, in his opinion, most undesirable company.

Hyuuga Neji was standing in front of her, and he did not look very happy.

First Gaara and now Neji? That little one was a magnet for trouble!

"Shit, shit, let's get the boss here right now!" Standing on a nearby rooftop, the clone gathered the entirety of its chakra for their new jutsu.

The power to cover wide distances: Kage Bunshin.

The power to transport something instantaneously: Kuchiyose.

It was so obvious he wondered why he hadn't seen it before. And it was surprisingly easy, for a space-time jutsu.

The whole of creation in a single step.

"_**Kuchiyose: Banshou Tanho**_."

The shadow clone sacrificed its existence to summon the real Naruto to its position. He would have time to be proud of his new jutsu later.

"Get away from her, you bastard!"

Even the little Mayuri looked surprised when Naruto landed to her right side and immediately pushed her behind him in an obviously protective gesture. His heated gaze challenged Neji the whole time. Of course, the Hyuuga genius looked almost bored.

"Uzumaki," he might as well have said…well, anything else. "This does not concern you."

"Like hell it doesn't!" Naruto's voice was a little too loud considering how close to Neji he was standing. The street was mostly deserted, but he still caught the attention of several pairs of eyes. "Mayuri-chan's my friend!"

The two-tails was struck by those words. Not that anybody noticed.

"So you're baby-sitting now, Uzumaki? That is commendable on your part; looking for alternative career options rather than being a pathetic excuse of a ninja."

The whole of Naruto stiffened, and his whiskers bristled noticeably. "What…did you say?"

"Most unfortunately, it seems you are not any good at this either, if I have to teach manners to your young charge." Before Naruto could respond in any matter, Neji explained. "This girl bumped into me and stained my clothes. She has yet to apologize properly."

The blond glanced around, noticing the stain on Neji's pants, the almost-empty plastic cup in Mayuri's right hand and the dark spot characteristic of poured liquid between Neji's and his feet. It was not hard to figure out what had occurred.

"Mayuri-chan doesn't speak, jerkass."

The Hyuuga frowned in irritation. "How's that for an excuse?"

"Now, now…" The person accompanying Neji that late afternoon, who had stayed out of the encounter so far, decided to intervene. "The girl bowed plenty enough, Neji…you don't have to be like this…"

"Oh!" Naruto only then noticed the girl. "Konkon—OW!"

"TENTEN!" The girl barked after throwing a kunai at the vessel. Of course, she hit him with the blunt part. She didn't want Sayuri after her cute ass. Tenten was upset with the whole situation. She knew Mayuri was mute, but she could not tell Neji earlier because that would have led to some uncomfortable questioning.

Neji stopped himself before he rolled his eyes and openly displayed his irritation at the two's loudness. Glancing at the girl, who immediately sequestered her small frame behind Naruto, he allowed himself to sigh.

"…pointless," he concluded. "Let's go, Tenten."

The girl sighed and smiled weakly. "Um."

Naruto kept Mayuri behind him even as Neji and his teammate walked past him. Tenten offered him an apologetic look on Neji's behalf, which Naruto ignored. He wasn't done, after all.

"Oi, Neji."

Neji stopped. He pondered commenting on Naruto's rude use of first-name basis, but decided it was a pointless ordeal.

Naruto gritted his teeth. Damn this was humiliating. "…I'll go with you."

"Excuse me?" The older Genin turned his head.

"I'll go with you, to wash your clothes. Is that good enough for your bloated ego?"

Tenten blinked, while Mayuri looked up at the boy with weakly disguised surprise. Neji raised an eyebrow, and then snorted.

"I will not soil my residence with your presence, Uzumaki."

Naruto's eyes growled furiously. "Bastard…"

"However…" Neji turned the rest of his body. He was smiling, but it was not the kind of smile the average person would find likeable. "I acknowledge your good intention."

He looked at Mayuri, and then back at Naruto.

"Regardless of your obvious and embarrassing lack of talent, maybe this baby-sitting job will do some good to you. I suggest you keep at it and just forget about the finals. Take your little friend out to play that day or something."

Naruto shuddered, struggling to contain his rage, until he felt a weak pull of his sleeve.

Mayuri had her usual bored, sad face, but Naruto somehow managed to read something else in it. Whatever it was, it stopped him from starting his decisive fight right there on the middle of the street.

That did not mean he would just stay shut, of course.

"I'm no baby-sitter, moron! Mayuri-chan doesn't need a baby-sitter, for that matter! She's smarter than me!"

"No big surprise there," Neji muttered, and Tenten had to agree.

"Heck, she's probably smarter than you!"

Neji raised an eyebrow again. Behind Naruto, Mayuri was blushing in mild embarrassment. Sure, she had more knowledge, being older and all, but, smarter?

"And there's no way you're getting off the ass-kicking you deserve!"

The amount of people paying attention to the scene was increasing. It made for a nice preamble to the action they'd be getting in three days.

Naruto laughed derisively. "You have no idea of what I have in store for you, jerk! You'll pay for…for…umm…why was I doing this again?"

Tenten sweatdropped. "…Hyuuga Hinata."

"Ah! Right!" Naruto quickly regained his spunk. "I'll show everything I can do! You have no idea what's coming to ya, Hyuuga Neji!"

"Hmph." The long-haired boy was not very impressed. "You're the one who knows nothing, who understands nothing."

"Don't you realize this fight has already been decided, Uzumaki?"

"We haven't even fought yet!"

"It is pointless. Such is the difference between us. A talentless reject like you cannot possibly beat me; or even hurt me. A fight between us would inevitably result in your defeat. That is the inexorable fate."

There it was. That word. While it simply inflamed Naruto's anger, it struck Mayuri to the core of her soul.

It was, after all, that word which governed pretty much her very existence.

Fate.

She looked up at Naruto, the human who evoked so many emotions within her: fear, sadness, and so very much pity…

Naruto thought about Hinata and her fight with her cousin. He thought about Rock Lee; about his effort and sacrifice. He thought about Yuria, and her struggle to find the path she needed to take. Of course, he thought about himself: everything he had done and learned in the past days. He was becoming a different person, a stronger person, in several ways.

"They're not worthless."

Neji frowned. Naruto's voice had been too quiet.

"Their efforts are not worthless. MY efforts are not worthless!" Naruto proclaimed, loud enough for everybody to hear. He smirked. "Keep looking down on me like that, Hyuuga Neji. It will make your defeat all the more interesting!"

Neji shook his head slowly. "Is it confidence, or just plain idiocy, I wonder? Are you deaf or simply incapable of understanding the obvious?" He turned away from Naruto again. "You cannot fight your fate, Uzumaki. Don't bother with a fight you cannot win."

Mayuri shook her head. This boy, Neji…his thoughts were too simplistic.

Fate does not work like that.

However…

"You're quite stuck to that 'Fate' speech, aren't ya, Neji?" Naruto spoke, smirking all the way. "Very well. In three days, let me show you."

"The power that can destroy Fate."

Mayuri looked away with regret and sadness. He did not know what he was saying. Neji was right on one thing: Naruto knows nothing.

"…hnn."

Not saying another word, Neji departed, followed by Tenten. The audience that had gathered also dissolved very quickly, looking forward to the first fight of the Chuunin Exam Finals. Shoving Neji away to the back of his mind, Naruto looked down.

"Now, let's go home, Mayuri-chan. Your mom's wai—huh?"

The little girl looked even sadder than her usual as she stared at Neji's departing back. Naruto raised an eyebrow and went with a hunch.

"Oi. Don't tell me you believe all that 'Fate' stuff he says, do ya?"

Mayuri looked down, unable to find it within herself to look at the boy.

"Aw, come on, Mayuri-chan, don't mind his idiotic rambling-"

He couldn't finish. Mayuri had looked up at him.

And she looked positively angry.

_What do you know? _Her mind spat at the confused boy. _WHAT DO YOU KNOW?_

She looked away and down. SHE knew.

She had seen it. Their battle. Uzumaki Naruto VS Hyuuga Neji. Hundreds, thousands, millions of times. For every occasion in which Naruto won, she saw three hundred of Neji's victories. Possibilities, tactics, jutsu…they mattered so little to her, yet she saw them all.

It was just a fight between human children.

So. Utterly. Pointless.

The battle itself was unimportant. It did not matter. But it was not the only thing she saw.

Endless possibilities leading to endless possibilities. Cause and effect dancing an endless game. A thread becoming a bundle, then blossoming into an infinite web of alternate histories.

A nightmare? No.

The nightmare lied at the end of those threads. Tracing their paths, over and over, over and over, for millennia, entire eons, until the end of time.

And then what? What lied beyond the boundary?

Madness.

Bubbles. Globes. Whatever.

A conglomerate of iridescent bubbles swimming in a sea of primal nothingness.

He knows the end. He is the end. Past, present, future; concepts merging and losing all significance within that which is all and one.

Such endlessness…changed.

The globes changed. In an unnoticeable, imperceptible, indistinguishable way, Mayuri knew they had changed…

She gasped, all air leaving her lungs as quickly as it had made it inside.

It was looking at her.

IT WAS LOOKING AT HER!

Naruto recognized the symptoms and kneeled down. The girl had roughly grabbed her hair with both hands, and Naruto seriously feared she would rip her scalp off.

"Ma-Mayuri-chan!" He called. "Get a hold of your—"

One more time, Mayuri utterly stunned him, this time in uncontainable horror. The girl had look up at him again, no longer caring about concealing her agony.

Naruto's pupils followed the trail of ominous red left by Mayuri's tears of blood.

"Aaaa…"

The boy blinked. That was her voice. Soft and delicate, and very, very raspy after decades of disuse.

"Aaah…"

He was brought out of his stunned stupor when Mayuri's suddenly clawed hands attempt to reach for her bloodshot eyes, as if clawing them off would somehow save her from the madness beyond time. After pulling her arms away from her face, Naruto shamelessly grabbed her and flung her on his left shoulder before leaping away from troublesome witnesses.

Stopping on a nearby rooftop and checking no shinobi eyes were around to watch them; Naruto gently lowered the girl and allowed her to stand on her own. This didn't work as well: her legs gave in the moment her feet touched the roof tiles. Mayuri was looking at him yet not looking, staring in abject terror at something only she could see. Her half open mouth trembled and leaked out worrisome amounts of saliva.

It was looking at her. It was looking at her, and she could not escape. There was no escape! It had captured her soul, and only because she had reached too far!

It was not fair! She didn't want to see the All-in-One! She never asked for such power! Why was she cursed with a talent that could only lead to hopelessness, damnation and, in the end, utter annihilation?

She did not want to die! She did not want to be taken!

"Uu-uuuh…a-a-aaaah…ah!"

Warmth.

Naruto had pushed her against his body, trapping her in a strong, warm embrace. She would have found it uncomfortable, if she weren't dealing with far more unsettling matters at the moment.

"It won't hurt you."

Mayuri blinked. What…?

"Whatever it is, it won't hurt you!" Naruto insisted. "Even if I don't know what it is, even if you never tell me, it won't hurt you! I promise!"

There was something in the way Naruto grabbed her clothes, so desperately…

"You don't have to suffer alone, Mayuri-chan…nobody should…"

She did not need to look at him to know he was crying. She would have wondered why he was so touched by this situation, but she had a pretty good idea.

"I won't let you. I'll stay with you, whether you want me or not." He pulled her closer. "I'll protect you."

Mayuri had not noticed when she had moved away (pulled away?) from the boundary of timespace and the madness beyond. She moved past the mesh of light and darkness, ignoring the billions of timelines crisscrossed like threads of an endless spider web. And then she was back.

There was only one timeline, one present. There was only Higashiyama Mayuri, caught in Uzumaki Naruto's arms, listening to his quiet sobs. Her eyes felt sore and swollen, and her shrine maiden clothes were stained with her tears. She had one hell of a headache.

Really, she would have found it funny if it weren't so damn depressing. She did not blame Naruto, of course not; how was he supposed to know?

How could he hope to protect her from something so far beyond humans and youkai?

However…was it really that bad? Was it really such a bad thing for her to do?

Couldn't she allow herself that single whim?

She wanted it. Of this, she was finally certain.

Sighing in half-hearted relief, Mayuri relaxed in Naruto's embrace.

Even if it was pointless and ignorant, Mayuri would hold on to that empty hope. Because she, too, was a selfish person.

If he was willing to fight a hopeless battle for her, then she would let him.

Would he still stand by her side, even when he realizes how meaningless it was?

Mayuri shook those thoughts away. At that moment, she only wanted…to rest and…

Exhaustion finally took its toll. As she fell asleep, Mayuri clung to Naruto's chest for dear life.

It was warm, so warm…

* * *

**Scene 37**

It hurt.

Her head, it really hurt.

Clutching it with tiny hands, Higashiyama Mayuri closed her eyes and shook her head as if this could dispel the headache. Of course, it only made it worse.

What was she thinking when she agreed to come to this village? It was driving her mad!

This village…it was enveloped in a cloud of death. Past, present and future were irrelevant: this village was a village of the dead.

She still had not developed her Spirit powers, but she could guess there were a lot of lingering souls crawling around. Yuri-sama must feel at home in a place like this.

She knew what would happen in two days. Well, to be precise, she knew many possible ways two days from now could turn out. You need infinite time to observe infinite possibilities, after all. Regardless of the turnout of the battle, the constants would be death and destruction.

The Higashiyama Shrine was safe because nothing ever happened there. Now, in the midst of a village that thrives in violence, Mayuri was showered with visions. It was hard at home. Within the borders of Konohagakure, it was unbearable.

And, the more she saw, the more she feared she would reach the edge. She was not sure she could resist IT one more time.

Why? Why was she cursed with this horrible power? Why did her mother give birth to someone like her?

No. She was thinking the wrong way.

It was fate.

Whoever her father was, he had sought Yurisa for the sole purpose of siring progeny.

Mayuri could not blame or hate her mother for something like this. It would be immature of her part.

But, what could she do? To cling to false hope…it was not like her.

Of course, that statement by itself was weird. She was 135 years old, but she already felt so much older. To "live" multiple lives both instantaneously and simultaneously, it would be an impossible strain for anybody else.

Everything that was Higashiyama Mayuri existed for the sake of wielding this accursed power.

She became aware of his approach approximately six seconds before his arrival.

_**Rain Droplets on the Spider's Web – The Crawling Chaos.**_

It was Mayuri's fundamental defense, superior to the Sharingan's predictive power in every possible way.

"Found ya. I should have guessed you were on the rooftop all this time."

She did not action to acknowledge Naruto's arrival. It was so bothersome. She had nothing against him, but it deeply bothered her to be close to him.

Uzumaki Naruto terrified her.

The visions she had when he was around, they were the worst. The effect seemed to be inversely proportional to the distance they kept.

"I'll sit here," Naruto declared before sitting on the floor beside her.

Mayuri shuddered. Uninvited, many different realities struck her in a second. Thousands of possibilities, outcomes both good and bad in the short term; and then, if she moved forward…

She shook her head. She could not allow herself to move forward. In the end, everything ends with chaos, and then, nothingness.

She could not hate him for this, either. Fear him, maybe, but not hate him. It was not his fault he became the person he is, carrying the potential he does.

"I…" Naruto suddenly began. "I hadn't seen you at all today, so…" He blushed. "I got a little worried. You know, yesterday…"

Mayuri did not respond, but she obviously remembered. Yesterday…

She was almost ashamed of herself. She succumbed to her hopelessness; she gave in to his arms, seeking a measure of vapid comfort. And she did not regret it.

She was still a child, after all. A weak, immature child. And he was strong. Ignorant, but strong.

"So…are you okay?"

Mayuri ignored Naruto's question. How was she supposed to respond to that, anyway?

In the end, the silence persisted. While he was used to silent moments with Yurimi (and he had just spend a wonderful afternoon with her), it was somehow different with Mayuri. It was not tense. The best word, strangely enough, was "debilitating." It was depressing, the kind of silence that could make you physically ill.

"Haaa. Isn't it tough, not talking at all?"

Mayuri looked up at the boy. What was he getting at?

"I know you're not mute. You just stopped talking at some point. That's what the others told me."

Mayuri refrained herself from nodding.

"People talk because they have things they want to share with others, right? So I guess, in your case…you have things you don't want other people to know, to the point that you refuse to speak at all."

It was a perfectly logical and awfully perceptive conclusion.

"I guess that's, like, yeah…really noble and all. I don't really know about that, but it must be tough."

He thought of patting her head like he did with the other foxgirls, but he quickly remembered that was not a good idea with Mayuri. She even flinched a little when she noticed him raising his right hand.

Smirking, Naruto rested the back of his head on his hands. "It doesn't really matter to me, anyway." He nodded. "No matter what happens, I'll take care of you."

Even the faintest blush was clearly visible on Mayuri's pale cheeks. She almost slapped herself for being so obvious, but she just went with looking away.

What did he know? He could only say such things because he was ignorant. If he knew half of what she knew, he would think again before uttering those big words.

She wanted to dismiss him; just like she had discarded everybody else, even her own family. Ignorance is bliss, they say.

But she couldn't, because she had seen him. She had seen too much of him. The constant images that invaded her mind whenever he was around made sure she could not keep him away from her thoughts.

While individual humans (and even youkai) are tiny little things in the grand scheme of things, it could not be denied that history was written by the deeds of individuals. Any single person had the potential to change the course of history. It was simply a matter of doing the right thing on the right place at the right time. So, she knew. Of Naruto's immense potential. She had seen it, after all.

And there was also…

When the other Sayuri, the one from the other timeline, had appeared, Mayuri had been wracked with visions of that timeline. She had seen it; Yuri's folly and the events that followed. She had seen what she herself had become, and she could understand why her actions had earned her that Sayuri's hatred. Even she watched her other self's decisions and actions and could only deemed them as indescribably profane.

And it was all because of this human. Uzumaki Naruto.

She –the other Mayuri– had trusted him. She had loved him. And he had loved her. And then he died, and her soul, her mind and her morals died with him.

Mayuri looked up again, at the human boy another Mayuri had loved to madness. Naruto responded to her hard stare with a curious smile.

"Something on my face?" A childish response.

Mayuri looked down, at her tiny hands which clutched her red hakama.

Painfully, desperately.

Higashiyama Mayuri was a very lonely person. Those small hands, longing to hold on to someone, were the definitive proof.

She was alone, and afraid. She wanted to rely on something, someone, anyone. But her kindness stopped her from dumping her weight on somebody else's shoulders.

Higashiyama Mayuri was a very weak person.

She startled Naruto when she crawled over to his left side, reaching for his larger pouch.

"Eh?" He blushed at the sudden contact. "Wha-wha…?"

Doing her best to ignore the rush of images that struck her the moment her fingers reached him, Mayuri looked for a specific thing in the pouch. Of course she knew the contents of that container. She knows many things, and those she knows not she can learn by searching through the worldlines.

"That's…"

An empty scroll and a writing implement. Two basic elements of any shinobi's gear. If anything, Naruto could be proud of his diligence keeping his pouches properly stocked. His kunai could use a bit of sharpening, though.

Many years ago, her mother had tried something like this. She had offered paper and pen to Mayuri, hoping that she could convey with written words what she refused to say. Mayuri had not even grabbed the pen before walking away, leaving a disheartened Yurisa behind.

Naruto had also considered this possibility, but he guessed it was such an obvious idea that somebody must have obviously tried (and failed at) it before.

Therefore, it was with no little surprise that he watched Mayuri seize the pen in an incorrect manner and slowly begin to trace characters on the scroll.

Why was she doing this for him? Mayuri still wondered. Why was she sharing with him what she had not shared with anyone else?

It was a strange logic. The other Mayuri had loved him, and this love drove her insane. However, she was still perfectly clear of mind when she chose to trust him. She had seen what he had done for her in that timeline. True to his words, he had fought for her. He had fought to protect her, breaking his body in the process and hastening his final demise as a consequence.

If that other Mayuri had acknowledged him, a human, then she could do it, too. If that other Mayuri had accepted him and entrusted her life to him, then she would do it, too. If that other Mayuri had agreed to let him face the madness by her side, she would do it, too.

If that other Mayuri had chosen to believe in love in the midst of her hopelessness, then she…

With trembling hands, she offered the scroll to Naruto. She had only written a single sentence. No more were needed, really.

A single sentence that would change Naruto's life, and the history of this world.

"_I am a Time Kitsune."_

His wide eyes looked up, to find that Mayuri was standing uncomfortably close to him. She had spread her legs so that his own were in between. Placing her fingers on his temples, she showed him.

The power of one whose eyes see the whole of time and space.

There was no need for madness-inducing Genjutsu, when she could just show people HER reality.

Naruto's body went stiff, and blood began to rush through the tiny vessels in his eyeballs.

He was SEEING.

He saw himself; an older self, fighting an orange-haired man wearing a black cloak with red clouds, in the middle of the crater that once was Konoha.

He saw himself, watching the burning buildings of his home with deranged, childish glee.

He saw himself, leading an army of thousands, against an army of youkai just as immense.

He saw himself, as an adult, dying of age, secluded to a wheelchair and surrounded by his children and grandchildren.

He saw himself, and the rest of Konoha, watching the sky as a colossus of decomposing flesh descended upon the world to unleash unholy devastation.

He saw himself, and Yuria, staring helplessly at Sayuri's cracking, bubbling flesh just before she screamed and her body exploded into a blazing hellstorm that consumed them and everything else in a radius of dozens of miles around her.

He saw himself-no, he saw something that **looked like himself but was not**, punching the adult Sayuri's face repeatedly and mercilessly.

He saw. He saw. He saw and saw and saw and there was no end to the death and destruction and chaos and madness and pointlessness of worlds and worlds-that-fell-apart-in-violence-and-horror-and-he-could-not-stop-seeing-and-it-was-too-much-he-was-going-to-die-and-—

"Gah!"

The blur became a fixed image. His eyes regained focus, and met those of the girl who had revealed the truth to him.

In her eyes, he witnessed the very definition of misery.

Hurriedly, carelessly, Naruto pushed her away and crawled to a corner of the rooftop, where he unceremoniously emptied his stomach. Little Mayuri clumsily, hesitatingly, massaged his back while he heaved and retched.

It was pathetic, really, but it was her own kindness.

Feeling that he would not throw up any further, Naruto turned around and leaned on the meshed fence of the rooftop, taking deep breaths while he allowed his heart to settle down.

"Wha…what the hell was—"

He could not finish. The weight of Mayuri collapsing on his chest almost knocked the air out of his lungs.

"Ah…"

Hugging him, holding on to him like he was her last anchor to this world, Higashiyama Mayuri cried. But even then, she held back, and not a single sound escaped her throat. But, while her mouth remained silent, her mind screamed. Screamed and screaming and apologizing until she was exhausted. There was no way Naruto could know.

It was torture. His warm embrace and the tender hand that caressed her head made her visions exponentially stronger, but they also granted her a tiny flicker of hope and comfort in the midst of the madness. It was truly the ultimate torture. One she could only bear through until sleep claimed her. And even after that.

Naruto was pained for many reasons. The things he had seen…the terrible headache that hammered inside his head and the sight of the sleeping girl in his arms. He could tell. He could feel Mayuri was in terrible pain. His incapacity to do anything for her pained him.

It was the feeling of impotence Yurisa had felt for almost thirty-five years.

"The power to manipulate spacetime is truly fearsome."

Naruto's eyes quickly found Sayuri. The adult nine-tails greeted her beloved with a half-smile before seating down by his side.

"It is almost flawless, possessing only two known weaknesses," she explained. "To this day, I have never been able to beat her in a fight. In this present time, she's probably the strongest Higashiyama. Not even my mother could do anything against that kind of power. Then again, Mayuri has never been much of a fighter. She'd rather run away and, with her abilities, it's awfully easy."

"However, that kind of power…is something nobody should be born with. It's a terrible, maddening power, and she has it far worse than anybody else."

"All Time Kitsune are seers. They all possess short-term precognition. It means they can foresee the immediate future. You can imagine how useful that is in a fight."

Naruto did not respond, but he could tell. It was obvious; knowing what was about to happen before it happened was one hell of an advantage.

"Mayuri's short-term precognition is particularly good. It's so good that it is considered to be a separate ability unique to her, instead of an improved version of their natural powers."

"Time Kitsune can also see far beyond the immediate future. However, this power is somehow limited. First of all, they have no control over it. Their visions of the future come to them whether they want them or not, all the time. Even when they're asleep or unconscious. Secondly, their visions are highly specific in nature. Each Time Kitsune can only see visions related to a specific topic: Travel, Trade, Love…I met one that could only see things related to cooking."

"The jutsu Mayuri just used on you is called _**Illusionary Dominance – Ex Oblivione**_. It allows her to project her visions into other people's minds. She showed you the things she sees every single minute of every single day. What was the common thing to all those visions you saw, Naruto?"

"Eh?" Naruto blinked, and looked down at the sleeping foxgirl. "I dunno…they were very different…but most were really violent…is it something like 'Death'? Are her visions limited to visions of death?"

Sayuri smiled and shook her head. "No, Naruto. Her visions show her something far more encompassing that 'Death' or 'Destruction'."

"It's '**Endings**', Naruto. Mayuri has the power to see the end of all things."

As if on cue, the little girl shuddered in her sleep.

"It's not just limited to the end of lives, of course. Cities, business deals, meals, nations, illnesses, relationships…as long as it has an end, Mayuri can see it. And you might have already realized that EVERYTHING has an end."

"Of course," Sayuri continued. "The future is uncertain, even to Mayuri. There is not just a single way something can end, and the visions take this into account. Mayuri not only sees one end; she sees **every possible end of every possible thing**, constantly. And since the possibilities are endless, that means…"

"Her visions will never end," Naruto correctly concluded. He felt his stomach churn one more time. Mayuri had given him a short glimpse…

"No…no way…she…" He trembled, and it was taking him everything he had not to cry. "…you're telling me she sees **that** all the time? Even now?"

"Especially now," Sayuri corrected. "Direct contact focuses the visions, so at this moment she must be watching many different visions starring you. It's the reason she doesn't like to be touched, and probably the reason she was afraid of you. If I have to guess, I'd say your infinite possible futures are very hard to see, onii-chan."

"Ugh…" Naruto's only sound to complain. "So, she doesn't speak because…"

"Well, for starters, Time Kitsune are supposed to be a legend; a rumor amongst Kitsune. She doesn't want to burden her family, and it's not like they can help her, anyway. Nobody can protect her from things only she can see. And also, well, there's the fact that Mayuri is immortal."

Sayuri ignored the look Naruto was giving her. "Time Kitsune are extremely long-lived. They supposedly can live far longer than any other youkai, and even longer than many gods. I say supposedly because, in my timeline, they were all killed. The Time Kitsune, I mean. All by Mayuri."

Naruto blinked.

"Mayuri is special, even among Time Kitsune. I have no guarantee she's actually immortal, though. That's just what she told me, and considering everything I know about her, I have no reason to think she's lying about this. She will not die of natural causes, and she stopped aging the moment she became aware of their powers. Little Mayuri here is actually much, much smaller that she looks right now. She had less than a year as a two-tails when she awakened as a Time Kitsune. She uses a unique version of _**Henge **_to keep appearances. It's based on spacetime manipulation so it's pretty much undetectable."

"That's the other reason she doesn't speak. She tries to avoid making bonds with others, because she knows she will outlive everyone else. You, me, and probably even this world. Her visions affect her because she knows she will live long enough to see which become true. They're not just distant visions of the future to her. They are her reality. Whether they happen tomorrow or a hundred million years from now, she believes she will be there to watch them happen."

"Take her down to the apartment. Her sleep might be a little easier for her to handle if you're not holding her like that and, to be honest; I'm getting a little jealous."

Realizing Naruto had not really paid attention to her little joke, Sayuri sighed. "Look for me sometime later, onii-chan. I want to talk about something else."

"Hmm," Naruto responded in a subdued tone, paying more attention to the foxgirl in his arms than to Sayuri's voice. The nine-tails only shook her head and disappeared, allowing him to be alone with his thoughts.

The ultimate power. The ultimate price.

Immortality. Endless nightmare.

He was sure Sayuri had not told him everything. Maybe not even she knew everything. Only Mayuri had all the answers.

It did not matter. What he knew was enough. More than enough.

He wanted to hold her forever. To hold her tight as if his embrace could protect her from anything and everything. But that would probably make things worse, wouldn't it?

A part of him missed the good old days when he only cared about beating Neji, dating Sakura and becoming Hokage. His life was becoming awfully complicated.

But now that he knew, he could not just turn a blind eye to it. This world of foxgirls, nine-tails, youkai and a little girl with power over time and space. He could not just ignore it.

It was not the Naruto thing to do.

"I'll protect you," he whispered to the sleeping girl. "I don't know how, but I'll protect you. For as long as I live…"

No.

That was not enough. That was not long enough.

Naruto's tear-stricken eyes blazed with unjustified determination.

"…for as long as I have to."

The moment he said those words, all sorts of doubts struck him. How could he even make such a claim? She was an existence far beyond his, in a way not even her fellow lilies could begin to compare! How could he even pretend to protect her, when she could probably protect HIM?

But, still, it was what he believed.

"I promise…" He whispered. "No matter what, I…I…"

Mayuri snuggled closer to him.

Holding a goddess in his arms (because Mayuri cannot be labeled a mere youkai), Naruto cried, as the weight of his mortality, his **humanity**, struck him like nothing had ever before.

* * *

_**Mayuri Side – End**_


	25. Lily of Many Petals, Sun and Moon Side

**Author's Note: **This time with 45 percent more Shino!

* * *

_**Naruto Genkyouien**_

_**- **__**ナルト**__**- **__**幻**__**脅**__**威宴**_

**Chapter Fifteen: Lily of Many Petals—Sun and Moon Side**

* * *

**Scene 2**

It had been an odd beginning of day at the Higashiyama camping grounds. Breakfast was quieter than usual, probably because the events of last night remained fresh in everybody's memories.

How are you supposed to act when a Kyuubi from the future travels back in time to give the clan a lesson?

Yuri ate in complete silence. Had it not been for Sayuri's intervention, she would have destroyed her family in three days. That's one hard thing to swallow.

Filial loyalty was a strange thing. Looking at it from an objective point of view, the lilies have absolutely no attachment to their Matriarch. Himeyuri was the only one of Yuri's daughters who was actually raised and taught by the Silver Lily herself. In several ways, the Matriarch was a distant figure; somebody who gave orders the rest of the lilies followed, mostly because that is what they were supposed to do.

If the Matriarch commands, the lilies obey.

These were the thoughts that crossed Yuri's head while she ate. She had received Sayuri's forgiveness. What about her daughters and granddaughters? Would they forgive her?

Did she even deserve it?

And why did she care so much about that, anyway?

It became clear as she glanced at the girls around her.

Yurina used a tissue to wipe food off her clumsy mother's cheeks while her sister shook her head in exasperation. Yuri was not very surprised by the girls' ability with their primary specialties. Yurina was very talented. As for Yuriyo, the Void was not particularly hard to grasp; controlling it is the matter. If Yuriyo managed to get a good grip on her powers by the time she got her third tail, preparing her for missions would be a breeze.

Her Void and Spirit Jutsu, as well as her seduction skills, would make Yuriyo an excellent element for the clan in its dealings with both humans and youkai. She probably will not spend much time at the shrine after her 200th birthday.

To the Matriarch's left, Yurisa asked her daughter whether she was enjoying her meal. Mayuri simply nodded in response. Yurisa, Inari bless her, acknowledged the response with a kind smile before turning to her own breakfast.

While the Sorrowful Lily had shown some interesting reactions in the past twenty-four hours, it was way too early to get hopeful. Still, the possibility remained that a trip was exactly what Mayuri needed to regain her lost spirit.

Some distance away, Yuriko and Yurika ate at a rather hasty pace, all the while whispering to each other; most likely planning for the day. They had been scolded for their reckless attempt at pranking the Konoha kunoichi. Yuri was definitely disappointed by their poor performance. She was reaching the point where she did not know what to do with those girls anymore.

Between the identical twins and Yurine's table, Yurimi and Kotonoha ate in silence.

Yuri was proud of her second youngest daughter. She was developing into an exemplar lady, and Yuri could not help but see herself in the Lily Seed. Yurimi would become the next Matriarch; of that there could be no doubt. No one else among the lilies would be as capable.

"Mother."

Yuri was startled, but she knew better than to show it. That was unbecoming from a Matriarch.

"Yes, Yurisa?"

The blond four-tails made a slight bow after being acknowledged.

"What will Mother be doing today?"

That was enough.

When Yuri's eyes met Yurisa's, in the split instant, the Matriarch saw her acceptance. Not forgiveness, acceptance.

The lilies will still follow their silver beacon.

It was, after all, the only thing they knew.

Yuri wondered if that was the reason the matriarchal rule was installed on the first place. To create this shameless dependence.

"I have…matters I need to meditate on. I believe I will stay in my pagoda for today." She placed her chopsticks on top of her rice bowl. "Thank you once again for a wonderful meal, Yurine."

"Hai! You're welcome!"

"What are your plans for the day, Yurimi?" The Matriarch regarded her second youngest.

"I intend to explore the village properly. I have not done so yet, which surprises me."

"Huuuh…" Yuriyo muttered, not before showing a sly grin. "Thought you would not waste time to run to the boy's arms."

"I certainly would not bother Naruto-sama while he is training," Yurimi explained. "And he has a mate he may seek if he wishes for intimacy."

Yuri nodded. "Very thoughtful of you."

This was the reason Yurimi had to become the next Matriarch. She had the capacity to put her emotions aside; a trait extremely rare in such chaotic and emotion-driven creatures as Kitsune.

A minimal pull of her sleeve caught her attention. Only one person would dare do such a thing.

Her eyes met those of her best friend. Sayoko's wordless inquiry was answered with a slight nod.

The suicidal Kitsune slowly stood up, surprising the lilies. The Matriarch was always the first to stand up at the end of a meal.

Apparently uncaring of the unregistered rule, Sayoko's eyes looked for the other Void Kitsune in the clearing.

"…follow me when you are done."

Yuriyo only managed to wait twenty seconds before she, too, stood up, leaving an unfinished meal behind.

"Ah, Riyo-nee—"

"Yurina."

The Matriarch stopped Yurina before she could go after her sister.

"This is your sister's training. Your presence will only trouble her."

For once, Yurina was caught between loyalty to her clan and love for her sister.

"To this point, it has been your presence as a Celestial which has restrained her connection to the Void. She cannot rely on you forever."

The twin-tailed foxgirl shut her eyes tightly. A short but fierce battle raged within her mind, but, in the end, she acquiesced to the harsh truth.

"Yes, Yuri-sama."

It did not take long for Yuriyo to catch up. Sayoko is a very slow walker. Then again, she's slow at pretty much everything. However, she was aware of the younger Kitsune following.

"The Void is the simultaneous negation of all concepts. It is the natural end: sooner or later, everything will be consumed by the Void. It is inevitable, for such is the nature of all that exists. It is the one true singularity: everything is consumed, and nothing ever makes it out of the Mouth of Oblivion. It is the total, complete, utter annihilation."

"I believe, however, that you already know all this."

Sayoko turned to face Yuriyo. Her expression had not changed in the slightest. Yuriyo raised an eyebrow.

"That's got to be the longest speech I've heard from you since I was born."

"Auuu…"

Sayoko pouted and walked further away, prompting Yuriyo to catch up and walk by her side.

"But, yeah, I know that stuff. I read the Codex."

Sayoko did not respond. They walked in silence for about a minute. The older Kitsune's apathy forced Yuriyo to present her question.

"What are the Whispers?"

Sayoko nodded, as if approving of the question.

"Do you know what 'The Pulse' is?"

Yuriyo shrugged. "I just know it's important for specialized jutsu. I've heard Yurina talk about 'The Pulse of the Heavens', but I cannot understand something like that."

"It's hard for us Voids, yes," Sayoko had what could be called a condescending smile. "Everything, not just living beings, has a pulse, they say. The earth, the seas, the air itself. It is a rather obscure concept, though. It implies the existence of 'something'; a 'vital sense' of sorts, which gives all things their specific structure and function. A driving 'will' that directs subatomic interactions. Whatever it is, harmonizing with this 'Pulse' and then directing it is what allows youkai to use Jutsu."

"For those youkai connected to the Void, things are slightly different. The Void does not have a Pulse, after all."

"We need an indirect connection, of sorts. We do it through the Whispers…or, more precisely, from their source."

"What is clear is that the Whispers have to come from someone…or something. They do not come from the Void itself. The source of the Whispers has to be an entity, or a group of entities, caught in the delicate boundary between existence and oblivion. It is through these entities, those closest to the Void, that we can tap into it ourselves."

"However, these entities are utterly malevolent, intent on dragging all of existence into the Mouth of Oblivion as soon as possible. That's why all humans and youkai connected to the Void are victims of an inclination to destroy."

"Humans? You say humans can reach into the Void, too?" Yuriyo could not believe this.

"Yes, yes. Their connection is much weaker, however, and therefore easier to control. Easier from our point of view, of course. Human Void users are an endangered species, currently reduced to the Nara Clan of Konohagakure."

"Back on topic, Yuriyo."

The half-Void frowned. It was the first time Sayoko called her by her name, as far as she remembered. It was kind of weird.

"The Source of the Whispers relies in your emotions to control you and drive you to destroy everything, including yourself. The Void, on the other side, is alien and impersonal. It does not care about what it consumes, as long as it gets to consume something. The Void does not actively 'want' to devour you, but will not fail to do so, if given the chance. To control the Void is to deny it that chance; to let it grow outwards, but never inwards. The Void cannot be used for anything but indiscriminate obliteration; controlling the Void means allowing it to destroy everything…except for you."

"…damn, you talk a lot."

Sayoko threw her arms to the sides in frustration. "Aaauuu!"

Meanwhile, in the camp, the group had already dispersed to begin the day's activities. Only two remained seated on the middle of the clearing, even if they had long finished their meals.

Yuri was a patient fox-woman (not like she had any hurry for anything), so she calmly waited for Yurina to gather her courage.

"A-Anoo…Yu-Yuri-sama…"

"Yes, Yurina?" The Matriarch smiled gently.

"Umm…I…I, I apologize for my rudeness, but…ca-can Sayoko-san really…Riyo-nee-chan…?"

Yuri released a very tiny chuckle. "Allow me to share a story with you, Yurina."

"A long time ago, when I was around Yurimi's age, there was a certain human, a human like no other. He was extremely wise and powerful; youkai feared him and compared his might to that of the gods. History knows him as the Sage of the Six Paths, and he is the one responsible for creating the current shinobi society."

"This man had two children, and his blood blessed them with many powerful abilities. The younger son was kind and peaceful, and he firmly believed in harmony with nature. The older son, however, was strongly aggressive and belligerent; a follower of the 'might makes right' philosophy, who preached that it was humanity's right and destiny to oppress youkai."

"Such claims would have been found laughable in any other situation, but the Rikudou Sennin and his children possessed the frightful ability to dominate and control any and all youkai, regardless of their power. Even our mighty Kyuubi were easy prey against this godlike ability."

Yurina listened with rapt attention; her thirst for knowledge second only to the shivers Yuri's words sent down her spine. The Matriarch was a surprisingly good storyteller.

"Needless to say, youkai were terrified. For the first time in history, there was a human who could actually make true his ambitions of youkai domination. The leaders of the Great Kitsune Clans met and came to the conclusion that the Sage and his eldest son had to die."

"Umm…" Yurina raised her hand as if asking for the right to talk in a classroom. "…I understand the son, but why the Sage, too…?"

"Ah, well…" Yuri giggled. "…It should be obvious by now that the Sage was not celibate. In fact, he made it a habit to…umm…'convince' beautiful female youkai to join him under the bed sheets. Many leaders of Kitsune families were unhappy to find their daughters so smitten with the man."

"Uhh…" Yurina sweatdropped. "Excuse my bluntness, but…by any chance…"

Another giggle. "Yes, my dear, I was one of them, I must admit. He was my first human, although not my first male."

"Haa…" The younger Kitsune had an odd face. "So the Sage was a lolicon."

"I believe he went after anything pretty and female, regardless of age. So he was many things; among those, a lolicon."

"But anyway," Yuri swiftly brought the tale back to its proper path.

"Making the decision was easy. The issue was how to accomplish such a thing. Many powerful youkai had already tried and failed. The meeting was adjourned without a clear conclusion on this matter. However, a week later a delegation from the Great Clans arrived at the Higashiyama Shrine to hand in a scroll ordering the assassination of the Sage and his son, signed by the two living Kyuubi at that time."

Yurina gasped. "Bu-But, that's ridiculous! It would be the end of the clan!"

"True, if the scroll had been addressed to the Matriarch. The scroll, however, was addressed to Sayoko-san."

"Sa-Sayoko-san! But, why…?"

"Simple. Regardless of who died, it was a win-win situation for a certain someone."

Yurina remained silent, waiting for the Matriarch to explain herself.

"Kuromiya Tsubame-sama, Fubuki-sama's mother, was a Nine-Tails. Feeling that her days in this world were close to an end, she wanted to make sure that her daughter would be appointed to be her successor. This means she wanted to eliminate all those she considered possible candidates."

Yurina needed a few seconds to swallow those words.

"Sayoko-san…a candidate for Kyuubi?"

The seven-tails ignored those words and continued her tale.

"Unable to refuse an order from two Kyuubi, Sayoko-san readied herself to depart. I tried to stop her, of course. I loved her back then as much as I do now. I still remember…" Yuri had a bitter smile as she spoke. "…she gently kissed my forehead and muttered a single 'later'." She chuckled. "It looked like she was just leaving for a stroll."

"She returned a week later, as if nothing had happened. Only she knows what happened that week. There are rumors, of course, but in the end the truth exists only in her memories."

"What everybody else knows is that the Sage and his son were never seen again. The clans kept an eye on their progeny, but we left them alone when we realized their powers had diluted and they no longer had that fearsome domination power."

"The funny thing is, when Tsubame-sama passed away, Inari ascended Fubuki-sama to Kyuubi right away. Everybody expected the offer to go to Sayoko-san, of course. When I asked her if she thought it was unfair, she just shrugged and went back to sleep. That's Sayoko-san for you."

Yuri's lips curved upwards, as her mind showed her images only she could see.

"I do not know what goes in Sayoko-san's head, but I have an idea why Inari-sama does not offer the ninth tail to Sayoko-san."

The Matriarch's smile became mysterious, eerie, and it might have even hid a hint of fear.

"…she doesn't need it."

* * *

**Scene 9**

Higashiyama Yurina was lonely that morning. While she was the first to shout her outrage at her sister's overly…flirty behavior (to say the least), she was deeply struck by her sudden absence. She was so accustomed to having her noisy sister by her side that, now that she was busy with her morning training, the cute Half-Celestial truly felt her absence.

So she was alone, enjoying the autumn breeze somewhere in Konoha's outskirts. Seated with her knees close to her chin, she pondered what to do. While she was curious and Konoha was an interesting new place, the sheer amount of people intimidated her a bit. Yurisa was on Yurine-sitting duty that morning; Mayuri had wandered off somewhere. The twins…were disturbingly quiet. Apparently the Matriarch was not very happy with them for some reason. Speaking of the Matriarch, she had also wandered off without warning after breakfast, followed by a swarm of kudagitsune.

It was obvious she was up to something, but it was too early to tell exactly what.

"Higashiyama Yurina-san."

Her body stiffened for a moment. Yuri-sama would not have approved of such carelessness to the point of being caught by surprise when alone. However, she quickly recognized the voice behind her and relaxed, if not completely.

"Shino-kun."

Aburame Shino walked until he appeared from the left side of Yurina's field of vision, stopping no more than three steps away. "Is it available?"

Yurina blinked. That was an odd way to ask. "I…I guess so…"

Nodding, the boy sat on the grass.

"Am I bothering you?"

"Nnn…no, of course not. It's just…" This was the very first time she was alone with a male. It was a bit unsettling. "…it's nothing."

"You are alone this morning," Shino stated the obvious. Yurina nodded.

"Yuriyo-nee-chan is…" To say 'training' was not an option. They were supposed to be a fancy rich family on holidays. "…busy. Family issues."

"Hmm." Shino murmured. What could he make of that?

"So…" he continued. "…you have no plans for today."

Yurina blinked a few times. A lovely pink color had taken over her cheeks.

"A-Ano…Yurina…Yurina is sorry to say this, but…umm…Shino-kun's…not really Yurina's type…"

A pitiful silence filled the place while Yurina fidgeted with her fingers.

_Ah, I get it now_.

It finally clicked in Shino's brain. This was Hinata, with blond hair and skimpier clothes.

And twintails.

"Hard to believe as it may be, I am not hitting on you, Yurina-san."

"Huh?" Yurina actually looked a bit confused. "…really?"

"Really."

"Hmm…" She toyed with the tips of her fingers for a few seconds. "…are you sure?"

After those words, definitely.

"I would have to say yes." He actually sounded a little annoyed.

"Hmm…so-sorry…Yurina…Yurina has trouble around males…"

"Really." Shino guessed girls like Yurina were not really his type. He would not deny she's very pretty, though.

"Oh, there's people here?"

A figure leapt over their seated forms and landed before them. He was surprised to recognize them, too. "Ah, Shino and Yurina-chan!"

"Onii-sama. Good morning." Yurina inclined her head to greet the blonde ninja.

"Uzumaki-sama."

"Eeeh…" Naruto sweatdropped. "To use 'sama' is kinda…"

"Uzumaki-sama is Uzumaki-sama."

"Ha-haa…maa, anyway. Didn't expect to find anyone here. Yuriyo's not around?"

"Yuriyo-nee-san is busy at the moment."

"Hmm…I see."

It was obvious to Shino and Yurina that the blond was not really interested. His eyes were scanning the whole field, as if looking for something amidst the greenery. There was also the thing he was carrying…

"Ano…o-onii-sama…that basket…"

"Ah." Naruto smiled and lowered the basket for the two others to see. It was about halfway full with wild herbs…no. It was not hard to notice that Naruto was collecting a specific kind of herb. The basket was full of small, light green, spindle-like seedpods.

"Hmm…" Yurina mumbled. "Yurina…Yurina has seen then in a book, but the name escapes my mind right now…"

Shino shook his head. They had some knowledge of wild plants and fruits from survival training, but this was beyond their academic formation.

"It's a D-rank mission. The briefing scroll said to fill this basket with cardamom, so here I am."

"Cardamom…" Yurina repeated. "It's a medicinal herb, right?"

"I think so. I use it to deal with hunger sometimes, that's why I know how it looks like and where to find it. I dunno if it has other uses."

Shino frowned at this. "…hunger?"

"Um!" Naruto nodded happily. "You can use these things to make a nice drink to deal with the hunger pangs and the stomach acid." His facial muscles tensed a little bit, fixing an odd smile as he looked away. "I use it when I'm fasting…for this or that reason…"

"…I see," Shino said no more. He might not be talkative, but he was observant. He was aware Naruto had a tough childhood. He did not understand the background behind it (besides his being an orphan), though.

"Hmm…onii-sama knows many things, doesn't he?"

Naruto chuckled nervously. "I don't know about many things, but…I guess I know everything that grows around here."

"Eeh? Naruto?"

It was the familiar, loud voice of Yamanaka Ino that called our protagonist's name.

"What's with that weird tone…?" Naruto seemed a bit disgusted by the way his name had been addressed. The young blond kunoichi quickly reached the group of three.

"Naruto? It's really you…"

"Who else would I be?"

"No, I mean…" Ino slapped her forehead. "…I just met you a minute ago. You were after Tora."

"Tora…? Hmm…must be another clone, then. Probably one of several; that cat's way too much for a single clone."

"Wait," Ino frowned and tried to look at Naruto more attentively. "You mean you're a clone too?"

The blond nodded. "Hmm. The real me is training for the finals, of course!"

Ino's frown deepened. "Why are you chasing Tora, then?"

Naruto's face was the one of a person who has just been asked a stupid question. "Because it's my mission?" He paused. "Well, his mission. I have another one."

Ino stopped herself from facepalming again. "I mean, why are you doing missions and training at the same time?"

"Is that some sort of trick question?"

"Heeeeeeeeelp meeeeeeeee!"

A massive sweatdrop ensued when, in the distance, the small figure of another Naruto ran for his life. A menacingly large cloud of dust followed him, and all sorts of bathroom-related objects were being shot from within.

"What the hell…oh." The herbalist Naruto jumped a bit when the memories of a third clone reached him. "So that's what happened." Noticing the stares of two Genin and one Kitsune, he explained. "Tora ran into the ladies' public baths. Clone followed."

"Ah," was Ino's only comment. Shino nodded eagerly.

"I salute your clone's audacity, Uzumaki-sama."

"Please don't say worrisome things, you," Naruto immediately deadpanned. "But, this is bad…partially naked women can be vicious."

"You'll make me hate you with sentences like that, Naruto."

"Ah, sorry, Ino. Just wondering what to do…"

A hand on his shoulder interrupted Naruto's meditations.

"Shino…?"

The shades glinted under the morning sunlight. "You must do what you must do, Uzumaki-sama."

After a second or two, Naruto's eyes widened in realization. "Shino! You…"

The bug tamer calmly nodded. The approaching horde of women drew nearer and nearer. At the sight of this threat of the highest level, Naruto nodded with determination.

"Ano…" Yurina muttered. She was lost.

"A ninja must use the tools at his disposal, right?"

"Right," Shino repeated in a firm tone. Naruto nodded and grabbed the fellow shinobi by the shoulders.

"You…you are a true friend, Shino."

"Your words honor me, Uzumaki-sama."

"You two…" Ino seemed a bit exasperated, but it quickly turned into outrage when Naruto grabbed Shino by the back of his coat and lifted him with sheer muscle power.

"Ha-Hawawa!"

"What the hell, Naruto?"

"Shino!" The blond exclaimed, deaf to the girls' voices. "Go get them!"

With those words, Naruto threw Shino to the angry mob of women; a scapegoat to distract the mob from their real target. It was like throwing a cow leg to a swarm of starving rats.

"MY BLOOD FOR THE PIMP KING!" Shino's battle cry.

The violence that ensued will not be described for the sake of the author's laziness and eroding mental health. Regardless, in the midst of the violence, the four witnesses, two Narutos, one foxgirl and a kunoichi, wordlessly watched a single male hand emerge…and give a thumbs-up.

"A noble sacrifice," Naruto said solemnly.

"Stop that already," Ino spat.

"Hawaa…"

With the clones gone to finish their respective missions (as well as avoid further female wrath) and Shino…well, beaten, it was just Ino and Yurina all of a sudden. It was the first time this happened, so it was a bit uncomfortable. Fortunately, Yurina's shyness did not extend to Ino; she is just a single girl, after all. A human girl, to boot. To put it in a bluntly honest way, Yurina found no reason to be intimidated by Ino, kunoichi or whatever.

"A-Ano…can I ask…?"

"Huh?" Ino was a bit startled. "Uh, sure, sure, go ahead."

"It's…it's about…the finals…I hear them mentioned, but I don't really know…"

"Huh…isn't that what you came here to watch?"

"Haa…" Yurina sweatdropped. "Yu-Yuri-sama did not give any details…she said we were coming here so…"

"Heeh…you've got a forceful family."

Yurina did not know what to say to that.

Ino promptly explained about the Chuunin Exams and their purpose. Yurina was acquainted with the different ninja ranks, so it was a quick explanation. Ino quickly narrated the events that led to the finals that would take place in less than a week.

It was inevitable, then, that Yurina would bring up the obvious question.

"So Ino-san is not participating…?"

The young kunoichi made a rather tired expression at that. "Ugh…"

"Ah!" Yurina quickly put up a wall between the two with her hands. "So-Sorry, I didn't mean anything…!"

"Nah, it's okay…" Ino finally sat down next to the foxgirl. "I know I'm not good enough."

She sighed.

"I used to be so proud of myself…so proud of my looks, so proud of my Academy grades…" Another heavy sigh. "This exam really showed…" Her eyes were lost in the distance. "…I'm not a very good ninja."

Yurina's eyes widened. "I-I'm sure Ino-san has plenty of skills…"

"I just have my family techniques, and those don't work if I don't have Shikamaru and Chouji with me…my teammates." Ino quickly explained, noticing Yurina's curious look. "I would not mind this much if I could at least say I'm better than Sakura, but…" She groaned. "We tied."

The last word came out as if she had just eaten something very, very bitter.

"So, yeah, I'm a terrible ninja. As for my looks…"

Yurina sweatdropped at the evil eye she was receiving from the kunoichi.

"Yurina…Yurina's not really that…Ino-san is very charming, and…umm…Riyo-nee-san is much, much more attractive…"

"Haa…well…" The younger girl shrugged. "Your sister has that whole 'femme fatale' thing going, I guess…she's gotta do something with her attitude, though."

"Yurina…Yurina is painfully aware of that."

"But you've got your own kind of charm, and you've definitely got the looks. You don't get that much attention because your sister's hogging it all."

"Umm…tha…that's okay…Yurina…Yurina's not very good with males…"

"I can tell." Ino chuckled at that. "Haa…really…" She let her back fall on the grass, and rested her hand on her hands. "If I had your looks, I'd have every cute guy in this village at my beck and call…"

"Auu…Ino-san shouldn't look down on herself like that…"

Yurina, being the kind soul she is, wanted to make Ino feel better with herself. However, she needed to measure her words carefully, so as to not reveal her identity as youkai.

"Yurina…Yurina's not very good…within the clan's standards…"

Ino raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Yurina continued.

"A proper Higashiyama lady…should not be shy…or insecure. A proper Higashiyama lady should always walk with confidence…with her head held high, and the most elegant gait. A proper Higashiyama lady…should not feel nervous around men…she should make men nervous, and make them obey her every whim…a proper…a proper Higashiyama lady…should be strong of mind…cunning and skilled…"

"In that respect, Riyo-nee-san is much, much better than Yurina. Yurina…Yurina only has a good memory. Yurina's only talent is to read books and remember what's in them."

Her body shuddered for a moment, and Yurina closed her eyes to dispel demons only she could see.

"Yurina doesn't like violence, either, so Yurina's no good in a fight…Yurina…Yurina cannot even protect the clan…"

"Wait."

She had Ino's attention.

"You girls can fight?"

"Ah…" The foxgirl nodded. "Um. We're…umm…mostly women, so we're supposed to be able to defend ourselves…just in case."

"Heeh…but…" Ino was still a bit confused. "Like, what kind of fighting? Like, naginata-jutsu or something like that?"

"No, not really…only Yuri-sama, Himeyuri-sama and Yurimi-san know how to wield the naginata. We mostly learn…umm…" She couldn't just say 'Kitsune Techniques'. "…martial…arts? Umm…sort of…like…your Taijutsu?"

Ino's body jumped back to a seated position. "You girls know Taijutsu? Like, with chakra and stuff?"

"Uhh…" Yurina scratched her right cheek. "It's…not precisely…but, we-we can use chakra…"

"Really!" Ino was strangely excited.

"Um…yeah…"

Knowing what Ino would say next, Yurina went ahead and molded a bit, careful that her tails would not pop out as a consequence.

Ino gasped. It was true! Belonging to a family of sensor-types, she could immediately feel it, and boy did she feel it.

"This…this chakra…"

It was…different, in a way Ino could not understand. It was…cleaner.

That was the word that came to mind. Yurina's chakra felt clean, pure and pristine, very appropriate for this innocent, charming girl.

"Waa…it's the first time I meet someone who can use chakra and is not a ninja."

"Samurai also can use chakra…I think."

Ino blinked. "…right, I think we were told that in the Academy. Damn, you do know your stuff. What a prim and proper ojou-sama."

"Ah…ahaha…ojou-sama…" Yurina giggled nervously.

"Nee, Yurina-chan…" Ino leaned closer to the other girl, who suddenly found herself feeling very uncomfortable.

"Wha…what is it, Ino-san? U-Um…you…you're a little too…"

"Can we spar?"

"Huh?"

"Yeah! I want to see how I fare against an ojou's Taijutsu!" Ino jumped up excitedly. It was the first time she was excited about a fight since…ever.

"It…it's not really Taijutsu…"

"Whatever! Come on!"

Unfortunately for the half-Celestial, she's the kind of person who finds it hard to say no. Hence the sparring session began.

One minute later, Yamanaka Ino was sprawled on the ground, panting for dear life.

"A-Ano…" A slightly flushed but otherwise okay Yurina leaned over the kunoichi's prone form. "Are…are you okay, Ino-san?"

"I…hate you…so much right now…"

"A-Auu…Yurina, Yurina's terribly sorry!"

Yurina sat back down next to Ino, allowing the kunoichi to catch her breath.

"What…what kind of moves were those? I…I've never seen…Taijutsu like that…"

Yurina sweatdropped. "Like I said, it's not Taijutsu…" Coming up with a sudden idea, she continued. "But, Ino-san."

"Hmm?"

"Can you tell me?" Yurina inquired. "What did you see…about my style?"

Not really understanding the point of such a question, Ino halfheartedly reviewed the short beat down in her mind.

"Eh…well…" Ino thought for a second. "Umm…well, your stance is very low."

Yurina nodded. "It's lower than usual; yes…it could be lower." She paused. "And high attacks are rare in this style, yes…unless I'm jumping, of course."

"And you block attacks with your feet; that's really weird."

Yurina chuckled. "Ahahaha, it's not that weird…so, what else?"

"What else? Huh…"

A long, pointless silence followed.

A large drop of sweat slowly trailed down the right side of Yurina's face. "I-Ino-san…"

"Ugh…don't give me that look full of pity."

Yurina tried with a gentle smile. "My gurukkal always said…the final step to mastery is to understand the techniques. After crafting a body suitable for the style and practicing the moves until they become instinctive, the next step is to understand the whys of the style. Every single detail."

"I don't want to be a combat master!"

Yurina nodded. "No…I guess not."

"Urk…" For some reason, those words really hurt Ino. "Bu-but…I want to become better. I don't want to be forced to depend on my teammates to be useful!"

Jumping back to her feet, Ino rudely pointed at the foxgirl. "And you can help me!"

"Hawa?"

"You can teach me how to fight better…and stuff!"

"Eh?" Yurina was quickly flustered by the request. "I-I'm far from a master myself! It would be insolence of my part to teach somebody else…!"

"I'm not asking you to teach me your style, you silly! You'll just be here for a few days anyway! Just…just help me get better, please!"

It deserves to be repeated: Yurina's the kind of person who finds it very hard to say no.

"Yurina…" She forced her hands to stop trembling. "Yurina will help anyway she can!"

"Alright!" Ino celebrated triumphantly. "I'll be counting on you then, Yurina-chan!"

"Ha…hai…it's…it's okay." Yurina nodded, more to herself than to the other blond. "If it's just training, it's okay."

Doing her best to ignore the relentless shaking of her frail-looking hands, Yurina stood up to follow the rookie kunoichi.

"If it's just training…it's okay…"

* * *

**Scene 18**

"But, damn, walking on water is tough…" Yuria had done nothing but complain the past minutes. "And my bindings are soaked again."

"Tell me about it," Naruto responded, his head turned away from his mate. With her bindings useless, Yuria's magnificent cleavage was poorly concealed by her white kimono shirt. It did not help that the shrine maiden clothes were also soaked and clung to every single of Yuria's curves like a second skin. Naruto had noticed she had gotten a fair share of looks while they slowly roamed Konoha, leaning on each other after another exhausting morning of training.

He was sure Yuria had noticed the looks, too. He had to commend her for dismissing them so easily. But he had to give the guys a point…or several. Truly, with those perfectly toned arms, her well-built legs made for enduring long distances, her awfully thin, wasp-like waist…and her abs.

Dear God, those abs.

The blushing Naruto wondered if there was even a milligram of extra fat in that body. Well, besides…those two…you know.

"So-so!" Naruto struggled to find a topic. "How goes reinforcement training?"

Yuria groaned.

"It's pointless," she declared. "I just can't shove more chakra into my arms. If I could I would have done it ages ago! I mean, it would be awesome if I could pull out punches and kicks as strong as my Tail Rock Breaker…" A strange, pointless groan escaped Yuria's throat. "Setsuna's right: I won't be able to rely on reinforcing my tails all the time. But it's just not possible! There's a reason I focused so much on Tail Reinforcement all these years, you know."

Weakly lifting her right arm, she showed that it was awfully swollen.

"If I try to put more chakra in my arm I think the pathways will burst, really."

Naruto actually looked worried. He truly wanted Yuria to become stronger, but she was seriously harming herself.

"There must be another way, then. A way to reinforce your limbs without forcing more chakra through your pathways."

"Do you even realize how ridiculous that sounds?"

Naruto unconsciously pulled Yuria closer, drawing a tiny squeak from the smaller girl.

"Are you gonna give up just because Setsuna doesn't have an answer for you either?"

"We-well, she's the smart one…"

"Yuria!"

Yuria's eyes dubiously followed Naruto's blushing face until he turned away and triggered his tsundere protocols.

"I-I…my mate's no idiot."

Finding it within himself to look back at her, he tried a smile.

"You can do it, Yuria."

Yuria replied with a massive grin and a dangerous bear hug.

"Aww, aren't you cute?"

"Ack! Wait! Yuria! Too close!"

Yuria did not seem to mind all the looks they were getting. It did not matter: Naruto would mind for the two of them.

"Well, aren't we lovey-dovey today?"

"We are not. And I'd rather we aren't, ever. It would be frightening."

Yuriyo rolled her eyes at Shino. "You know what I meant, imbecile." She looked around. "Where's the dog, anyway?"

"Right…here!" A panting Kiba emerged from a nearby store, carrying no less than four very heavy-looking bags. "Why am I carrying most of the stuff anyway?"

Akamaru barked in agreement, all the while perched on his friend's head.

Yuriyo made her bets impression of, well, her sister. "Bu-but, I just want you to work out those fine muscles of yours, Kiba-kyuuuun." A fake sob. "I…I…I think of your wellbeing, and you…youuuu!"

The two Team 8 teammates shook their heads very slowly. "That…doesn't really work."

"What Shino said."

"What…what is exactly going on here?" Yuria muttered; whatever mood she had with Naruto long gone.

Shino corrected himself and offered an elegant bow. "Greetings, Uzumaki-sama. I see you have enjoyed a pleasant morning."

A bark.

"Uhh…" Sweatdrop. "…yeah, you could say that. What's up, Shino, Kiba, Akamaru."

"BBQ. River. Mom's cooking. Wanna come?" Yuriyo can be quite concise.

Naruto did not get the chance to answer.

"We're coming," Yuria did not hesitate to answer. Not that Naruto minded some free food. Lifting her own bag, Yuriyo turned her back to the group and took the lead, followed by Shino, who also carried a single bag.

"So…" he began, sometime after they had started following Yuriyo. "Nowadays I always see you guys together."

Yuria blinked. "You know, you have a point, buddy."

Yuriyo shrugged. "You mean my chaperones?"

"Your what?" Kiba irately intervened.

"Oh, you don't like that word? Okay, my boytoys."

"I wouldn't mind that one."

"You have absolutely no shame, don't you?" Kiba growled at his teammate.

"Just think of the sex, Kiba. Just think of the sex."

"What sex!" The Inuzuka exclaimed, and Yuriyo nodded.

"I'm with him. What sex?"

Shino stared at Yuriyo for a long eight seconds.

"…way to burst my bubble there."

"Aww, poor boy." Pat, pat. "You should be ecstatic just by sharing breathing air with me, you know."

"Redefining narcissism every time I see you, Yuriyo."

"It's not narcissistic if it's the absolute truth, auntie."

"…as a matter of fact, it is," Naruto added. Yuriyo grinned and turned her head to the blond.

"Well aren't you cute."

"That's the second time I've been told that in this scene," Naruto commented.

"Scene?"

"Forget it, dog," Yuriyo sharply answered Kiba's question in Naruto's stead.

Said dog growled at the foxgirl.

"I mean, you're already agreeing with Yuria and defending her. That's cute."

To their credit, neither Yuria nor Naruto really blushed…much.

"Uhh…it's just common sense."

"Say what you want." Yuriyo winked, and Naruto blushed considerably. Yuria growled at this. "I can't believe myself, but I think you actually make a nice couple."

Yuria's head almost fell off her head with the sudden jerk. Had Yuriyo just said…?

"Uhh…uuu…ugh!"

"Such a way with words as usual, auntie."

When they arrived to the agreed location for the barbeque, they found a most unusual of sights.

"Whoa! Is that Yurina?" Yuria exclaimed excitedly. It was not something you could see every day, after all.

Yurina was a storm.

Maybe a storm was not the best word, however. Storms are chaotic and disorderly. There was structure in every single of Yurina's movements. Her body followed a sequence planned, adjusted and counter-adjusted just as quickly as she moved.

The poor butterfly caught in the storm was none other than Yamanaka Ino. But Ino was not entirely without hope. Even as she weaved and dodged and desperately sought an opening for attack, she was learning. Yurina's grace and fluidity of motion, even as they sparred, was something Ino aspired to.

So she watched, and learned.

TWACK!

And got kicked on the face.

"Ah!" The storm was no more. "Ino-san!" The twin-tailed blond hurried to aid the downed kunoichi, worry etched on her lovely face. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't think I'd-waaah!"

"Gotcha!" Ino smirked evilly when her low sweep connected and sent Yurina to the ground…not.

Arching her body backwards more than any ordinary woman would have accepted as possible, Yurina managed to touch the grass with her hands first. Quickly straightening her body again, she spread her legs for further stability and made a wide sweeping kick with both, if only to keep Ino from trying anything funny while she was upside-down. In one single, fluid motion, she finished the helicopter kick and shifted her body until she was standing back on her two feet and facing the still-prone Ino.

"Muuu~Ino-san, that was mean!"

"Wha…wha…"

"Holy shit." Kiba was a little more vocal.

Shino was a lot more vocal.

"I think I saw panties there—ow."

"That's my sister, you rotten bastard," Yuriyo hissed threateningly.

"But, to think you girls knew that kind of amazing Taijutsu…" Kiba muttered, and Yuriyo snorted.

"Taijutsu? We're not ninja, you know…" She paused and looked down. "…don't mind the clothes."

"I know I don't." Shino was shamelessly looking at Yuriyo's poorly covered behind as he spoke.

The half-Void rolled her eyes. "It's Martial Arts. For self-defense, you know."

Yuria chuckled. Yuriyo made it sound like they were wary of perverts and rapists or something.

They learned Martial Arts to defend against aggressive youkai.

"Regardless." Shino was serious for a change. "To think Yurina-chan is more flexible than even Ino—oof."

"Yu-ri-na-san." Yuriyo removed her elbow off Shino's side. "And I'm more flexible anyway."

"Pfft," Kiba snorted. "Jealous of your sister?"

"Not really," Yuria admitted. "She IS more flexible. Like a fuckin' snake."

"A crane, Yuria. I'm a crane."

"Onii-sama!" An eager Yurina trotted to meet the group, standing before Naruto with a bright smile. "Good day, onii-sa…hawawaaan~"

Naruto chuckled at the sight of the utterly mellowed foxgirl just by having her head petted. "Hello, Yurina-chan."

Shino raised an eyebrow. "…why don't you elbow him?"

"Shut up," Yuriyo growled quietly.

"Aaaaaaah!" the fraternal twins' mother yelled from a distance away. "Not fair! Yurine too!"

Fortunately, Yurisa was there to stop her. "Onee-sama! You are cooking!"

"Hawaa…"

"Sure, sure, leave poor little Ino sprawled here."

"You can get up on your own," Kiba idly commented.

"Oh quiet you."

"Still…" Shino just had to say it. "…I certainly would not mind checking that flexibility of yours."

A chuckle in response. "Sure you wouldn't." Yuriyo shook her head. "But you're ten years too young to even have a chance at handling me, my boy."

"Innuendo aside…" a rather moody Ino intervened. "That brings a good question."

"Just how old ARE you?"

Yuriyo and Yuria froze as one. Naruto sighed.

Now, the smart solution would have been letting Yurina handle it, being the brightest one and all. Most unfortunately, Yurina was still in mellow-mellow land, and Yuriyo's the kind of woman who thinks she can take the whole world and win without even breaking a nail. So she went for it.

She should have paid more attention in class.

"Nine. We're nine years old."

Naruto facepalmed. Kyon would have been proud.

"You're not Testarossa, ya know…" Yuria mumbled.

This story is ripe with Testarossa jokes.

Naruto to the rescue. "Umm…Yurina-chan? Your sister's being a comedian here…"

"Hoe?"

Leave it to Yurina to come up with reasonable human ages for the entire family.

Yuria and Naruto took the chance to approach the cooking side.

"Smells good."

"Hello, hellooo, Yuria-chan!"

"'sup, Yurin-nee."

Noticing Naruto's curiosity, Yurisa explained.

"We just needed a surface to put the meat over the fire, so I made a grill with Soul Forging."

"Soul Forging?"

"It's a Spirit technique that allows to shape soul essence into ectoplasmic matter…we can make things with souls." The sweatdropping Yurisa had to really dumb down the explanation. "Remember Mother's pagoda, the night we met?"

Naruto's eyes brightened. "Ah! Right! Right…that was really out of place there…so it was made with…souls?"

"They're easy to find," Yurisa stated. "So it's not like we have to take the souls out of the living…most of the time."

Naruto gulped.

Looking at the grill, Yurisa shook her head. "It will take a while before we're ready here, so just go over there and keep yourselves busy, okay?"

"Okay, okay…" Naruto noticed a certain absentee. "Where's Mayuri-chan?"

The question made Yurisa a little bit uncomfortable. "Ahh, well, she likes to wander on her own, that girl…!"

Noticing that Yurisa's eyes had moved past him, Naruto (followed by Yuria) turned around. The other group of youngsters had also noticed.

As if cued by Naruto's inquiry, Mayuri had appeared, wearing her usual tired, bored expression. However…

"Mayuri!" The mother cried in alarm, not wasting time to reach her daughter's side. Yurina looked just as anguished, and Yurine was torn between going after her sister and staying with the BBQ. Yuria just looked shocked, but Yuriyo had a strange calculating look on her face.

"What happened to you?" Yurisa asked the moment she was in front of her daughter. Mayuri, of course, did not respond. Not that she needed to; her dirtied clothes answered for her.

"What's with all this sand?"

Naruto and Yuria felt alarms ringing in their heads. Sand?

The boy's eyes met Mayuri's for an instant, and in that instant, he knew.

They were relieved to see Mayuri was unhurt, only dirtied, and, if the girl seemed unbothered by whatever happened, there was little point in fretting over it.

Still, Naruto and Yuria exchanged glances throughout the rest of the gathering.

The group of young humans and Kitsune, joined by Naruto and Yuria, went back to the topic they had before Mayuri's interruption.

"So all of you know martial arts."

"Yup," Yuriyo responded to Kiba's statement. "The Matriarch…our grandmother, she's an expert on both naginatajutsu and taijiquan." Noting the skeptic look on Naruto's face, she added: "she just really, really doesn't like physical combat."

"Anyway, she taught naginatajutsu to her first daughter, Himeyuri-sama, and taijiquan to Yurisa-onee-sama. Himeyuri-sama taught naginatajutsu to her first daughter, Chiyuri-nee-san, and to Yurimi. Himeyuri-sama's probably better than Yuri-sama –that's our grandma– with the naginata. I mean, she still practices every day."

"Yurimi can use the naginata?" Naruto inquired.

"Meh, she's not that good."

"Good enough to kick your ass, 'Auntie' Yuria."

"Shut up."

"Anyway, as for Yurisa-onee-sama, I guess she'll teach her taijiquan to little Mayuri sooner or later."

"What about you?" Naruto asked his mate, who responded with a "meh" attitude.

"Taijiquan is not really my kind of style, and I don't really like weapons."

"In mine and my sister's case, since our mother's useless…"

"Riyo-nee-chan!"

"What? It's the truth," Yuriyo insisted, but it was obvious Yurina was not very happy with her sister's words. "Anyway, since mom couldn't really teach us anything –I mean, look at her–, Yuri-sama found teachers for us. That's how I learned my White Crane style, and Yurina her Kat…Kau…Kola…what was the name again?"

"Kalarippayattu," a rather subdued Yurina responded. This was not a topic she particularly enjoyed.

"Yeah, that. But you only studied for four years, and I got stuck with my hellish sifu for…" Yuriyo stopped herself before she said 'fourteen years'. "…much…longer. What was that about? You never told me."

A sigh. Higashiyama Yurina seemed really down.

"My guru…got tired of me."

Only then did Yuriyo realize that Yurina was not really enjoying this. The pause that followed was uncomfortable, as for once the half-Void could not figure out what troubled her sister.

"She said…I lacked intent. She said that, even with all my talent, even if I learned all the techniques, if I lacked the intent to strike at someone else, then it was pointless."

It was no longer clear if Yurina was talking to herself or to the group around her.

"And she was right. I was just incapable of raising my hand against someone else…not even my guru. The idea of harming someone else…it was scary. I was afraid of hurting others; of giving them a reason to hurt me in return."

"And…and I…"

Her eyes took a dark look for a second. It was a look nobody had ever, ever, seen in the Darling Lily's eyes.

Yuriyo was scared.

With a sigh, the heavy mood that seemed to have filled the place quickly dispersed, and Yurina recovered her usual expression.

"I hope I can keep sparring with Ino-san. I want to get used to fighting again…to lose my fear of harming others."

Ino was about to nod in agreement, when…

"Wa-wait! Does that mean I'm just your punching bag?"

"Eh?" Yurina blushed. "N-No! That's not what I meant!"

"It's exactly what you meant," Kiba countered. Shino had to nod in agreement.

"Auuu…"

Yuriyo, however, stared at her sister in silence for a while before making a decision.

"Haa, no way around it, then. Sunshades!"

"I take it you are addressing me," Shino deduced, and Yuriyo rolled her eyes.

"Obviously. Now, get up; we're sparring."

"Eh?" More than one person present made that sound. Yuriyo shrugged dismissingly.

"What? It wouldn't look good if my sister starts training again and I don't at least give it a try. We do everything together, after all."

"Onee-chan…"

"Very well…" Shino accepted, standing up to follow the foxgirl.

"And you just go along with her whims…" Ino muttered.

"Of course. How could I deny myself the chance to grope her as much as I want?"

A pause and several open-mouthed stares.

"I don't know you anymore," The kunoichi groaned. Yuriyo, on the other side, was fairly amused.

"Ahahahaha, well, aren't you honest? But, my boy, before you can grope me you need to be able to touch me first."

Shino narrowed his gaze. This girl…youkai or whatever, she was just too confident, even if she had the disadvantage of not being able to use her powers in public.

Well, it wasn't like he could use his ninjutsu, either. Ino and Kiba would get him for using his bugs against a "plain civilian".

"I'll be nice and tell you a little something to fire you up." Yuriyo chuckled. "I'm not wearing underwear today, you see."

"ONEE-CHAN!"

Yuria slammed her hand on Naruto's eyes. "That vixen…"

Shino cracked his knuckles. "Hohoh…you might regret telling me that, Yuriyo-san."

Turning to face him, the Night Lily winked saucily.

"Oh, you never know. If you have skilled fingers I might actually enjoy it."

* * *

**Scene 24**

Naruto walked the streets of Konoha with no certain destination in mind. Setsuna had enough of Kotonoha's presence that morning and finished the training session earlier. It was not much of an issue; they had done everything they usually did: three days inside _**Izanami**_, talking about Jutsu Theory and practicing his chakra tail exercise and…other things. He was sure he'd have it done by the same time tomorrow.

Hence, he was looking for his mate for lunch. He had an idea where she was, but he was taking the panoramic route. He was in no hurry, after all.

On the way, he wondered about Setsuna's relationship with Kotonoha. It was obvious for him that his mistress was not very fond of Yurimi's bodyguard. The feelings did not seem to be reciprocal, though. He would have to inquire a bit more on those two's history.

Yuria was training with Maito Gai. It was…an odd thing to think about, but, in all honesty, even Naruto could admit Gai could teach her far better than himself. If the spandex-clad Jounin could turn Fuzzy Eyebrows into that green avatar of awesome they all saw in the prelims, there was no telling what he could do with a stamina and strength monster like Yuria.

"Naaaaaa-ruto-kyun!"

WHAM!

There it was. That familiar feeling of cleavage smashed on his head. How or why something like this was already familiar to him was something he really did not want to think about.

He could feel the stares of passerby's. What could he expect? He was tasting dirt; his face pushed on the sandy street and pinned there by the weight of a magnificent pair of jugs.

"Wemhwofmii…" Something like "Get off me," we may presume.

"Hawaa…Naruto-kun, Yurine doesn't understaaaaaand~"

_You would if you get off! _Naruto's mind yelled in clear irritation. Of course, if Yurine moved off there would be no point to his words anymore, would it?

Still, the five-tails did get off, allowing Naruto to get back on his feet. Yurine was all smiles, radiant in her childishness. While some eyes still lingered on the Kitsune's glaring curves under her short-skirted shrine maiden clothes, most dismissed her and went on their merry ways.

"Hello, Naruto-kun!"

"Yeah, hello, Yurine…umm…chan." He still had issues figuring out the proper honorific.

"Hai! Yurine-chan!" He could almost see the wagging tails, even if they were not out.

The blonde did not fail to notice the oddity. "Umm…Yurine-chan, why are you by yourself?"

"Ah!" The woman exclaimed, as if she appreciated him asking. "Yurine's waiting here~"

"Waiting?"

Yurine pointed at a glass panel and Naruto quickly understood. On the other side, he could clearly see Yurine's half-Celestial daughter in deep thought.

"A bookstore," Naruto declared. Indeed, Higashiyama Yurina was checking books. "Where's Yuriyo?"

"With Sayoko-saaaan~" Yurine happily replied.

"Why do you keep extending the last syllable?" Naruto then inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Yurine doesn't knooooooow~"

"Figures." He looked back at the twin-tailed fox-girl. "Why don't you go in, anyway?"

"Hawaa…books make Yurine's head huuuurt~"

"Really." He could relate to that, but still, to hear it from an adult was kinda…

Then again, thinking of Yurine as an adult was hard by itself.

"Ok, so…I'll…go say hi to Yurina-chan, okay?"

"Muuu~" Yurine's inexistent ears dropped instantly. So did the rest of her existent expression. "Yurine, Yurine will be lonely again…"

Naruto rolled his eyes. Really, who was more childish, her or Sayuri?

…

…

…Sayuri. Definitely Sayuri.

Fortunately, he had the tried-and-true technique.

"Hawawaa…" The fox-woman was all bliss when Naruto gently petted her head. "Yurine, happiness~"

"Right, right, let's just go together. You don't have to look at the nasty books, anyway."

"Um!" Naruto went a bit stiff when Yurine took his right hand. "Yurine, will look at Naruto-kun!"

"Emm, sure, whatever works."

Closely followed by the joyful Kitsune –and struggling to ignore what was pressed against his right arm–, Naruto walked into the bookstore.

"Welcome—ah? What the hell?"

Naruto shot the clerk an unhappy look. Yeah, Uzumaki Naruto walking into a bookstore. It happens!

"Yurina-chan," Naruto called, not very loudly. Still, the girl noticed.

"Ah!" Her cheeks reddened, and her lips curved in a delightful smile. "Onii-sama."

"Ha-lloooo~"

Yurina giggled. "Hello again, Mother."

Naruto glanced at the bookshelves. It seemed Yurina was not going for a specific literary genre that he could notice. "So, checking out books."

"Ah…" Yurina glanced down, a bit embarrassed for some reason. "Ahahaha, um…I would like to get some new books…it's the first time I leave the shrine, so…"

"Hmm, yeah, makes sense to me." Naruto grinned, and Yurina's smile brightened to dazzling levels.

"S-So, is onii-sama also…?"

"Eh? Ah, ahahaha…" It was Naruto's turn to be uncomfortable. "No, no…I…I'm not much of a reader…ahaha…"

"I-I see…" Yurina was admittedly a bit disappointed, but it was not like she did not expect it. Still, she could tell Naruto was uncomfortable with this admission, which made her feel bad herself.

"Ah…umm…s-so…onii-sama…why is onii-sama…?"

"Ah, that is, well…" Why were things so awkward between these two? "I'm on my way to meet Yuria for lunch, and I met Yurine-chan on the street out there."

"Hehee…" The mother giggled and gave Naruto's arm a squeeze.

"That's nice…" Yurina muttered wistfully. Whether she referred to Yurine clinging to Naruto or Yuria getting to enjoy lunch with him, we'll never know. Naruto assumed it was the latter.

"Ah, well, I got Yuri's invitation for later today, so I guess we'll be dining together or something?"

"R-Right!" Yurina nodded. "I'll look forward to it!"

"Yurine too!" The exultant five-tails added. "Yurine, Yurine will buy delicious cake! Naruto-kun, you must eat it!"

"You don't have to tell me."

Looking at the book in Yurina's hand, Naruto switched the topic. "So, found anything interesting?"

"Ah, well…" Yurina's expression darkened a bit, as she reluctantly placed the book back in the shelf. "I don't know…there are some, but…" A guilty smile. "Books are surprisingly expensive…"

"Ah, yeah…" Even Naruto was aware of this. "Umm…"

As if on cue, there was a sudden rush of alien information in his head, characteristic of the feedback following the end of a Kage Bunshin's existence.

"Oh…" His brow creased in thought. "Hmm…yeah, that will work."

"Onii-sama?"

"Hawaa?"

"Alright, let's do this." He raised a finger. "One book. Pick one, and I'll buy it for you."

While Yurine's expression brightened with pointless joy, Yurina went into an awful fit of blushing.

"O-Onii-Oni-Oni…Onii-sama!" The blonde foxgirl quickly shook her head in disagreement. "I-I could never—there's no way I can accept such a thing!"

"Aw, come on!" Naruto rolled his eyes, but still smiled. "I don't know the person who would refuse a gift."

"B-b-but! To receive a present from onii-sama…it's embarrassing…"

"Hey, I resent that!"

"Ah! N-n-no-that's not what I meant!" An even more flustered and frantic Yurina declared. "Auuu, ano…that is…" She went for a tangent. "Onii-sama should buy such presents to Yuria-san…"

Naruto blinked. "You know, you bring up a perfectly valid point. I'll keep it in mind. Now, back to you."

"Hauuu…"

In the end, Yurina was no match to Naruto's implacable insistence.

"The-then…" There was something truly charming in Yurina's blushing, pouting face. "I…I'll be counting on onii-sama, then."

"Mm-hmm!"

Yurina enclosed her body, drawing her shoulders towards each other. It was weird. It was also the first time she received a gift from somebody outside the clan. To be from a male, of all things…

"Onii-sama…" She moaned cutely, covering her flushed cheeks with her hands.

"Yurine too!" The mother suddenly exclaimed, startling her daughter, making Naruto wince and drawing the attention and annoyance of everyone there. It was no library, but a modicum of quietness was expected.

The five-tails, of course, paid little heed to such nuances. "Yurine too!" She repeated. "Yurine will give Yurina a book!"

"Uhh…" The half-Celestial chuckled quietly and uneasily. "Tha-thank you, but, we don't have enough…"

"That's okaaaaay~" Yurine responded confidently. "Yurine's book is here!"

Naruto's eyes almost popped out of their sockets when Yurine shoved her right hand in her substantial cleavage. For some reason, Yurina was very annoyed by this.

"Here it is!"

Indeed, it was a book. Well, more of a notebook, leather-bound and no larger than Naruto's hand. Black elastic kept it tightly closed.

"Here!"

Hesitantly, Yurina took the notebook from her mother's hands. Naruto was still processing the latest seconds of his life.

"Wa-wait, you always had that thing in…there?"

"Um!" Yurine nodded.

"Then why didn't you give it to Yurina-chan before?" A perfectly valid question, followed by a very hollow silence. It was amusing, however, to watch Yurine's pensive expression, and the way her facial muscles contorted as she struggled more and more with her thoughts.

Naruto and Yurina sweatdropped.

"…you have no idea, do you?"

Yurine shook her head really, really fast.

"This must be one of the so-called 'plot holes', onii-sama."

"Huh." Naruto could not stop himself from staring at Yurine's chest. "Uhh…do you usually keep stuff in there?"

"Nope, just this." Yurine admitted. "I'm not Chiyuri-chan."

Naruto decided NOT to go there.

"So…" Yurina looked at the leather-bound notebook. "What…is this?"

"Muu, Yurine doesn't knoooow~" She clutched her head as if she had a headache. "Yurine tried to read, but it's really messy and Yurine didn't get anything…" Somehow, the woman seemed to flinch when she remembered she was surrounded by books and book enthusiasts (and Naruto). "Yurine, Yurine wants to go outside…"

Like a puppy whose playtime was denied, the five-tails carried a gloomy aura as she walked back outside.

The human boy and the adorable foxgirl followed her with their eyes before turning them back to the notebook. Yurina did not hesitate to pull the elastic and open the book.

"This…what is this?"

It was crammed with handwritten notes; that was the very first thing they could tell. Yurina quickly skimmed the pages, not really reading anything. Pages and pages of really tiny text, written always by the same person. Yurina was flicking the pages too fast for Naruto to take a proper look, but the half-Celestial could notice a strange pattern in the written text. The further she progressed, the messier and harder to read it became. It was as if the writer were in a hurry to finish whatever she wanted to write, but…somehow, it was also different.

"What is it?" Naruto inquired.

"I-I don't know—eh?"

When she reached the back cover, something fell off the notebook. It was a piece of paper, folded multiple times so it would fit in the small notebook. Naruto bent forward to pick it up. For some reason, he stopped before fully raising his body back up.

"Onii-sama?"

"This…" He presented the piece of paper to Yurina. "This is for you."

"Wha…?"

Indeed, it was written neatly on one of the folds.

_To Yurina._

It was her mother's handwriting. That messy, unordered script, reminiscent of a child who has just learned how to connect single letters to form words and then sentences.

Hurriedly, almost desperately, Yurina unfolded the page and began to read. Naruto could only watch how the girl's expression changed as the contents flowed before her eyes. It was a long letter. Even Yurina, the fast reader, took her time finishing it. The contents only made the reading even more painfully slow.

Recognition. Surprise. Interest. Realization. Understanding, and the pain that usually follows the advent of a truth one is not yet ready to face.

Yurina covered her lips with her free hand. It was a very girly—no, ladylike gesture; yet another example of how different she was from the rest of the lilies.

"Mother…" The whisper still managed to escape. She had started crying at some point. How could she not?

"Mother!"

Letting go of the unfolded paper, the twin-tailed lily ran after her parent. Naruto considered following for an instant, but then thought against it. Instead, he picked the fallen piece, and read.

He quickly regretted it, but found himself unable to stop.

_My dear daughter, Yurina,_

_In an ideal world, you will never read this letter. In an ideal world, it will never be necessary for you to read these words. But I guess have to be realistic, given the circumstances. Thus, this letter is now in your hands._

_I have to excuse myself for the poor handwriting. It's becoming harder to read and write every day. I find myself tripping and losing my balance more often. Even my thoughts are becoming jumbled and nonsensical. I forget more and more things; and I cannot even properly use chakra anymore. This feeling of incompleteness that follows me since that day becomes only stronger. I know it's a matter of time before I stop being myself. If you are reading this letter, then I can guess it has happened. I look at you and your sister happily frolicking with my little sister in the foxes' sanctuary, and I fear for the future, a hundred years from now, when you two gain your second tails._

_I cannot begin to imagine what kind of person I, your mother, have become. How does your mother act, Yurina, my dear? Is she even aware of who she is? Higashiyama Yurine, proud lily of Higashiyama, bearer of the Cherry Blossom? Does she get along with the rest of the Clan? Does she even realize she has two beautiful daughters? Has she taken care of you properly? Does she love you to the core of her soul?_

_I cannot predict what will happen to me from now on. I can only pray I do not cause you and your sister much trouble._

_I hope that, if you found this letter, you also have in your hands the notebook it was concealed into. That book is for you, Yurina, and it is the reason I wrote this to you and not Yuriyo. Her connection to the Void makes her incompatible with the power I describe in that book._

_The notes are my own, as you might have already inferred. And they describe the concept of Nature Chakra and how we Kitsune can wield it as our own._

_I am the first Higashiyama Sage, but I do not particularly like this title made up by the youkai toads. Kitsune are not Sages. We are "Dancers," and our Dancing is "Majutsu."_

_As my thoughts get dimmer and fuzzier, I realize I won't be there for you, so this is all I can offer you. My art, my pride; the fruits of 150 years of training. I had to start from nothing, so I expect that, should you decide to follow my steps, it will not take you nearly as long. Like I wrote earlier, Yuriyo is a half-Void, so she cannot learn Majutsu._

_I can only entrust this knowledge to you. It is your choice to try it or not, of course. Regardless of what you decide, let me give you three pieces of advice: be very patient, never give up, and always, always be true to your feelings. It will help you with Majutsu, and it will make your everyday life so much brighter._

_I have little more to say, and I extend this letter much. It's become really hard to think straight, and my words are barely readable._

_Please get along with your sister; there's no reason for you two to perpetuate that idiotic Celestial vs. Void vendetta. You seem to get along fine right now; I thank Inari-sama for this. Little Yuria is watching you while you play; she's such a mother hen to you two. I hope you three keep getting along after you get your second tails. Mother said watching you three makes her want another little lily. Knowing her it will be a few decades before she finds "a suitable mate." Look after the younger lilies when they arrive, ne?_

_Make sure to always listen to Himeyuri-nee-sama. She's stern, but she only wants the best for us all. Yurisa-nee is a good girl; I'm sure she will be a good auntie for you. I know Mother will make arrangements for you to properly study Celestial as well as Spirit techniques, so I don't worry in that regard. I will put Yuriyo in Sayoko-san's more than capable hands._

_Be good to each other, and become wonderful, proud lilies of Higashiyama. I know you will make me proud, even if I won't be there to acknowledge it._

_I love you, Yurina. I love you and your sister, and I regret nothing. No matter the consequences I now face, I am immensely happy to have you in my life. I look at you and your sister and I understand that I was born into this world to bring you two into existence. If I must have one regret, it would be this curse that destroys me as I write these words. I accept it, however. With tears in my eyes, I accept it._

_From the bottom of my heart, I'm sorry, Yurina. I'm sorry I won't be able to be a proper mother for you. I can only hope you will find it within yourself to forgive me._

_You girls are my entire world. I love you._

_I'm sorry._

Naruto's finger traced the three smudges on the ink; the small spots where the writing had become unrecognizable and he had to fill the gaps with his imagination.

Those were her tears, he knew.

Yurine's tears, as she wrote that letter, over 170 years ago.

It was easy to find those two once he left the bookstore. They were making a scene on the street. Yurina cried loudly and bitterly in her dumbstruck mother's chest.

"Mother! Mother! I…you're a great mother!" Yurina exclaimed between sobs. "You're a great mother, and everybody loves you, so don't think—! M-Mother!"

There was no stop to her bawling.

"Yurine, Yurine doesn't know…wha…?"

Yurine's eyes found Naruto, and she childishly tilted her head, silently inquiring just what in God's name was going on. The five-tails was utterly lost, so she could only hug her daughter and clumsily pat her head to offer a measure of comfort.

"It…it's okay…?"

Naruto shook his head in response. As a mother, Yurine was truly a failure. However, he could tell.

Yurine, the mother, the author of that letter, was still there. Somewhere.

There was no other way to explain her tears as she listened to her daughter's desperate words.

* * *

**Scene 28**

Three days before the finals. It was only a few minutes after sunrise; a dim morning cast in pale shadows, bleak as if seen through a veil.

Shino was rarely surprised. Coming from a family that houses dangerous chakra-eating insects within their bodies, he could say he was very open-minded. He was also very skilled for his age. With the aid of his colony, it was very difficult to sneak on him.

Of course, he was not surprised to find Higashiyama Yuriyo so early that morning. She still had not noticed the _**kikaichuu**_ he had planted on her clothes.

He had taken a risk and placed a bug in every single one of the Higashiyama Lilies during the snack party last evening. He had also placed one on Naruto, just to be safe.

He had found five of the insects on his bedside when he woke up: Yuri's, Yuria's, Yurimi's, Naruto's and Kotonoha's.

Shino highly suspected the swordswoman was behind it.

Higashiyama Mayuri had not been as kind as Kotonoha. It appeared that the smallest of the lilies had discovered the bug and permanently disposed of it.

It was regrettable, but not really important.

That morning, he was looking for Yuriyo. And she was alone. That was good.

He was already playing with fire as it was.

Even from a distance, he could admire Yuriyo's nude form as she bathed. He could not help but wonder if she was aware of his presence; somehow, the way her hands roamed her fair skin seemed to follow a flawless choreography with the sole purpose of driving him crazy with lust.

Truly, lesser men would kill for the chance to touch that body. Yuriyo's personality was always hard to deal with, but it was easy to ignore such a minor thing if it meant he could get the chance to admire her in the nude like this. It was easy to lose oneself in a fantasy, replacing Yuriyo's small hands for one's own…

Shino held back a chuckle. Kiba would have been terrified to hear it.

Shaking his head, he closed the distance that separated them. It was never his intention to ogle her from hiding, after all.

Not that he didn't appreciate the opportunity, though.

Yuriyo did not even raise an eyebrow when she noticed him. The stream was shallow enough to allow the girl to sit on the bottom and comfortably wash her body; and she was a lot more interested in enjoying her outdoor bath than in whatever Shino was up to. Still, she spoke.

"We meet so early this morning…I didn't know I had mesmerized you to this point."

Shino almost snorted at that.

"Am I worthless to the point that you don't mind if I see you naked?"

The foxgirl chuckled. "I didn't know your self-esteem was that high, either. Why do you assume this is about you?"

"Why would I deny this body of mine the admiration it deserves?"

"…fair enough."

Given free rein, Shino did not hesitate to memorize every single inch of the foxgirl's body while she got dressed. If asked later that day, he would have been able to describe how every single drop of fresh water trailed down her shapely body.

On a side note, Shino confirmed that, indeed, Yuriyo did not make it a habit to wear panties.

But this was not the reason he was here. It was just an added bonus.

"Yuriyo-san, I have been wondering about that curious hole on your clothes."

He referred the circular hole on Yuriyo's back or, more specifically, where the back ceases to be such. Bordered by a thin metal ring, it revealed just the very beginning of a most tantalizing crack. It was unusually erotic…as well as just unusual.

"Hmm?" A half-smile made it to Yuriyo's lips. "What about it?"

"I take it…it is to allow the passage of your tails?"

"Why yes, it is."

Yuriyo might not be able to see behind Shino's glasses, but she was skilled enough at reading body language to tell the boy was taken a bit aback.

"What is it? Were you expecting me to hurriedly deny your assumptions? Were you expecting me to attack you?"

The boy's lips curved down for an instant. It was the most discontent he would allow himself to show. She should not be able to read him that easily.

"I don't really see the point. Yes, my boy, I am youkai. Now I have two questions."

"First: have you figured out just what kind of youkai I am?"

Shino trembled for a second. She had him there. He only knew she was youkai, that she was a shapechanger and that she had a tail (or more). Most unfortunately, his knowledge of youkai was not nearly as extensive as he now believed it should.

Why did not they teach these things at the Academy?

Tying a white sash under her bust, Yuriyo finished getting dressed. After flinging her hair away like an idol, she slung her towel on her left shoulder and moved to approach Shino.

"Second: now that you know I am youkai, just what do you intend to do?"

Shino stood firm; he knew she just wanted to addle him.

"I have no reason to hold back this time," he stoutly declared. Yuriyo almost laughed.

"Neither do I, my boy." She presented the forest around them. "It's not like there's anybody else watching, after all."

"How do you know I don't have backup?"

Yuriyo inched closer and closer. "You've got a long way to go before you can try to bluff me, my dear."

A sudden strike. "What are you doing in Konoha?"

Yuriyo smirked. "Grandma picked this place for our family holiday."

"What does Naruto have to do with you?"

A dismissing shrug. "He's a friend of the family."

She was honest, that's for sure.

"So, my boy." Yuriyo raised her right arm and let it rest on Shino's left shoulder. "What are you gonna do? Right now I tolerate you. Are you going to do something that'll make me change my opinion of you?"

"I could report you. You and your entire family."

A chuckle. "Sure, go ahead. It's not like they don't know already."

From their single point of contact, Yuriyo could feel Shino's body tensing after the revelation.

"Oh, you didn't know? Then your leader's a wise person." She shrugged. "It really wouldn't do to make the whole village panic just because a Kitsune Clan's around on holidays."

As if she needed to give further strength to her sentence, two tails as black as her fair hair emerged from her lower back right after those words. One wrapped itself around Yuriyo like a furry neck warmer, while the other teasingly wriggled under Shino's chin.

"I am Yuriyo, daughter of Yurine and proud lily of Higashiyama. Mine is the Crest of the Moon, and shadows are my eyes and hands."

It took everything Shino had to stay rooted on the spot. It was not precisely uncommon among the population of Konoha, but the Aburame Clan had developed a particular brand of fear towards the Kyuubi. Shino had been raised with the tale of how many of his fellows were eaten from the inside out by their insect colonies, driven berserk by the Nine Tails' vile chakra.

"I might be just a two-tails, but I am in no way weak, my boy."

Shino urged himself to calm down. She was just a two-tails. She could not utterly destroy him without even a thought (Sayuri's awfully good at that, though). His kikaichuu were wary, but not frightened. The female he had planted on her was still there.

Still, he knew better. Yuriyo was strong.

Their spar had shown him that. She outmatched him in hand-to-hand combat but, then again, he had never been really focused on close-range fighting. Also, if the tales about Kitsune were true, he would have to be careful about illusions.

That left Ninjutsu, then.

When he jumped back to make some distance, Yuriyo only responded with a look of undiluted pity.

"You need to relax." She began to walk away, seemingly uncaring of the boy's presence. "We Kitsune do not particularly enjoy fighting…save for oddjobs like Yuria. That threatening attitude of yours is not really necessary. We're not here to cause trouble."

"Hard to believe, considering what happened the last time we had a Kitsune coming to visit."

Yuriyo made a dismissing gesture. "Ah, that was…you know what, forget it. It's more amusing this way."

"Anyway, we're not here to bother anyone, so we would not like to be bothered in return. Seriously, if we wanted to do anything to you people, we would've already done it. As for me, I'm just a two-tails; it would be stupid of me to try to take on a ninja village. Gimme three of four more tails and I'd give it a try."A dismissing gesture. "See ya."

Shino's Shunshin was good enough to startle the foxgirl, allowing the boy to quickly grab both her wrists with one hand and push her against him by wrapping his right arm around her lower back.

"…just what exactly are you trying to accomplish here?" She was not unfazed by Shino's face an inch from hers, however.

"…" The young Genin needed a few seconds to answer. "I'm…not sure."

Yuriyo held back from chuckling. His sense of duty was clashing and amalgamating with his growing lust, stimulated by her Aura of Allure, the simplest Enchantment to incite sexual attraction towards her. It was a technique she did not particularly favor; for the simple reason that she should never need it.

Her reason this time was that she did not want to waste time and effort with this person. Still, for him to have come this far…it was disappointing, in a way.

"I thought you would be stronger than this."

"Excuse me?"

"Nah, it's nothing." Yuriyo quickly dismissed her whispered words. "Now," she continued, dismissing her Aura. "Let go."

"Why?"

Yuriyo blinked when the boy's hand reached further down and roughly grasped her left buttock.

"Mmm!" She held back a moan, but she could not stop herself from squeezing her butt cheeks together. That roughness, she could not deny she liked it.

"…fascinating," Shino commented, in what passed as mirth for him. Indeed, the tone he used triggered something in Yuriyo.

"…pfft! Hahahahahaha!" The girl laughed loudly and heartily…and then stopped. "Let go."

Shino did not react, and the black stripe sliced the skin of his left cheek, drawing blood. Only then did he move away and got a good glimpse of the scene. Yuriyo's eyes had gone completely black, and the weapon she had used against him was retreating to her small shadow, where it came from.

"You are NOT worthy…" she growled. "…too WEAK…too SIMPLE…too **HUMAN**."

She closed her eyes for a few seconds, and when she opened them everything was normal again.

"You're too young for these games, my boy." She appeared to have returned to her usual arrogant tone, but there was an additional tinge of venom to it. "Try again in a few years. Later."

Shino silently watched her departing form, unsure of what to do, unsure of what to feel.

In the end, he just went with the truth.

"…what an ass," he muttered.

* * *

**Scene 35**

It was not very often that Jiraiya got to mix his hobbies with his job. He had to be grateful to the Higashiyama Clan for this unique chance. And it was his favorite peeping spot by the waterfall, too!

It had proven hard to spy on the Kitsune femmes. They did not even try testing the Matriarch. While the others could be tailed with varying degrees of ease –the younger looking foxgirls were as easy to follow as the average human, but the swordswoman had noticed everyone sent at her but Jiraiya himself–, any successful attempt led to a swarm of kudagitsune invading the Hokage's office with looks that could only be described as disapproving.

It seemed that only the Matriarch was allowed to spy on her girls.

But Jiraiya was not a living legend for nothing, and kudagitsune were not immune to Genjutsu. That's why it was the Toad Hermit, and not an ANBU squad, who peeped on the trio of Kitsune from behind his favorite outgrowth of bushes.

Yes, peeped.

A minor thing such as the Kitsune invasion of Konoha could not deter him from his true calling.

Oh, there was Naruto.

"Hawa! Naruto-kyun!"

"Ah, Yurine-cha—aaaaaaaah!"

"Naruto-kyun!"

"Wa-wa-wait, don't! Wagh!"

Jiraiya cried manly tears. It was wonderful.

Yurine was not a believer in wearing swimsuits.

Five tails happily wagged from side to side while she smothered the boy under the weight of her bare bosom.

"Hello, Naruto-kun!"

"Mmehmophmmm!" he said.

Yurine raised her body, but did not move away from him. She looked down to meet his tightly shut eyelids.

"Hawaa?"

"Yurine-chan…why aren't you wearing anything?"

"Yurine's playing in the river!"

"Uhh…I have nothing."

"Play with Yurine, Naruto-kun!"

"Ugh…" Headache on the way. "Let's just get up."

"Hai!"

After standing up, Naruto's ears followed Yurine's prancing from until she returned to the water.

"Naruto-kun!" she called from the distance. Still with his eyes closed, he did not even notice a second form approaching him.

"What am I gonna do…?"

"You might as well give up."

Naruto turned and opened his eyes to properly greet the foxgirl. "Oh, didn't notice you coming, Yuriyo—waaaaah!"

The naked half-Void raised an eyebrow at Naruto jumping a good foot in the air before squeezing his eyes shut and turning away.

"What's with that reaction? How rude."

"You're naked!"

"You know, I hadn't noticed myself. Thanks for the warning." The sarcasm was so obvious it could not really be called sarcasm. "I know the visage of my naked body can be difficult for ordinary men to handle, but, really, don't be such a wuss."

"OK, I'm better now," Naruto deadpanned, turning to stare at the foxgirl with a flat stare marred by an extremely flushed face. "And you're too cocky."

"Really." Yuriyo crossed her arms under her breasts, further presenting them. Naruto's pupils danced around for a moment before settling down on Yuriyo again. He also got even redder.

"Naruto-kyuuuuuuuuun!" Yurine called again from the stream.

"Really. I mean, you're pretty-"

"Tell me something I don't know."

"—but you're not really THAT pretty." It was Naruto's turn to look cocky. He would have succeeded if it were not for the whole blushing thing. "Yurina-chan's prettier. And nicer."

Yuriyo chuckled, but nodded. "I agree."

Naruto's grin fell. "…you do?"

A second nod. "I do. I mean, really, if I were a male, or if she were into girls, I would so hit her."

Naruto was reaching a personal blushing record. "Uhh…she IS your sister, remember?"

Yuriyo made an odd face, follow by a slow shake of her head. "I…don't see your point."

"Forget it." Naruto sweatdropped. "I said a silly thing, it seems."

A shrug. "Whatever. So, when you go and fuck my sister, would you let me watch? I can offer tips."

Naruto jerked away from the girl as if she were made of lightning. He was developing a serious fear of the stuff.

"Yu-Yu-YuYu-Yu-Yu-Yuri-"

"Oh, please." Yuriyo rolled her eyes. "You're such a prude, I actually feel sorry for Yuria. Do her a favor and die quickly so she can get herself a mate willing to screw her silly."

"You're horrible!" Naruto cried. "And Yuria doesn't want to be…to be…to be that thing you said."

"Screwed silly? Yeah, she's quite the prude too. So, wanna practice with Rina? Can I watch? I wanna know if she likes it hard."

"Aaaaaargh!"

"I'd like it hard, just so you know."

"Aaaaaaargh!"

Unable to take anymore, Naruto stomped away, towards the waterfall, ignoring Yuriyo's chuckles behind him.

"Cute," the half-Void muttered under her breath. It was a fun game, and it was just starting.

The more she interacted with humans, the more she wanted to play with them.

Speaking of Yurina, there was a very simple reason she was not even aware of Naruto presence yet. Unlike her childish mother and her fickle sister, Yurina was a very focused person…fox…girl.

All this time, even before Jiraiya began his spying duty, Yurina was training; practicing her Kalaripayattu moves while standing on a rock under the waterfall. The force of the water forced her to put more effort if she wanted to keep her usual speed and flexibility, and the hours of exertion already showed in her diminished pace.

"So, you know what's up with her?" Yuriyo inquired as she walked behind Naruto.

"Shouldn't you know? Sisters and all that?"

"She just said she needed to 'get back in shape'. She's hiding something, and I don't like it. Yurina is not the type…to hide things. And she's never been into fighting, either."

"Hmm…she looks pretty motivated to me."

Yuriyo breezed past him, seemingly eager to get back into the water. Naruto did not try to hide his interest while his eyes very intently followed her back side. Moving closer to the waterfall, and Yurina, Yuriyo reached the point where the mostly shallow stream gained a little bit of depth. Turning around when her rear disappeared under the water, Yuriyo allowed her body to float face-up, and the foxgirl relaxed within the cool comfort of the calm current. Aware that she had been watched the whole time, she gifted Naruto with a saucy wink, which he returned with a half-hearted glare.

Yuriyo chuckled. The boy was learning. That was good.

Noticing that Yurine was STILL waiting for him, Naruto made a gesture asking her to wait just a little longer, all the while struggling to not stare at her ninety-eight-and-a-half centimeters of bust. The mother's pouty expression soon returned to her infantile, radiant smile. With that done, Naruto walked on the surface of the water to reach Yurina.

"Hey there, Yurin—aaaaahh!"

Yurina had moved before his right hand reached her shoulder. A wide swipe of her right arm pushed his arm leftwards. She finished turning around as her left hand reached behind his right shoulder, further pushing him and making him turn counterclockwise. A swift hook and pull of his right leg made him lose his balance and hastened his half-turn. Yurina turned again, until their backs were leaning against each other.

"Yuri-ugk!"

Naruto's attempt at dialogue ended when Yurina's right hand reached over his left shoulder, past his head and grabbed the underside of his jaw, at the same time her other hand seized his right arm and raised it. An instant later, her left foot took half a step forward, she bent her body and pulled, lifting Naruto off his feet and flipping him over her back. Naruto quickly swung his legs up to finish the roll and land properly on his feet in front of her, only to find Yurina's right knee on an inevitable collision course with his jaw.

"Hawa!"

"Oof!" Yuriyo winced just like her mother. What she did not do was cover her eyes and look away. "That was pretty cool…but are you sure you should be treating 'onii-sama' like that, Rina?"

It was only then that Yurina noticed the identity of the sudden "attacker."

"Eh? Ah…waaaaah! Onii-sama!"

Naruto responded by spitting a mouthful of blood into the water. At least he still had all his teeth. He was not sure Sayuri could restore those.

He did not listen to half of Yurina's high-pitched, but definitely honest, apologies. They had slowly made it to the shore, where he sat down and the foxgirl kneeled in front of him with a worried expression.

"Heheh…" he chuckled weakly, rubbing his sore jaw. "…you're really into it, huh…"

"I…I…auu…I'm so very sorry...I didn't mean to…"

"It's okay, it's okay…it happens…" To further soothe the troubled girl, Naruto relied on the tried and true petting technique.

"Hawaaaan…" Her ears twitched happily, at the same time her cheeks acquired a healthy blush. "Onii-sama's too kind…"

Naruto shook his head. He had just become awfully aware of how Yurina's thin, wet clothes stuck to her frame, reminding him that she was just as shapely as her exhibitionist sister.

A second Kitsune kneeled down next to Yurina. The mother was pouting again.

Naruto sighed. "Right, right…"

"Hawawaaaan…"

Most fortunately, Naruto had two hands. Most unfortunately, he also had two eyes, and he was not sure where to look anymore.

Things reached a whole new level of weird when a third figure kneeled on the opposite side of Yurina.

Naruto's eyes met Yuriyo's.

"…hawaaan," Yuriyo 'said' in monotone.

"Go away."

A while later, Yurine and her half-Celestial daughter departed together. They needed to go back to the camp to get the lunch ingredients they had gathered earlier. Unable to say no to the twin-tailed cutie, Naruto agreed to stick around for lunch. Alone with Yuriyo for a while, he tried to make some small talk.

"Why don't you go with them? You could just eat at the camp."

"But I like it here," Yuriyo easily replied. She was again relaxing by the waterfall, her body floating unmoving.

"So you're making your mother and sister go all the way to the camp and come back with the ingredients to make lunch here, just because you like it here."

"They don't mind." Yuriyo had her eyes closed, drifting closer and closer to utter relaxation. She really, really liked it there.

"You know, people will like you a lot more if you stop being like that." Naruto, while seated by the shore, avoiding looking at the foxgirl. She might not mind being seen in the nude, but he certainly did.

"Maybe I don't want people to like me."

"That's just stupid."

"Is it? In any case, in a decade, I'll make men do anything for a piece of this."

He could not see her, but Naruto could imagine her hands roaming down her form as she said those words. It's what Yuriyo would do. And, as much as it bothered him, she was right. Throughout his life, he had been witness to the kinds of things men could pull off for a pretty female face.

When he was young he could not make any sense of it. Puberty really gives a new perspective on things.

"Wouldn't it be better if you tried…dunno…being nice?"

"You mean, like Rina?"

Naruto did not answer.

"I'm not Yurina. She's the Sun. I'm the Moon. She's Celestial. I'm Void. What works for her will never work for me."

"This is the way I am, boy. If you don't like it, don't play."

"My name's Naruto. And I never said I don't like you."

"Hmm?" Three backstrokes were enough for Yuriyo to reach the shore. Like a mermaid, her lower half remained in the stream while her upper half laid on the myriad of stones that made the shoreline; her head resting on her hands. "Is that so?"

Naruto opened his eyes. In her current position, he was not exposed to her bare breasts, and her tails covered the lower naughty bits.

"You're not a bad person…fox…girl. I don't have a reason to not like you."

"I'm a Void."

"That doesn't make you a bad person. Sayoko-san's a Void too. So is Setsuna."

"Setsuna's that little one who hates Kotonoha, right?"

"Yeah…" Naruto chuckled uneasily.

"What's with you and her anyway?"

"Ugh!"

Naruto really wished she had not gone with that particular choice of words. His relationship with Setsuna was…odd, to say the least. Especially considering the latest developments. With all the kissing, and stuff.

"She…she's teaching me! For the finals! Just…just training."

"Just training." Really, this boy was awfully easy to read.

"Just training," Naruto repeated.

Yuriyo did not insist on that matter. "So, think you can win your big fight? Learned any cool tricks?"

The boy was silently grateful for the change in topic. "Just wait and see."

A snort. "I'm not really into watching humans beat the crap out of each other, really. But Grandma says we're going, so I guess we're going. You better entertain me, boy."

"Call me by my name and I might consider it."

"Hmm…"

Naruto almost shrieked like a little girl when Yuriyo turned around once more, lying face-up in front of him and baring her nude form in all its glory. Somehow even the grains of sand stuck to her skin added to her allure. Rising one leg out of the water, she crossed it on top of the other, at the same time she allowed her wet tails to linger an inch over her flat abdomen.

The gaze of her carmine eyes, the stiffness of her small nipples, even the trail of drops that fell from the tip of her tails to her bellybutton and from there streamed down her right side…together they created an image of incredible sensuality.

From his position, Jiraiya could not fully figure out what was happening. He could only see the very lucky son of his prized student. Giggling to himself, he continued his "supervision."

Naruto was right behind her, unknowingly taking a gradually increasing dose of Yuriyo's Aura. He closed his eyes before his hands betrayed him and reached for her revealed breasts.

"**Look at me**."

If Naruto had been a little more knowledgeable, he would have noticed the obvious Enchantment Yuriyo used there. Unable to resist, he did as commanded, regardless of the fierce blush on his cheeks and the butterflies in his stomach.

Yuriyo smiled, a bit condescendingly. "I can't enjoy our conversation if you won't even look at me," she explained in an abnormally sweet voice.

Naruto clawed his hands into the ground next to him. It was a bit painful, but he needed it. He tried to turn his head away, but one of Yuriyo's tails quickly reached for his right cheek and pushed it back in place. At the sight of her inviting smile, he gulped.

"S-So…" Naruto struggled to make a conversation. "…I heard you're training, too. Ho-How…How's that working for ya?"

Yuriyo chuckled. He was almost too cute. "Well, it's not like I can learn to control the Void in a few days."

"Haa…yeah, I guess not. It's really dangerous, isn't it?"

"Right. But it's not something I can just avoid. Sayoko says that running away from the Void only makes it easier for it to take over you. That's why she's shown me some really mean Void jutsu. You wouldn't think of it from looking at her, but, damn."

One of Yuriyo's tails began to trace random shapes on her flat belly.

"Cool…learning new jutsu is always awesome." He would have been very excited by the prospect in any other situation. Busy as he was staring, his words came out rather flat.

"Sayoko says the Void responds differently to each Kitsune. She wants me to come up with my own ideas and see what works. In the end it's not really my choice, more like the Void's."

"Huh…" Naruto really wanted to pay attention, but it was just…so…damn…hard…

"Think you'd be up for a spar some time?" Yuriyo winked. "I can't test my Void jutsu on Sunshades and his friends, obviously."

"Sun…ah, you mean Shino."

"Hmm…" After dipping both her tails in the stream, she slowly moved them all over her body, allowing droplets of crystalline liquid to gently fall on her face, breasts and belly. "Ah, it feels great…"

Naruto gulped again.

"He-He-Hey…wasn't Ino training with Yurina-chan?"

"They finished early today. I think the princess got tired of getting her ass kicked."

"Really?"

"I'm surprised myself; I didn't know Rina was that good at hand-to-hand…she soon might be good enough to add Reinforcement."

"Wha…what do you…?"

"Well, it's not like the standard Martial Arts you humans invented would work against the tougher youkai, don't you think? To make them work we need to add supernatural speed, agility and reflexes."

"…makes sense."

"So…will you spar with me one of these days? Help me out and I might try being 'nice' to you, boy."

"Uhh…um…sure…I'm up for it…" Naruto managed a frown. "…just don't call me boy."

Yuriyo's smirk became almost dangerous. "Very well…"

With sinuous, cat-like movements, Yuriyo turned yet again, this time using her hands to raise her body to Naruto's level. Slowly, sensuously, her legs left the water until she was on all fours.

In the presence of such intimidating beauty, Naruto backed off a bit, until the foxgirl's smirk stunned him and rooted him to the spot. As if thanking Naruto for the opportunity, Yuriyo took her time moving on her hands and knees, reeking sexuality out of every pore. Naruto's pupils were abnormally dilated, as if his eyes did not want to miss a single alluring detail.

Yurimi had nothing on her. The Lily Seed often surprised Naruto with sudden bursts of seductive power. Yuriyo managed to make every single one of her actions as sexy as possible. As ridiculous (and disgusting) as it may be, Naruto believed Yuriyo could probably puke her breakfast all over him and make it look hot.

"…very well…" She repeated. "Will you play with me? Na…"

A step.

"…ru…" She dropped her voice.

A second step.

"…to?" A whisper, which almost made Naruto pass out. Her left hand was less than an inch from his crotch, while the right was on the ground to his left. Her face was close enough to make him nervous yet far enough to not prevent him from admiring the rest of her body.

It was simply too much. No boy his age should ever be stimulated so.

Yuriyo slowly licked her lips, and Naruto's arms threatened to give out on him.

He wanted…

His pupils contracted to tiny black dots.

Yuriyo smirked condescendingly. Game over.

Naruto's mind betrayed him, showing him X-rated images of exactly what he wanted to do to her.

He raised his left arm, and closed his eyes.

Yuriyo held back a sigh. He would reach for her breasts.

He did not.

When his hand clasped her right shoulder, she blinked.

When he opened his eyes again, she blinked twice.

"Stop that."

She blinked thrice. "…what?"

"What you're doing." Naruto's tone was strong and steeled. "Stop it."

"Wha…" Yuriyo blinked a few more times. Her lips twitched. "H-How…?"

"Yuriyo-chan…you…" He blushed a bit. "…you're beautiful. Extremely so. But…"

He looked down for a moment, looking for the right words.

"…it is…well…I like Yuria. And Yurimi. And Yurina-chan. But I've never…ever…thought about doing to them the things I just wanted to do to you."

Yuriyo's eyes widened in realization. Naruto shook his head.

"These thoughts are not mine. They're not normal! This is not just my…" He blushed a bit more and smiled shyly. "…my attraction. To you."

"This is an Enchantment," he declared.

They stared at each other, Naruto noticing how Yuriyo's lips did not cease to twitch. Eventually, the girl gave in…to laughter.

"Ufufufufufu…haha…ahaha…hahahahahahaha!"

Naruto blinked. It was just laughter. There was none of Yuriyo's condescending, demeaning attitude. It was just laughter, as if the foxgirl had just heard something extremely funny. She was even crossing her arms on her stomach!

"Hahahahahaha, really! I…ahahahahahaha!"

"Umm…Yuriyo-chan…a-are you…what's so fu—!"

He was stopped by the foxgirl's sudden lunge. The hug sent the two tumbling down to the ground, Kitsune on top.

"Yuriyo." She was smiling. There was an indecipherable relief in her eyes. Relief and satisfaction. "Just Yuriyo."

She kissed his right cheek.

"Thank you."

With those words, she stood up, still chuckling to herself. The utterly confused boy sat back up, following the foxgirl with his eyes as she returned to the water.

"Really…really…" She muttered to herself, before looking at Naruto, who no longer seemed uncomfortable looking at her naked body, especially with the Aura of Allure gone. "I underestimated you, darling!"

An eyebrow was raised. "Darling?"

"Or stud, whichever you like." She winked.

"Naruto's just fine."

"Nah, that's too plain."

"Hey!"

Yuriyo laughed. Again, it was a hearty, merry laugh, not a mocking one. "Anyway! It seems I've been looking at the wrong humans all this time!" She dropped her tone, but her smile remained. "I should not have doubted my sister's judgment."

"What?" The boy was just confused.

"You pass, honey." Yuriyo nodded. "Take care of my sister."

Her smile changed into a positively naughty grin. It made Naruto squirm.

"Keep at it and I might consider asking you to let me join." Wink, wink.

Naruto's brain quickly did the math. Cue blushing.

"Yu-Yu-YURIYO!"

The half-Void laughed one more time before running towards the waterfall and the deeper water.

"What are you waiting for? Don't stay there like a pathetic dog!" She taunted. "Let's have fun!"

Naruto narrowed his eyes for second, before smirking back. "You asked for it!"

They played for around ten minutes, like children who go to the beach for the first time. Yuriyo used both hands and tails to spray Naruto, taunting him and running away when he got too close. Naruto chased the foxgirl all over the place, using his superior muscle power to fling lots and lots of water at her, which the two-tails did not seem to mind. Yuriyo squealed in delight every time she was showered, every time she slipped past him before he could catch her, and every time she teased him by rubbing some part of her body against his.

There was no holier-than-thou attitude. She never looked down at him. She was being playful as usual, but in a way the two found amusing. She was a flirty friend…a friend Naruto was happy to have made…even if he still wasn't sure how it happened.

They ended up floating by the waterfall, relaxing and resting their bodies after the spontaneous burst of activity.

"Hmm…this is nice…" Yuriyo hummed. Her body was flushed from all the running, jumping and water flinging. Her breathing was a bit rough, but she was still exaggerating the movements of her chest, knowing Naruto was staring.

"You seem to like water a lot."

Naruto had just discovered he had the ability to ogle and maintain a proper conversation at the same time. It was quite the accomplishment.

"Well of course…" Yuriyo stretched her arms to the sides, which moved her slightly apart from Naruto. "How could anything compare to this? It's like I'm being caressed all over my body."

She squirmed and pushed her thighs together in a way that made Naruto blush heavily.

"It's so…stimulating." She reached for one of her stiff nipples, and Naruto almost fainted. "You thought this was because of the cold?"

"Uhhh…" Really, what could he say to that?

"It's like a dream…so many hands, worshipping every inch of my skin…" She moaned, and Naruto dumped his head into the water for a second. "…it would be better if it wasn't so cold, though."

Naruto sighed. "I hate this…"

"What?"

"I KNOW I'm going to regret this, but…" He made a seal.

Half a dozen Narutos surrounded Yuriyo's floating form.

"Hey," one of them greeted.

The stunned foxgirl looked from clone to clone, before blushing like she had never blushed before in her life.

"You…you're treading really dangerous ground with me, darling."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "I know. Believe it."

"Can you make more?" There was a really disturbing tinge to her voice in that sentence.

"Pfft! Right now I have…how many was it, again?"

"Seventy-two." One of the clones stated.

"Right. Seventy-two clones all over Konoha. I can probably reach a thousand, if I'm in the mood."

It was Yuriyo's turn to sink. She reemerged right next to the original Naruto.

"REALLY dangerous ground."

"Why don't I like that look on your face…and why do I get the feeling I've seen it before?"

Because it exuded raw, animalistic hunger, and because he had seen it before. On Yurimi.

Yuriyo chuckled before resting her arms and head on Naruto's body. The water was really shallow, so she was standing with her knees on the bottom.

"Right, right. Now dismiss them before I really get ideas."

Naruto did not do so. Since he learned of the memory-transfer ability of the clones, he did not like to waste them.

"You're Yuria's anyway. And I don't think Rina would be too happy either if I tried anything with you. By the way, don't try those clones with Rina on the first time. I don't think the poor girl could take it."

"Stop that!" the embarrassed boy hissed.

"Besides, I'm not giving my first time away just yet…though, if you ask nicely…"

"Stop that," Naruto deadpanned, and the half-Void grinned.

"Why? Yuria's claim means we can't mate with you, but it doesn't stop you from getting it on with anybody you fancy, human or youkai. The Higashiyama Claiming Laws were made for Higashiyama. They don't affect you in the slightest."

"That's not the point. I'm not interested."

"Oh, you hurt me so."

Naruto dropped a hand on Yuriyo's head and gently caressed it. "Right, right…hey, you don't go 'hawaaan' like your sister and your mother. I'm almost disappointed."

"Are you making fun of me, human?"

They laughed together.

* * *

_**Yurina & Yuriyo Side – End**_


	26. Lily of Many Petals, Kotonoha Side

**Author's Note: **The shortest section, but it is important in its own special way. Also, even if I rarely respond, I do read each and every single review. The discussion on Yuria was fascinating.

* * *

_**Naruto Genkyouien**_

_**- **__**ナルト**__**- **__**幻**__**脅**__**威宴**_

**Chapter Fifteen: Lily of Many Petals—Kotonoha Side**

* * *

**Scene 5**

"You're in a good mood for some reason."

Naruto's statement made a lot of sense. Next to him, Higashiyama Yuria walked with a big smile on her face and hummed the tune of a song Naruto could not identify. They carried a bag full of groceries each.

"Maa, it's been a while since I was so excited about dinner…ah, don't take me wrong; Yurine's food's awesome, but, well…you get used to it. Now I wonder what Kotonoha and Ayame will come up with this evening."

"Don't expect anything fancy," Naruto mentioned, but he, too, was smiling a bit. Yuria was not the only one who looked forward to actual food being prepared at the Uzumaki household. He was perfectly capable of cooking his own meals, of course. He just chose not to most of the time.

As a consequence, however, he now had to devote some time every day to shopping. His relationship with the Kitsune was changing his lifestyle in multiple ways.

He needed to talk with the Hokage, then. First thing in the morning. But he also had to meet with Setsuna. He hoped the old man would not mind if he used a Kage Bunshin.

"Of course not; that's not what I meant," Yuria clarified.

Naruto's residence was located in what passed as suburbs within Konohagakure. Plain, cheap, low-standard residences were the norm here; mostly rundown apartment buildings with small businesses at ground level. It was not what we would call a nice, comfortable place to live, but generally the people living there had few aspirations. Naruto's apartment was a particularly good one, despite the poorly equipped kitchen (not that he used it much). It had everything to do with its location at a top floor. He knew there were better, more comfortable places (he had heard things about Sasuke's apartment), but he really did not put much thought into that.

Things were getting a little crowded lately, though.

The point of this explanation was, however, to point out the lack of other constructions in this area besides buildings and small, shabby houses. The important buildings such as the hospital and the educational centers were quite far from this part of the village. Pharmacies and stores other than the most basic grocery shops were also absent. There were no parks…well, there was a park…if it can be called such. It was more of an overly large sandbox, with an old see-saw, an unsafe-looking swingset and a pair of rusted chin-up bars and benches planted there for good measure. The total absence of greenery and its replacement by sand made for a rather depressing scene.

It was this park that Naruto and Yuria were passing by. While the foxgirl was lost in thoughts of impending meals, Naruto shot a glance at the benches.

"Yuria."

"Hmm?" A side glance. "What is it?"

"Can you go ahead without me? There's…umm…I have to go somewhere."

Yuria raised an eyebrow even as her lips curved upwards. "Somewhere." She shook her head. "You know, if you wanted me to just let that pass by my ears you should have improved your acting a little."

"Ugh…" Naruto had to admit, his tone had come out rather suspicious. "It-It's nothing…"

"Gonna meet the annoying one from this morning?"

"Wha—ah, you mean mistress."

Flat eyeeeees. "You call her 'mistress'."

"Ah, ahaha…" Naruto scratched the back of his head. "I-I'm kinda getting used to it…"

"Right." Yuria did not look very happy, but chose not to go any further. "Whatever, do what you have to do."

She got a big smile for that. "Thank you, you're great." Naruto lifted his bag. "You don't have problems carrying both, right?"

And the eyebrow went back up. "Just who do you think you're talking to? Gimme that!"

Naruto let the three-tails take his bag. "Ah you know, being a gentleman and all that. Thanks again, Yuria."

"Hai hai. So, catch ya later."

"Hmm!"

The young ninja watched his mate's back until she was a considerable distance away. From there, his eyes shifted to the benches. The one person seated could not see him from her position. Besides, the whole of her attention was fixed on the four children enjoying the miserable facilities. Normal children, wasting the afternoon on normal children's games. The sun was already touching the distant horizon, gifting the last of the day's natural light to the world. The time for children's games would soon be over.

She only noticed Naruto when he sat next to her, greeting her with a kind, tender smile.

"Ah…"

"Hey." His voice was soft and measured.

"Wha…why?"

"I was on the way from buying groceries and saw you here, so…"

"Ah! Dinner! I-I'm terribly sorry, I'll get to-"

Naruto grabbed her yukata before she could fully stand up. "Please sit down, Kotonoha-san."

"Ah…yes…"

Satisfied after she obeyed, Naruto gently patted the woman's left thigh. "Good."

He looked at the playing children, and Kotonoha did the same. Her trusty Sekai bag quietly rested to her right.

Unaware of the attention they had claimed, the group of children laughed, yelled and played. There was nothing particularly special to this scene. Still, it carried deep meaning to the two on the bench.

"Do you have children, Kotonoha-san?"

"Huh?" She looked down, wide-eyed, at Naruto. She clearly did not expect such a question.

Naruto soon felt uncomfortable. "Ah, uhh, so-sorry about that…it was kinda rude…umm…"

"Ah, no, no…" She could not hide the hint of bitterness in her smile. "It's…it's okay…I am just a bit surprised, that is all…"

She looked at the children.

"I…had one. Haruka."

"…had…"

Kotonoha nodded very slightly. "She died…some time ago. Half-Kitsune do not live much longer than humans."

"I…I see." Naruto was very uncomfortable. "Uhh…sorry to bring it up."

"It's okay."

"Tha-thank you."

They went back to child-watching. It was not nearly as creepy as it sounds. In fact, it was not creepy at all.

"You…do you miss her?"

"Hmm…not much, I must admit." Noticing Naruto's odd look, she explained. "She grew up fast, and married at 15. It's been a long time since she left me to live her own life. I also moved on." She patted her bag. "Makoto-kun probably misses her more."

"Huh." Naruto glanced at the bag. "Makoto-san…was Makoto-san the father?"

He immediately regretted asking that question.

Her eyes…Kotonoha's eyes suddenly became hollow pits. Watching him but not watching him; swallowing him into a pit where all life was gone.

Those eyes…those empty eyes…they terrified him.

"Yes," Kotonoha stated with a voice of steel. "Yes, he was."

In an instant, those dangerous eyes were gone and replaced with a mirthful smile. She leaned down, closer to him, and Naruto fought the urge to flinch.

"He wasn't very good at parenting," she whispered and winked. "Don't tell him I said that, fufufufu."

Naruto did not know what to say after…well, that, so he went with "Uhh…um."

He held back a sigh. What a strange mood they had.

"So, what brought up that question?"

"Ah, well…" Naruto said no more after that. At least not until they were alone. Eventually, the children's respective parents arrived to take them back to their homes. It was getting dark, after all.

"…I was always the one left behind."

"Excuse me?" Kotonoha did not catch that sentence.

"Sometimes, after school, I would go to some park to play with my classmates. Not very often, though: some adults told their children not to get close to me."

Kotonoha narrowed her gaze.

"Anyway, at sundown, they would always leave, just like those kids a moment ago. Their parents would pick them up, so we would say our goodbyes and split up. And I was always the one left behind." He shrugged. "Nobody ever came to pick me up, after all."

"I…I see." She knew it was a stupid thing to say, but…

"Alright!" Naruto suddenly exclaimed in an enthusiastic tone before jumping off the bench. "Now that the brats are gone, it's our turn!"

"Eh?"

The boy grabbed Kotonoha's hands and pulled her, attempting to make her get up. "Come on!"

"Wha…Naruto-sama, what exactly…?"

"Aah, just come with me already! Makoto-san can stay here and watch!"

"Ah…aah."

Even if the dubious look did not leave her face, Kotonoha allowed Naruto to lead her to the swings.

"Sit down," he commanded.

"…eh?"

"Aah, don't be like that!" Switching from pulling to pushing, Naruto forced the taller Kotonoha to sit on the small plastic seat. Not that she put up any resistance, though. "There. Now I'll push you!"

"Um…" Kotonoha blinked once Naruto's intentions became clear. "Ano…Naruto-sama…isn't it supposed to be the other way…?"

"Whaa? You kidding?" Naruto looked a bit weirded out by the idea. "I'm too old for that stuff! It suits Kotonoha-san way better!"

"R-Really." She found, much to her surprise, that she was blushing a little.

"Alright, here we go." Naruto gently placed his hands on the four-tails' back.

"P-Please be gentle." Kotonoha frowned the moment those words left her mouth. That was one odd way to put it.

Naruto, for once, listened, and began pushing at a sedate pace. It would not do to use too much strength if Kotonoha did not want to swing around that much. For two minutes or so, the only sound was the creaking of the old swing as it was forced to do its work.

"Ne, Kotonoha-san."

"Hmm?" The swordswoman turned her face back, and their eyes met barely a few inches away, if only for an instant, before she was pushed forward one more time.

"Will you tell me why you were here on the first place?" Naruto blushed and turned away. "If-if it's not too much asking…"

Planting her feet on the sand, Kotonoha easily stopped the swing's motion. "Naruto-sama."

"Y-Yes?"

"Could you please come over here? In front."

"Ah-hmm."A little confused, the boy did as told and moved in front of the Kitsune. The moment he got within reach, Kotonoha grabbed his waist and dexterously spun him and pulled him closer.

"Gah!" Naruto went beet red when he fell neatly on the lady's lap. "Koto—"

Her feet pushed the two away from the ground, and they began a slow, hesitant swinging.

"K-Kotonoha-san! I told you I don't—"

"Please don't move so much, Naruto-sama."

Naruto went stiff at that. Kotonoha had firmly embraced him at the same time she shifted so he could rest his head on her comfortable bosom. He quickly grabbed the ropes on both sides to prevent an accident. He was Kotonoha's only support. It would not do for her to fall because of him.

"Thank you." The fox-woman acknowledged Naruto's correct choice of action and rested her head on his unruly hair. Using her feet to maintain a certain level of motion, the two lingered on the swing for two more minutes of silence.

"Hmmm…" Kotonoha muttered softly, making Naruto's body tighten even more.

It was…not uncomfortable. Anything but. But, still, it felt odd. It was an ambivalent experience: he wouldn't wish to be anywhere but seated on her lap, but, regardless, he still felt like he was not supposed to be there.

"Naruto-sama…"

Without any other cue, Kotonoha explained. She explained that her relationship with her daughter was not the ideal mother-daughter relationship, and how Kotonoha's own mother had done most of the job raising Katsura Haruka, until she became Hyuuga Haruka (this explained why Kotonoha seemed to know so much about the clan and its combat style), Hinata's ancestor of several generations (which reminded him that he STILL had not visited the injured girl).

"I don't think…I ever did this with my daughter," Kotonoha admitted. "…and, well, Makoto-kun can't give me any more children to pamper…heheh…"

The bitter undertone of that laugh drew Naruto's face to hers. What he saw; the deep, searing melancholy in her expression; revealed far more to Naruto than anybody could have expected of this normally-dense young brat.

She knew. He knew that she knew.

Naruto realized that Kotonoha was not a delusional freak. She had acknowledged, long ago, that Itou Makoto was dead.

Then, why…?

"Hold tight, Naruto-sama."

"Huh?"

Kotonoha's response came in the form of greater strength. Her legs pushed hard on the sand, adding more and more force to their swinging.

"Ah, Koto—" Naruto did tighten his grip on the ropes. "I don't think this is a good idea—"

Weird words, coming from him.

"Since when has that stopped you before, Naruto-sama?"

She got him there.

Their legs would reach the horizontal place at the peak of their pendulum motion. Kotonoha giggled and Naruto shivered at the squirmy feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Ah, the rope looks like—"

"If it happens…" The four-tails whispered softly, sweetly, on Naruto's left ear. "Will you catch me, Naruto-sama?"

"Ah—"

It happened.

Kotonoha giggled.

Naruto was denied the chance to respond with words the moment the swing's old ropes snapped. With the tension from the ropes suddenly gone, Newtonian mechanics easily describes the events that follow.

Humans and Kitsune traced a beautiful parabolic curve in the air. A Shadow Clone came to life on the predicted landing spot, and both Narutos burst into smoke the moment the couple impacted the clone.

Opening her eyes, Kotonoha was greeted by Naruto's rather strained smile.

"Umm…hi."

Her mouth made a cute, tiny little 'o' for a moment, which was quickly replaced with a warm smile.

"Actions speak better than words, indeed. That was an interesting use of Kawarimi no Jutsu just now, Naruto-sama."

"Ahaha, yeah…" Naruto winced as he scratched the back of his head. "I'm pretty good at that."

Naruto definitely hoped there were no witnesses to this odd scene. Not that he particularly minded his current situation, though.

"Um, as I thought."

A lock of hair fell on Naruto's face when Kotonoha tilted her head.

"What is it?"

Naruto grinned.

"A smiling Kotonoha-san is the best."

"Ah…"

There it was. Definitely not her imagination, that bright red blush. Still, she remained calm and composed, for that is how Katsura Kotonoha behaves.

When she fully pressed her body against Naruto underneath, the boy did his best not to look at her breasts flattened against his chest. Given their considerable size, it made for an impressive sight.

"Thank you for bearing with my selfishness, Naruto-sama."

Her words magically dispelled Naruto's uncomfortable feelings. In his mind, only the need to make this strange lady happy remained.

His hands fell on her lower back, and the fox-woman hummed her assent. Naruto blushed, but his warm smile was not altered. Even her sounds filled him with that incomprehensible, warm bliss.

"Um. Anytime."

* * *

**Scene 14**

He would not have taken as long as he did to notice someone was roof-jumping alongside him if he were not as perturbed as he was. There was also the fact that the woman was awfully skilled at matching her leaps to him, hiding the sounds her feet made with his own.

"Naruto-sama."

She was rudely ignored. Naruto's stone-cold face looked at something beyond the reach of other people's eyes. Did he even have a destination in mind? Kotonoha doubted it.

"…my utmost apologies, Naruto-sama."

Naruto only reacted when his trained instincts responded to the flash of a blade aiming for his throat.

"Wah!"

The boy dodged, but Kotonoha had already stopped her backsaw half an inch away from his skin. She also spun to thrust her left foot on Naruto's gut.

"Guh!"

He managed to ease his fall, but he was still clutching his stomach when he faced the attacker.

"Wha…what the…Kotonoha-san?"

The swordswoman smiled and placed her weapon back under her obi.

"I do not enjoy being ignored, Naruto-sama."

Naruto smiled, albeit very bitterly. "…fair enough."

Finding no further point in roof-jumping, he returned to the calm pace of street-walking. Kotonoha followed, walking by his right side with the gentle smile that soothed his heart.

"So?"

The boy raised an eyebrow. "So what?"

"So what is it that troubles you, Naruto-sama? I admit we have not known each other for long, but this is the first time I see Naruto-sama so angry."

"I'm not angry."

"And my bag is not made of…no, wait, I do not think it would be wise to say that—please do not inch away from me in such a manner, Naruto-sama."

The fabrication of Kotonoha's bag aside, Naruto knew it was pointless to hide his feelings. It was not like he had the mental fortitude to, let's say, hide the years of an unfulfilling, depressing childhood full of derision and mistreatment behind a guise of loudness and cheerfulness.

Keeping a low voice, to hide his words from God-knows-who, Naruto explained the recent events to the four-tailed Kitsune: his meeting with Sakura and the harsh words she spoke against him.

"So, what do you think, Kotonoha-san?"

"I think my backsaw is very, very sharp, Naruto-sama."

"That was a very bad joke, Kotonoha-san."

"My utmost apologies."

Despite the terrible joke, it was somehow very comforting to have the woman in his side.

"I…well, Sakura always called me an idiot, but I didn't really mind…at the Academy we all called each other idiots all the time…especially Kiba; it's like he didn't know any other insult."

"So…I'm used to being called an idiot, and a loser, and a deadlast…I don't really care. But, this time, it really, really hurt. Because I could tell she really meant it. She really believes I can't beat Neji."

"Hmm…" Kotonoha mused on this issue for a moment. "Then I guess, the truly important thing is…"

Naruto looked at the much taller woman, waiting for her valuable insight.

"…how important is Sakura-san's opinion to you?"

Their silence would have been prolonged and uncomfortable had it not been interrupted by a distant shriek behind them.

"Narutooooooooo!"

Doppler Effect told the two that the source of that voice was rapidly approaching, so Naruto quickly turned…and got a faceful of breast.

Kotonoha winced at the sight of Naruto and his mate rolling their way down the street, raising a cloud of sand and dust in their passing.

"Ow…" Naruto groaned, sandwiched as he was between Yuria and the cold, hard street. "Damn it, Yuria, that hurts!"

"Oh, you can't complain, you just got a pair of breasts smashed on your face."

"My enjoyment of your breasts is far undermined by THE HARD GROUND ON MY BACK!"

"Okay, okay, no need to yell! Sheesh!" She was about to stand up, but she stopped. "Wait, are you implying that my breasts are not good enough for ya?"

"Wha—for the gods' sake, Yuria, get off me already!"

The couple stood up and apologies were expressed.

"So, feeling better now? I can still go back and punch her lights out."

Naruto grimaced. "Uh, no; I doubt Sakura-chan can take one of your punches."

"That's what I said." Yuria nodded as if proud of holding back.

Naruto sighed and smiled at his mate's enthusiasm. "I guess…I'm fine. It's…there's no point in getting mad…well, I'm mad. I'm pretty damn pissed off, but…"

"Naruto-sama has other things to think about right now."

"…yeah…" He offered a smile to the four-tails. "…I guess that's it."

"You have taken another fine step towards maturity today, Naruto-sama."

"Huh…you think?" Naruto scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "I mean, I can get mad, right? It's…it's Sakura-chan! She's…" His shoulders slumped down dejectedly. It came to that single fact, of course.

"…she's my teammate…"

"That she is," Kotonoha confirmed the obvious.

"Bah!" Yuria clung to Naruto's left arm, summoning his attention. "You don't need her pessimism right now! And with an awesome mate like me you don't need any other kind of mate! Teammate, roommate, classmate; Yuria-sama trumps them all!"

"Says the one who got us into this whole 'mating' mess."

"Urk."

"Yuria-sama seems to forget that unusually often."

"You be quiet."

"Ufufufufu…"

Naruto frowned even as he smiled. "And I thought you weren't into the whole 'mates' thing anyway."

"Ah, well…" Yuria, who was all smiles, shrugged and clung closer to Naruto. "I got into this mess; I might as well make the most of it. We do get along just fine, even if you're a brat."

"And you're a chibi."

"A chibi who can decapitate you with her breast bindings."

"Now that would be quite the sight…" Naruto mused idly, and Yuria chuckled. Kotonoha had an odd smile on her face as she watched the exchange.

"Yuria-sama, if I may ask…"

"I'm pretty sure I'll regret it, but go ahead."

"Well…" Kotonoha tilted her head innocently. "As far as my understanding goes, 'the most' of a relationship between mates is, well, the act of mating."

"Aaaand there it is. The regret—don't give me that maiden-like blush, Naruto!"

"Iyaaan…" Naruto mock-cried. He was unable to wipe the smirk off his face.

* * *

**Scene 27**

Naruto was a buffer. A wall. The only thing that stopped Kiyoura Setsuna from screaming bloody murder and lunging at Kotonoha. Therefore, even if he knew Yuria would not be very happy about this, he refused to move, and he refused to let either Kitsune move.

At least things got considerably easier when he just went for it and held Setsuna's hand to keep her still. She had become awfully calm since then. Mellow, even.

But he still did not know why Setsuna did not like Kotonoha.

At the Matriarch's behest, Yurine and Yuriyo had spent the afternoon purchasing ludicrous amounts of pastries diverse. They were currently enjoying them with tea by the riverside, not far from the bridge where Team 7 usually meets. Naruto had chosen to sit under a tree upslope and a generous distance from the shore, and he had pretty much dragged Setsuna with him, just to be safe. Right by the edge of the water, Yuria was flaunting her new BADASS clothes to Yuriyo, Yurisa, Mayuri and Shino, wearing a smile Gai would have been proud of. Yuriyo chose that moment to make a comment (Naruto could not hear from the distance) that rendered Yuria a blushing, stammering wreck.

It was a rather hesitant Yuria who turned her head to look up at where Naruto was seated. Naruto, ever the sweetheart, innocently waved at his mate/best friend. This, of course, only made things worse for poor Yuria. Yuriyo then wrapped an arm around her aunt's shoulder, continuing her assault of embarrassing comments while Yuria sunk further and further, until she finally exploded and began to chase the half-Void all over the place, eliciting the laughter of Yurisa and, some distance away, the Matriarch herself.

Shino turned to look up at Naruto, or at least so it seemed from the angle. Slowly extending an arm, he gave the blond a thumbs-up, also mouthing the words "good job."

Naruto could only sweatdrop at that. "Haaa…really, I don't get that guy."

"Regardless," Kotonoha intervened, "it was a very nice gesture from your part, Naruto-sama."

"Ah, well…" Naruto's eyes followed Yuria as she chased her half-Void niece. There was a bittersweet smile on his face. "She didn't show it, but she was still depressed, you know. I mean, she can still hang out with them and stuff, but she can't go back home with them anymore."

"Her family loves her, but won't support her anymore. That's harsh," he concluded.

Several things made sense to both Kotonoha and Setsuna in that moment: the things he had done for Yuria; the time he had devoted to her.

"You're very kind, Naruto-sama."

"Nah, not really…"

Setsuna snorted. "I still don't see why you have to take care of her like that. She's an adult; she should be able to fare on her own."

"She's alone and out in the world for the first time. If I don't help her, who will?" Naruto contested.

"Hmph. Nobody took care of me when I was her age."

Naruto grinned. "If I had been there, I would have taken care of you."

"Eh?" A squeak. "Y-Yo-Yo-You-Who do you think you're talking to? Idiot!"

"What?" Naruto rested his head on the tree trunk behind him, looking up at the evening sky. "I meant that, you know."

"Ufufufu, of course you did, Naruto-sama," Kotonoha added.

It was a very good thing that Setsuna had her back to Naruto.

Shino had spent the afternoon guiding Yurine and Yuriyo around Konoha, looking for every possible place where they could buy sweets, all the time wondering just where they got all that money from.

"_Ah, it's Flasher-kun!"_

"_I'm not."_

"_Ah, whatever, whatever." Yuriyo seized his right arm. "You're coming with us."_

"_Have you considered I might have something better to do?"_

_Yuriyo shot a look at him, eyebrow raised._

_After several seconds of silence, Shino took a step towards her._

"_That's my boy!" Yuriyo declared triumphantly._

After having breakfast at Naruto's apartment that morning, Yurisa stayed to help Naruto's clone in his labor with the Neem seeds. Mayuri wandered off somewhere; returning at the very precise moment Yurisa was getting ready to leave the apartment to look for her.

After having okonomiyaki for lunch, they stopped by Yamanaka Flower and offered Ino some company during her shift. Well, Yurisa did. Mayuri wandered off again at some point. The flower girl and the Kitsune spent most of the afternoon exchanging tips on flower arranging. Yurisa would also talk about Lightning Country and the unique flowers that grew there.

At some point they were joined by Sakura. The pink-haired Genin was a little wary at first, when Ino introduced Yurisa as Yuria's older sister, but it was hard not to get along with such an amiable personality. Still, she rejected the invitation to meet the rest of the clan. It seemed Sakura was not eager to meet Naruto's short and busty friend again…or Naruto, for that matter. It was obvious to Ino that her friend was still too shaken by the scene two days before.

Ino and Yurisa met Kiba on the way to the meeting place. The Inuzuka had been a little reluctant at first, not being up to dealing with Yuriyo's taunts and mockery, but he eventually gave in. Free food was free food. And Yuriyo was still hot. A disgusting personality, but damn she was hot.

In the end, it wasn't so bad for the dog boy. Shino (Gods bless him) somehow kept the half-Void talking about other things and away from his teammate. Also, the older ladies did not seem to share Yuriyo's inexplicable disgust towards him or her sister's just-as-inexplicable fear. In fact, Kiba got along the best with their mother.

Yurine was a sweetheart. Even Akamaru was resting placidly on her lap at the moment.

_Lucky dog._

Naruto and Yuria met Setsuna on the way, and the loli "reluctantly" agreed to join them.

"_We-well…it's not like I have anything better to do in this dump you call village-ee-ee-ee-eeuuugh! Did you just PINCH me?"_

"_That's for speaking bad of my village."_

Mayuri appeared the very moment Naruto asked about her. It was amazing.

Kotonoha and Yurimi had arrived together. The other had noticed Yurimi looked strangely subdued. And, hard to believe as it was, she seemed to be avoiding Naruto. He had looked at Kotonoha for answers, but the bodyguard had only shaken her head, as addled by this behavior as everyone else.

Little Yurina, after meeting Naruto at the bookstore earlier that day, had spent the afternoon on her own, which explained why she did not join her mother and sister in their shopping. Naruto and the twin-tailed girl had exchanged a few words when he arrived to the river shore.

"_So you're really going for it, aren't ya?" Naruto reached Yurina from behind. For once, he did not startle her. For once, she did not go into a fit of blushing and stuttering._

"_It's my mother's legacy, onii-sama. She believed in me."_

"_She still does."_

"_Um." Yurina nodded, albeit weakly. In the distance, Yurine chased Akamaru, tripped and fell, eliciting a round of laughter from Kiba and Yuria. "She still does."_

"_Hmm…" Naruto scratched the crown of his head, before reaching across Yurina's back for the opposite shoulder. "I don't know how hard it will be, but you can count on me if you ever need help!"_

_Yurina's eyes watered, but her face took the most radiant of smiles. Holding Yurine's diary against her chest, she nodded._

"_Hai, Naruto-nii-sama!"_

She had moved a distance away from the rest of the group, entirely focused on the notebook. Even Yuriyo noticed her sister wanted some privacy, but she made a mental note to inquire about that notebook the moment she could.

"Setsuna, you look a bit stressed," Kotonoha declared. "Here, have some tea."

"Quiet, woman!" The loli hissed. "The only reason I'm not choking the life out of you right now is because there are too many witnesses!"

Not taking into account all the Higashiyamas who would definitely protect Kotonoha, fighting the swordswoman in a situation in which it would be unwise to reveal the Sharingan would be plain insanity.

"But I have been wondering for a while…" Setsuna had an odd smirk. "Just where's the skull?"

"The—ah!" Kotonoha looked utterly terrified. "Makoto-kun!" She looked around for the inexistent. "I-I-I left Makoto-kun at the apartment!"

Setsuna raised an eyebrow. She 'left' it? The Katsura Kotonoha she knew would not take the thing off her sight.

Kotonoha turned to Naruto, who was a bit worried for the look on her face.

"I-I-I…I have to go!"

"Wa-wait! Koto—"

But there was no stopping the woman.

Some distance away, Yuri watched the departing figure of Kotonoha with no little amusement. Noticing Sayoko's questioning gaze, she smiled and shook her head.

"It's nothing. Can I have more tea?"

"Ah…o-of course."

A chuckling Setsuna leaned back until her head rested on Naruto's left thigh.

"These little victories…these are the things money can't buy."

Naruto did not look happy, but he did not really look angry, either. "Did you really have to do that?"

"No, not really." A very childish answer.

In that moment, a voice that had become quite sporadic lately echoed within his head.

**Aaaah…munya-munya.**

_Ah, Sayuri. __Hadn't heard your voice in a while._

**Ah…onii-chan…mohnin', mohnin'.**

_Uhh…it's evening._

**Ahh…wight.**

_You sound tired._

**Sayuri's tired.**

_Heeeh… _He never would have thought that was possible. _Where's Sayuri? The other one._

"**I'm also here, onii-chan."**

Naruto blinked.

_Well, now THIS is weird._

A mental giggle. **"I'm sorry for the trouble."**

_Right, right, no big deal. So how goes training?_

**Gweat!**

Naruto could almost share the feeling behind the mental sigh.

"**Her Katon keep getting better and better, but she still doesn't have the hang of Lightning Manipulation, so I cannot let her try Kakuton Jutsu just yet."**

**Mugyuu…it's hard.**

"**I guess it would be much easier if you were out there in the real world."**

_What does Lightning Manipulation have to do with Kakuton Jutsu?_

"**Everything, of course." **Knowing that was not really much of an answer, she went a bit further. **"It's a long explanation."**

Well, maybe not that further.

"Naruto."

"Eh?" Looking down, he found a not-very-amused foxgirl. "What is it?"

"You were out of it for a moment there."

"Ah? Ah, no, it's Sayuri."

**Ah, it's Setsuna-san…she's on onii-chan's…Sayuri too…zzzzzz…**

…_damn, she's really tired._

"**Ahaha, I really haven't gone easy on her these days. We'll be leaving you for now, onii-chan. Enjoy!"**

_Ah, um, sure._

With that, he felt the connection gone again. While it was true that not having Sayuri all the time in his mind helped him focus on his training, he had gotten used to permanent feeling of company provided by their empathic bond.

"Umm, Setsuna."

"Yes?" Setsuna replied, a little drowsily. Why was Naruto's lap so awfully comfortable?

"Now that Kotonoha-san's not here, do you mind if I leave you for a while?"

Setsuna opened a single eye. "Pillows don't move."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "I want to talk with Yurimi about…that technique."

"Oh?" The four-tails sounded a little more interested now. "So you want to try it." Lifting her upper body, she switched back to a sitting position. "Well, I guess it could be good for you…but why Higashiyama Yurimi? I would have expected you to go for your…" She made a face. "…mate."

Naruto strained himself to keep a straight face. Of course, Setsuna did not know of his and Yurimi's odd relationship.

"…I know what I'm doing. I think."

Setsuna gave him the "you're hiding something from me" look, but in the end she just shrugged.

"Suit yourself."

Yurimi was seated with Yurisa, Mayuri and Ino, but it was obvious she was not really with them. The blond four-tails and the just-as-blond kunoichi were talking about the upcoming festival on the eve before the finals. Mayuri was listening in silence, as usual. Yurimi was only there in body, lost as she was in thoughts of her own.

Naruto kneeled down in front of the short-haired lily. "Yurimi."

She raised her face slowly and met Naruto's blue eyes. If she was startled by his presence, it did not show.

"…Master."

Ino blinked. Did she just call Naruto 'Master'?

"Yah, umm…hi."

"Hello." Yurimi responded in her usual calm tone.

"Umm…" Naruto was not really sure if there was something wrong with Yurimi or not. "Are…are you okay?"

"Just knowing Master worries about his lowly slave's wellbeing is enough to make me ecstatic."

Ino shot a horrified look at Yurisa.

"Don't ask."

Mayuri was shaking her head as if to add to her mother's simple comment.

"I…I see." Yurimi had an unparalleled ability to make him feel uncomfortable. "So…I…you see, I was wondering if you would mind help—"

"Help you climax repeatedly while I scream your name over and over in high octaves? I would love to."

Silence.

The kind of silence you can actually weight.

Yurine took out a handkerchief out of…somewhere, and gently began to wipe off the blood out of Kiba's nose. Kiba himself was pretty much catatonic by this moment.

Yuriyo raised an eyebrow when Shino turned his back to Naruto and kneeled down.

"I am not worthy of even looking in his general direction," he explained.

"…oh."

A rock smacked the side of Yurimi's head.

"Ow."

"DON'T PUSH MY BUTTONS, YURIMI!" A glowering Yuria yelled from the distance.

"I just stated a possible scenario."

"Scenario, she says." The short three-tails growled.

Over at Setsuna's place, innocent greenery met its doom at the hands of the Void chakra the fox-woman was leaking.

"That…that…that…player!"

And she departed, her brilliant mind already pondering the best way to get back at Naruto for his shameless insolence.

Neither of the two would have been close to imagining what it would lead to.

Yurimi was still focused solely on Naruto, looking almost hopeful. "Master?"

"Uhh…no. And I won't even ask where that came from."

"I believe you just did, Master." Yurimi stated. "I was thinking about my future…to be honest, I don't remember very well; it might have been a fantasy while I mastur—"

"Stop."

"Yes, Master."

Almost looking the role of the father who caught his son reading porn magazines, Naruto placed his hands on Yurimi's shoulders.

"You know, those are the kinds of things you really should not say in public."

"Then would it be acceptable to discuss such matters in private?"

Naruto managed to keep a straight face for two seconds before sighing and dropping his head in defeat.

"Sure, why not."

And Yurimi's eyes gleamed with the beautiful luster of success.

* * *

**Scene 31**

Naruto had noticed.

The odd glances Kotonoha and Yurimi shared. The whispered words they would send to each other when they thought he was distracted.

He had never had so much in his head. However, he had never been so wary of his surroundings.

Why, oh why did his life become so complicated? It was not funny. Wasn't this supposed to be a comedy?

He was torn. He was torn between the sways of his sensitive heart and the burning desire that ravaged his hormonal body.

Yurimi's heartfelt confession had touched him. He had been aware of her feelings before; it was kind of hard not to, with the kisses and all that. But that afternoon, in the bridge, she had truly bared her soul to him. Even if she kept her quiet, nigh emotionless tone, her true feelings had been there for him to glimpse and seize.

She had never seemed so…human.

"_I love you. I do not even understand it myself, but I cannot deny this feeling. I love you. P-Please, accept my feelings."_

She loved him, but she did not understand why. Yurimi was drowning in her own turmoil, and he…what could he do for her? How could he respond to that?

Until that moment, Yurimi had seemed so ephemeral, so diaphanous; a beautiful existence he was afraid to grasp. She was just THAT magnificent: the glow of her eyes; the glimmer of her silver hair; the purity of her flawless skin…she was beyond him.

With that confession, she became something he could reach. Someone he wanted to reach. He wanted to capture the beautiful fairy. He wanted that beauty to be his and only his. Every time they walked together, he shot dangerous amounts of killing intent to whoever dared to spare a glance to the alluring sway of her hips as she walked.

He wanted her. Oh gods he wanted her so badly. Even if he was not really sure what he would do with her.

Well, he knew, of course…he had had The Talk already. But he didn't really **know**.

Regardless, he couldn't. How could he? He was unworthy. He was trash. Hadn't he proved it just a few hours before Yurimi's honest, heartfelt declaration of love?

He had betrayed Yurimi's feelings even before she had offered them to him.

He had, with Setsuna…

He could still feel the taste of her cute little tongue. The feel of her thin fingers roaming his body lingered as ticklish warmth.

Seated on the dining table while Kotonoha prepared dinner (with Yurimi's scarce help), Naruto bit his tongue and clenched his fists. He was filled to the brim with self-loathing.

Yuria.

His "mate".

His friend. Maybe even his best friend at this point.

The woman he shared his bed with. The woman whose scent he woke up to every morning. The first thing he saw every morning was her lovely sleeping face. Then her astounding cleavage.

How could he even look at her in the face?

Dinner was a quiet ordeal. Yuria did not show up. They (correctly) guessed she was still training with Maito Gai. Sayuri was disconnected, busy with her adult counterpart. Kotonoha and Yurimi kept glancing at Naruto when they thought he was not looking. The look on his face worried them more and more by the minute.

Naruto remained oblivious to the sound of dishes being washed. He only reacted when a hand reached for his shoulder.

"Naruto-sama?"

Naruto suppressed a shudder. Not even the comforting voice and touch of Kotonoha could push him out of his overwhelming surge of angst.

"Ye-yes?" His voice came out weak and tired, but Kotonoha did not react to this. Instead, she smiled.

The smile Naruto had come to love and look up to. He could not believe it was only a week since they met.

"Would you grant me the pleasure of your company for a while?"

How could he say no to such a request?

His smile, like his voice, was weak and heavily forced. "I…I would love to."

The swordswoman's smile grew impossibly radiant. "Thank you for your kindness."

It was like a kick to the stomach.

He was the world's worst hypocrite.

Still, he followed her. For the sake of that smile, he would follow her through all seven hells.

His attachment to Kotonoha, however, did not prevent him from feeling awfully uncomfortable when he realized they were going to Konoha's red light district.

Not nearly as grand or…saucy as the one in the Fire Capital, Konoha's red light district could almost be deemed "respectable." Mostly a swarm of night clubs, bars and depressing low-cost residences, it was the place for civilians and ninja to unwind after the struggles of everyday living. While street prostitution was forbidden in Konoha, it was not hard to identify the gaudy houses where randy men could find attractive women willing to help them sate their thirsts…for a price, of course.

Being the location of the most popular bars and dance floors, this part of Konoha was usually full of people. To most of them, it was just another part of their village. The coolest part, some would say. It worked for those more interested in sex than karaoke, as they could walk amidst the crowd and easily reach their destination unnoticed.

Tenser by the minute, Naruto quietly followed Kotonoha a few steps behind. The woman had made no effort to start a conversation, and he was not really up to doing that himself.

Eventually she stopped, and Naruto caught up to her. Pedestrians avoided the two as they stood in the middle of the street staring at a particularly large wood sign.

"This…a bathhouse?"

Kotonoha finally addressed the boy again. Her smile had not disappeared at any point during the trip.

"I found this place a few days ago. Shall we go in?"

Naruto was still confused as he took off his clothes. What was the point of this? Kotonoha had paid the attendant and departed towards the ladies' changing room, leaving him with a smile and a light bow.

Sighing, he just went along with it. He guessed he did not mind some thinking time by himself.

A current of heat enveloped him the moment he opened the door to the open bath. Low, thin clouds of steam cloaked the hot spring. The humidity was a little bit uncomfortable, making Naruto even more eager to get into the water. It was a surprisingly large hot spring, Naruto noticed as he sat down on one of the nearby benches to wash his body. It was also surprisingly empty.

He had just filled a bucket with cool water when the sound of a sliding door being opened paralyzed him.

He did not really need to think hard to figure out who it was. Regardless, he could recognize her by the sound of her footsteps. No idea how; he just could.

_Don't turn-don't turn-don't tur—_

He turned.

An intake of breath.

Kotonoha.

It was electric.

She was there, walking towards him covered by nothing but the towel she pressed against her massive bust with her left arm. The white towel barely, just barely, managed to cover both her nipples. Such was the magnitude of the circumference of her chest.

Kotonoha did not react, even when Naruto's face distorted into a rictus of pain and fear and he turned away from her, squirming as if he wanted to make himself smaller.

The boy was terrified. Of himself, of the way his body reacted to Kotonoha's presence.

_Not her! Gods help me, not her! Anyone but her! Please! I don't want this!_

His honesty and love were driving him to the verge of tears.

_I don't want to feel like this!_

"You seem tense, Naruto-sama. Please allow me to take care of you."

Naruto shuddered as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped on his nude body.

"N-No!" He gasped, and then he sobbed. Kotonoha still smiled.

"I insist. It is my duty as your servant…and my wish as your friend."

His shoulders slumped down in defeat. She had used the magic words, it seemed. He could not reject her.

He loved her too much.

Her touch was soft and delicate as she washed her hair and then his back. From the corner of his right eye Naruto could see part of Kotonoha's towel lying on the floor. That meant she…behind him…

Naruto bit the inside of his right cheek until he drew blood.

It was horrible. He was horrible.

_I hate this…_

He remained glued to his bench even after Kotonoha finished and moved to the adjacent seat to wash herself. He turned her face away to avoid watching the spectacle of Katsura Kotonoha's roaming hands all over her body.

He was still on his bench, unmoving, when Kotonoha walked into the hot spring and took a seat. Her unbelievable breasts touched the water only halfways.

"Naruto-sama? Are you not coming?"

The boy shuddered, but complied. With head hung low and towel wrapped around his waist and tied on the side, Naruto walked into the hot spring, taking a place approximately three meters away from the four-tails.

Not for long, as Kotonoha closed the distance between them right after Naruto sat down.

"You hurt me with such disdain, Naruto-sama."

Naruto sobbed again. He never thought he could hate someone as much as he hated himself at this moment.

Kotonoha's expression softened and took a sadder tone.

"Why do you torture yourself so, Naruto-sama?"

He stiffened. Well, a part of him had been very stiff for a while already.

"Why do you torment youself over a natural reaction of your body? It does not bother me, Naruto-sama."

For the first time, Naruto dared look up at Kotonoha, and his hopeful eyes met her sparkling own. And her smile. That radiant, motherly smile he adored.

Then he remembered she was still completely naked. His pupils shifted a bit downwards…

A second later, he had turned his body away from Kotonoha; his eyes fixed on the water.

"Please do not avoid me, Naruto-sama. It hurts," Kotonoha claimed. "Why do you avoid me? Am I bothering you?" Her voice struck Naruto's chest with tinges of pain.

"Would you rather leave me?"

"No!" Naruto exclaimed, still refusing to look at Kotonoha. "It's just…I just…"

"I don't…want…I don't want to feel like this…about you," he admitted, all the while his mind screamed at his painful erection to relent.

"Why?" The Kitsune urged him.

"Because I love you!" He exploded, still showing his back to her. Tears roamed freely down his cheeks. He desperately needed emotional release.

"I love you! You're so important to me! So precious, so special! Your kindness, your words, your smile! You! You…"

He sobbed.

"…you make me so happy…safe…like…like, everything will be okay…like…like…"

Another sob. He fruitlessly rubbed his right arm against this face to wipe off the tears.

"…you are…you're the mother I've always dreamt of."

Unable to hold back his feelings, Uzumaki Naruto cried. After years of pretending he was okay as an orphan, he succumbed to a beautiful Kitsune's gentle smile.

He cried.

"I love you…I love you…Koto—"

He did not even notice he was no longer aroused. With his back to her, he also did not notice Kotonoha's reaction to his words.

It was like a chain. Just like, hours before, Yurimi bared her soul to Naruto and touched his heart with her love, Naruto's heartfelt honesty and desperate need tore the fox-woman's heart in a familiar, yet also strange way.

It confused her. She felt elated and pained at the same time. It was a terrible, yet ticklish feeling which spread throughout her body.

In the end, she did what any respectable Kitsune would do: she went along with her feelings.

Naruto's sobbing was abruptly finalized when a pair of arms circled him from behind. His body stiffened yet again when he felt the softness of Kotonoha's body pressed against his back.

"There's no reason to cry, Naruto-sama. You have made me doubly happy."

"D-Doubly?"

"Mm-hmm. Your feelings for me, this bond we share, they fill me with happiness. And both your mind and your body acknowledge me as a beautiful woman. You, Uzumaki Naruto-sama, praise me twice."

"Bu-but…this…"

"…is a normal physiological reaction in the presence of an attractive member of the opposite gender." Kotonoha mirthfully completed. "I know men fairly well, Naruto-sama. What you experience is completely normal and it is a part of your identity as a male. It can be a bit embarrassing, yes, but you will see no amusement from this Kotonoha."

"But I don't like it…" Naruto whined in a quiet tone.

"And that says a lot about you, Naruto-sama. To know you have such respect and appreciation for this humble servant…it fills me with joy."

"To deal with both love and lust…it's part of growing up. I can only promise you that you will receive no scorn from this Kotonoha for this."

"You are my precious Naruto-sama, after all."

Naruto squirmed and turned around, looking up at the woman with eyes brimming with happiness and adoration.

What did he do to deserve this woman?

She pulled the boy as she moved backwards, until her back was leaning against the edge of the hot spring, like before. She spread her legs to allow Naruto to settle in front of her. Embracing him closely and gently, she allowed the boy to rest his left cheek against her bosom.

"And what…what about the others…?" Kotonoha's embrace had a powerful mellowing effect on Naruto, as his voice showed.

"Naruto-sama is a wonderful young man," Kotonoha started. "And also the protagonist, so this kind of situation is not surprising."

"But I trust Naruto-sama will find a way. Naruto-sama only needs to believe in himself…and believe in them."

Her right hand idly played with Naruto's partially soaked hair.

"They're good girls…and they're Kitsune. When it comes to things like this…they can be quite…open-minded."

It was only the two of them, enjoying the warmth of the hot spring, and the warmth of their feelings for each other.

"…thank you, Kotonoha-san."

"No. Thank you, Naruto-sama."

_I understand. What Yuri-sama meant that time, I understand._

She embraced him tightly.

* * *

_**Kotonoha Side – End**_


	27. Lily of Many Petals, Yurimi Side

**Author's Note: **Somewhat short, but we all know the Yurimi Route is the easiest.

* * *

_**Naruto Genkyouien**_

_**- **__**ナルト**__**- **__**幻**__**脅**__**威宴**_

**Chapter Fifteen: Lily of Many Petals—Yurimi Side**

* * *

**Scene 15**

Naruto did not have the habit to take naps during daytime. Not only did he have lots of more interesting things to do with his time; he rarely got tired to that point.

However, at Kotonoha's suggestion, he had given it a try. There was a nice weather and the ground was soft and comfy. Even before he opened his eyes, Naruto knew the swordswoman had already departed, most likely to shop for and prepare dinner. Yuria, if he remembered correctly, had to meet Maito Gai around this time. It seemed the odd Taijutsu specialist had gotten a really good first impression of his mate.

It was not that hard to understand. After the two spandex-clad weirdos, Yuria was the most enthusiastic person he knew.

Well, there was also Sayuri, but the little nine tails did not really know how to channel that enthusiasm properly…unless it involves fire. And explosions. Nothing against those, but still…

Of course, Naruto guessed it also helped that Yuria had pretty much saved the life of Gai's student. Sure, he had done a little, but he was not one to steal credit the foxgirl rightfully deserved.

That Gaara had some serious issues. The worst part was that he could perfectly understand.

That was not supposed to happen. He is supposed to be the guy that doesn't understand things.

Then again, he had become a bit more perceptive ever since he met Sayuri and the other Kitsune. He wondered if Lady Benten had decided to bless him with something other than occasional bouts of good luck. Maybe he should, like, light up some incense sticks or something.

Still, with this newfound perceptiveness, it was only at this point that Naruto noticed his head was not resting on the ground. He was pretty sure he had left it on the ground when he closed his eyes.

He opened his eyes and looked straight up.

"Oh…"

Two beautiful carmine eyes looked back. It took a while for Naruto to understand he was expected to speak first.

"Hello, Yurimi."

"Master."

He really needed to get the hang of this "Master" business.

No, wait. He didn't. What was he thinking?

"So…when did this happen?"

Yurimi somehow managed to properly interpret Naruto's words and the gesture he made with his right arm.

"Kotonoha said Master needed company, and Yuria wou…Yuria-nee-sama would not be available."

"Mmm." Truth be told, Yurimi's lap was not a bad place to rest his head on. "Did she tell you why I…'needed' company?"

"Yes, Master."

Naruto exhaled loudly, also closing his eyes. "…so? What do you think?"

"I think I should remind Master that I was raised by Katsura Kotonoha."

Making an odd face, Naruto opened a single eye, raising his eyebrow. "I'm not gonna ask you to kill Sakura-chan, Yurimi."

"…just saying."

A roll of eyes. "…right. But, still…I can't believe…Sakura-chan said that…"

"I was not there, so I am unable to comment on Haruno Sakura's words or actions," Yurimi declared. "If she did say the words Kotonoha quoted, and Master's behavior compels me to believe she did, then I am obliged to harbor the most negative feelings towards her. I must apologize, for that."

Her expression and tone had not changed in the slightest, but Naruto could still feel a certain edge to Yurimi's voice.

"I believe in Master's worth. We might know each other for only a few days, but I am aware of Master's greatness. I am Higashiyama Yurimi, proud lily of Higashiyama; mine is the crest of the Butterfly. I would never choose a worthless man to be my Master."

Velvety fingers caressed Naruto's right cheek.

"I am proud to be Master's slave."

They stayed like that for a while. Yurimi idly teased Naruto's whisker marks with a touch soft like silk. Their eyes never left each other; focused on a ceaseless transfer of emotions. Naruto guessed he was learning to read underneath Yurimi's emotionless mask, reaching into those eyes; the lenses that projected her feelings.

"…Yurimi."

"Yes, Master?"

"Is it possible to feel wonderfully flattered and utterly disturbed at the same time?"

Yurimi actually needed two seconds.

"I…do not know the answer to that question, my Master. I apologize for my ignorance and accept whatever punishment Master deems appropriate."

"I'm not gonna punish you, Yurimi."

"I must insist."

"Not gonna happen."

"As a shinobi, Master must be aware of the importance of proper discipline—"

"Yurimi, not. Happening."

"…very well." It was hard to notice the disappointment in her voice, but it was there.

Naruto chuckled a bit, and it was enough to lift Yurimi's spirit. She loved his laughter, his happiness…even if he awfully resembled Yuria like that.

"Master, please forgive my indiscretion, but…would it be proper of me to ask a question?"

The boy simply rolled his eyes, the smile never leaving his face.

"You already did. Just ask, Yurimi."

"I couldn't possibly—"

"I like your voice."

Naruto scored a little victory, making the fiercely neutral girl blush bright red.

"Oh…oh." Her pupils drifted away for a second, and then shifted back to Naruto's. "May I ask—"

"Yurimi."

Two blinks. "I…sorry."

Naruto offered a tender smile. "Don't be."

The girl simply nodded, afraid of repeating her mistake. "May I know why…why Master likes…my voice?"

It was the boy's turn to blush and look away. "I-I thought you had another question."

"I do, but Master's words have piqued my interest." If there wasn't amusement in that tone, Naruto was the Sixth Mizukage.

"Ugh…" Defeated, Naruto chose to answer, never taking his eyes off Yurimi in a pointless show of self-confidence. His pupils were moving a lot, though. "I…I guess…your voice is kinda…you know…"

"No, I do not know."

Naruto considered blowing a raspberry, but decided otherwise.

"…adult."

Blink. "…adult," Yurimi repeated.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. You know, you have this really…adult and mature feel all around you…it's really cool…and kinda scary."

"Is that so," was Yurimi's sole answer. Slowly, she reached for Naruto's right hand and pulled it closer to her.

"But, I love you, Naruto-sama." She raised Naruto's hand to allow her right cheek to rest on it. "Does that make me a shotacon?"

Naruto made a series of faces until he settled with discomfort. "Ho-how would I know? You're, like, a hundred years older than me anyway."

"A hundred and forty. However, I am supposedly the equivalent of a twelve-year old human."

"Pfft," Naruto snorted. "You're the most unbelievable twelve-year-old ever. Like hell I'd compare you with Sakura-chan."

Yurimi's eyes gleamed, and Naruto realized what he had just said.

"I-I mean! It's…I have nothing against Sakura-chan! I like her! Really! You know!" His voice dropped. "It's just…I'm a bit angry right now…there's nothing wrong with that."

"Of course not," Yurimi responded; the hint of a smile faint on her lips.

Gently, she rubbed her cheek against Naruto's warm hand.

"My gentle, fascinating Master…if Master wishes to use me to vent his anger, I'd be happy to…"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "What exactly do you…?"

"Well…" She moved Naruto's hand in front of her, delicately separating his fingers with her own. "…maybe, if Master is boiling with anger and frustration…"

She kissed the little finger, and Naruto skipped a beat.

"…he might want to push his slave down on her knees…"

The ring finger.

"…unzip his pants…"

The middle finger.

"…and copulate with his filthy slave's mouth."

Naruto slammed his free hand on his face. What exactly he tried to accomplish remained unclear.

"Unsatisfied and still consumed with a thirst for payback, Master might then take his slave roughly, fiercely…"

The index finger.

"…unleashing the strength of his rough hands on her behind until the searing pain drove her to madness, stuffing her womb with his seed and leaving her a moaning, drooling wreck; a broken doll drowned in ecstasy."

She finished, of course, with the thumb; her lips lingering on its rough surface a bit longer than on the other fingers.

Three or so minutes later, Naruto lowered his free hand just enough to reveal his eyes to the foxgirl.

"So…what happened to the whole claiming thing of Yuria's?"

Yurimi tilted her head. "Oh, but this lowly Yurimi is in no way seducing Yuria-nee-sama's mate," she declared. "She is just sharing one of her erotic fantasies with her good friend."

"You've been around Kotonoha way too much. Your voice sounded exactly like her just now."

"Ara, is that so."

Naruto facepalmed. It was yet another new habit that was growing on him.

"Regardless, I am glad. That my words are enough to please Master, that is."

"Eep!" Naruto hurriedly covered his visible erection, allowing Yurimi to see his utterly reddened cheeks. "Didn't you have a question to ask? A normal, non-sex-related one?"

"As a matter of fact, it could be considered to be sex related, in a way."

Naruto groaned. "Just ask already."

"Is Master satisfied with his mate?"

Naruto blinked. Now that was a trick question if he knew one. In the end, he went with honesty. And common sense.

He closed his eyes. Coward.

"Yuria's my friend. A good friend. She's fun to be with. She makes me want to work harder, too. I like that."

"Does Master find her beautiful?"

The boy opened his eyes again. Now that was just stupid.

"Yurimi, I have yet to meet a member of your family that is not beautiful."

The two-tails looked away for a second. She needed to think her next words.

"Yuria-nee-sama…she is not precisely what a male Kitsune—"

"Then male Kitsune are idiots," Naruto bluntly put. "Why, really? Is it because she's short? Because she speaks her thoughts and doesn't take crap from anyone? Because she has better muscles than any of them? Because they probably wouldn't be able to keep up with her if they tried?"

He snorted. Yurimi listened in silence.

"I don't know about Kitsune. I know Yuria. She's strong. Scary strong. She has this stupid idea that she's a failure 'cause she can't use fancy Kitsune Jutsu. Who the hell cares? Have you seen how fuckin' STRONG she is? How fuckin' FAST she is?"

A dry chuckle.

"I admit I was a little jealous until this morning. She's amazing, really. I don't get why she thinks so little of herself."

Slowly lowering the hand to rest on his chest, Yurimi finally let go of Naruto.

"Master loves Yuria-nee-sama."

"Pfft!" Naruto made an outraged expression. "I just met her!"

"But Master already knows everything about onee-sama: her strengths, her inferiority complex, her dreams, her likes and dislikes. I can feel it…I can see it in Master's eyes."

"We-well…" Naruto scratched his right cheek. "We…we talk a lot…mostly on the bed."

"I see." There was a flicker of annoyance in those words. "Master…has acknowledged Yuria-nee-sama. Master has accepted her and welcomed her. Master has praised her, Yuria-nee-sama, who received nothing but rejection and mockery from the potential suitors Mother arranged for her."

"Really? Didn't she beat the shit out of them?"

"Only the slow ones."

Naruto grinned. That was his mate, alright.

Yurimi shook her head for some reason.

"Master…truly cares for Yuria-nee-sama. It pains me to admit it, but…I envy her."

Naruto's grin dispersed. Yurimi's mask was cracking.

"I envy her strength. I envy her freedom. She can do so many things I can't…and she calls herself my rival." She sighed. "My blind, idiotic big sister…doesn't she realize?"

"I am the butterfly. I am beauty, meant to appear flawless and marvelous like a glass figurine. I flutter my wings, and they take me anywhere. However, no matter where I go, no matter how far I reach, the boundless Sky will always be above me."

Naruto lifted his head off Yurimi's lap and turned to stare at her with clear worry in his eyes. She was baring her feelings before him, and he did not like what he was seeing.

"She has sworn to defeat me one day." She shook her head again. "Yet she doesn't realize that she defeats me every single time she looks at me."

"She is truly blessed, Yuria-nee-sama. Ungrateful, childish and utterly dense Yuria-nee-sama, she is so blessed."

The Genin noticed the slight shaking of Yurimi's arms.

"She even has you…" Her voice cracked, and so did her mask. She was truly making a titanic effort to keep her neutral expression. "…and it hurts…"

Pat. Pat. Pat.

She went awfully rigid, but there was no following reaction to Naruto placing his hand on her head for some gentle petting.

"I don't want you looking down on yourself, too, Yurimi. I didn't give my first kiss to some whiny little girl."

Yurimi's response came a minute later; the time it took for her shaking to relent and her mask to reform.

"I'm not Yurina-chan, Master. That does not really do much for me."

Naruto chuckled. "No, I guess it does not, does it?"

That's why he kissed her.

It was short and simple; a standard contact between two pairs of lips. Naruto was smart (or fortunate) enough to pull away before Yurimi ceased to be stunned and decided to take things to a further level.

The boy, while embarrassed out of his mind, allowed himself to score another small victory at the sight of an utterly-gobsmacked Yurimi. Masks were made to be yanked off.

"Let's go home, Yurimi." He offered her a hand once he was back on his two feet. The foxgirl's eyes flickered for a moment, as if she had just rebooted her system. Her CPU was quickly loading her stoicism protocols, but, if only for a moment, she allowed herself to be an open book, just like the sister she envied so much.

She smiled, and Naruto discovered that goddesses truly roamed the earth.

"Yes, my most precious Master!"

* * *

**Scene 16**

Morning had come, as it always does.

Five days before the finals.

Naruto always had an odd circadian clock. Waking up early when he knows he has to; over-sleeping only on days he knows he can afford to. All that without alarm clocks to watch over him.

It's a very convenient biological clock, except for the few times it fails to work, but nothing is perfect.

Today, fortunately, was not one of those exceptions. Naruto jolted back to the world of the awake with the first lights of the sun. Another morning with Setsuna awaited.

If only he could just get off this bed.

"Ugh…damn it…"

"Hmm…"

The act of waking up had gained a surprising level of difficulty ever since he began to share his bed with Higashiyama Yuria. He always had to be careful not to wake her up when he got off the bed. He did not particularly care about waking her up by accident, but he had quickly learned that the few seconds Yuria spent between sleep and full awareness were potentially lethal.

This morning was particularly tricky. Yuria was literally all over him.

"And I thought I moved a lot when I slept…" The young ninja muttered to himself.

"Uh-uhnnn…" The sleeping fox-lady moaned, making an effort to cling to the nearest source of warmth. Naruto almost squeaked when she rubbed her chest against his side, and nestled her face under his left armpit.

"Oh, sheesh…huh?"

Her nose was twitching.

"Ugh…"

Naruto sweatdropped when the sleeping girl groaned and inched away from his body.

"I…I should be happy, but I'm not…"

He had not taken a bath the previous night. After that disappointing meeting with Sakura, his spirits were raised by hanging out with Kotonoha and Yuria for a while, then he took a nap under a tree…and Yurimi was there when he woke up. After that they went to his apartment for dinner with Kotonoha and Yuria…

"Haa…guess I should…" There was no time for a good dip in the bathtub, so a quick wash with cold water would have to do.

Leaving Yuria to sleep a while longer, Naruto closed his bedroom's door.

The moment he did that, Yuria groggily opened her eyes.

Yawning his way to the living room, Naruto soon caught sight of a scene that was gradually becoming familiar to him. The smells of cooking quickly reached his nostrils.

"Ah…morning, Kotonoha."

The swordswoman-slash-maid did not take her eyes from the stove as she returned the greeting.

"Good morning, Naruto-sama. Breakfast will be ready soon."

"Thank you."

He was truly grateful. To eat like this–home-made cooking, in company of his latest tenants–, it was like a dream.

The memory of having a hastily-prepared meal every morning, seated alone in his dining table, suddenly felt so empty and painful.

"Ah, maa, there's no hurry. Gonna wash myself a little, I kinda stink…"

Those words caught Kotonoha's attention.

"Oh, but, the bath is…"

Naruto was gone.

"…busy right now." Looking at where Naruto had just stood moments before, she shrugged. "Oh well, ufufufu…"

Naruto was quick to discard his clothes and throw them on top of the toilet seat cover. If he had put them on the hemp basket placed on the corner for this specific purpose he would have noticed. But he didn't, so there you go.

"Alright, let's do this quick—"

Further sounds got stuck in his throat, so he did himself a favor and swallowed.

Standing with her back to him, presenting her slim body and her delectable rear and as naked as the day she was born…ok, scratch that; she was born a fox.

"...good morning, Master."

The point here is, Yurimi was naked. And wet.

Naked and wet.

_Ah, right, I invited her to stay overnight. Forgot about that._

Having just cleaned her body, the two-tails had been just about to step into the bathtub when Naruto made his appearance, hence her posture at the moment.

"Ah…uh…" Naruto struggled to keep his mouth closed, or at least not too open, in the presence of this delicate, pristine beauty with unblemished skin. There is no point explaining where his blood is moving to right now.

"Hii!" He went awfully tense when the two-tails turned to face him.

She's still naked, by the way.

It was the first time he had such a full view of a naked female, outside of his dreams and his own transformation technique. He had seen Yuria topless, true, and he had also glimpsed at Yurimi's nude body the night they met, but in that occasion he had paid more attention to her tails, to be honest, and she had used those to cover the important parts.

Thus, in all honesty, this was Naruto's first full glimpse of a naked female body. He was blessed with a beautiful, youthful body for this first experience. Of course, it was not a mature body, but in a way that made the experience more significant. Yurimi was after all, of an age comparable to his, within Kitsune parameters.

His eyes glazed over her eyes; those mystical eyes that made him feel naked before her…even when he was actually wearing clothes, unlike this time. Her eyes; not cold, but firm, steeled and unwavering. Such beautiful eyes.

His eyes roamed her body; the body of a girl stepping into the road to adulthood. He lingered for a second too long on the small mounds of her bust, too small to be called such, but hinting at growth to come. Pretty pink nipples, affected by the cold water Yurimi had soaked herself with, greeted him firm and proud. Just as firm was her flat and taut belly, as impressive as Yuria's, if for a completely different reason.

And then, inevitably, his pupils were glued to her petite, clean, puckering lips, lacking the slightest trace of hair…

"Your eyes flatter me, Master."

Naruto almost fainted from the embarrassment of being caught staring.

"And not just Master's eyes. This slave is truly unworthy of such praise."

"Gah!" More embarrassed than ever before in his life, Naruto turned to hide his developing erection. He had forgotten his body was already capable of such physiological reactions. "I-I-I-I gotta go!"

But he didn't, because a hand quickly reached for one of his and pulled him back.

He shuddered.

Her body was cold and wet, and the feel of her skin on his back was thrilling. She had fully embraced him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

As if on cue, an extremely loud yawn reached their ears. It came from beyond the door. Yuria was awake and walking towards the living room. She would probably sit on the dining table to wait for breakfast…and for him.

"Shit," he declared. So what now?

"Master, do you wish to clean your body?"

"Ah?" Naruto jumped at Yurimi's sudden words. "Uh, yeah, I guess…but…ah-aah…"

A rather girly sound escaped his mouth when Yurimi's embrace grew stronger and she rubbed her chest against his well-built back muscles. Yurimi felt her knees weaken after a thrilling shock stung her hard nipples.

"Please, Master…allow your slave to serve you."

* * *

In a small, dark room within the Aburame Clan grounds, a certain boy slept. His room was heavily curtained, allowing only a bare minimum of light to sneak through.

This boy, Aburame Shino, was definitely sleeping.

However, even as he slept, his right arm shot up towards the heavens; his hand making a thumbs-up sign.

Nobody could have known that this boy's, Aburame Shino's, thumb was pointing in the general direction of Naruto' apartment.

* * *

**Scene 25**

It was about grace, fluidity of motion.

It was about speed, of thought and action.

It was about range, about safety. Within the sphere defined by her weapon's range, she was meant to be untouchable.

It was about thrusting and cutting. First the feet, then the arms at the shoulders.

Like the spring breeze. Like the desert sirocco.

One step forward, one step backward. An unnoticeable transition between graceful slowness and deadly speed.

Naginatajutsu.

Yurimi had not been taught any particular school of the art. According to Himeyuri, it was pointless to restrain oneself to a strict set of katas, as the very essence of Naginatajutsu changes dramatically when supernatural powers get involved.

Then she had shown Yurimi how to split a waterfall, even if the two-tails had nowhere near enough power to pull that off.

"Haa…haa…haa…"

It was a disgusting feeling, being covered in sweat. But she could not stop. She did not allow herself to stop. How could she?

She took a fierce step forward and thrust…

"Haa!"

…only to see her weapon slide off her weak grip and fly a few feet before touching ground. Emotions flickered within Yurimi's carmine pupils before her legs gave in.

Her knees never touched the ground.

"It's too early to give up, onee-chan."

Yurimi looked at the taller foxgirl while she was lifted back on her feet.

"Sayuri-onee-sama."

The adult Higashiyama Sayuri walked over to the fallen weapon and picked it up to examine it. Yurimi was more interested in Sayuri's clothes. She had replaced the Fate-san cosplay for an extremely elaborate robe. While mostly black, it had a wide golden vertical band on the front, surrounded on both sides by thinner red bands. The lower back was an impressive color gradient, starting with nine tails of flame that lashed and mixed into the black of the top half of the robe. The red vertical bands had symbols Yurimi could not identify, and she was surprised to notice that the vertical band was in fact a bas relief of some sort of city.

"Sayuri-nee-sama, those clothes…"

"Ah, these are my normal clothes."

"It is a beautiful robe, but…"

"It was a gift from the Iron Yamabito at Gehe…where I currently reside. The robe's completely impervious to fire."

"Is it…fire rat?"

"Excellent!" Sayuri smiled gleefully. "Your mind is brimming with knowledge, Yurimi-nee-chan."

She looked down at the weapon in her hand.

"And this naginata…hmm…" Yurimi received an appreciative smile. "…to think you've gotten this far…you're truly a genius of Spirit Jutsu, Yurimi."

"Genius…"

Sayuri handed back the weapon, which Yurimi grabbed with tired, trembling hands.

"Why are you working so hard, sister? You're not a fighter, you're a spirit diplomat. Leave the fighting to me and Yuria."

Yurimi's mask cracked for a moment there, and Sayuri did not miss it.

"She has always compared herself to you, finding herself lacking. When did you start comparing yourself to her?"

Yurimi's eyes gained a cold glint.

"You will excuse me for my bluntness, but I thought Sayuri-sama was busy with her present self…?"

"Ah, ah…" Sayuri rested her arms behind her head. "The little one's resting. I've pushed her a lot these days. Good thing she's a genius."

"Genius…" Yurimi repeated.

"Yes, like you and Yurina-chan," Sayuri explained. "She…I was born with an unparalleled talent for Katon Jutsu." She closed her eyes. "The Pulse of the Flame…heat, fuel, chakra, oxygen, combustion…it has always been clear in my head, even when I was not even aware of how fire actually works. I could just…hear it."

"Hear it?"

"Like a song." Sayuri giggled. "The Fire Song."

Yurimi blinked. "You mean…that…"

"Yup. That ridiculous tune is my Jutsu Formula. My personal mnemonics for Katon Jutsu, if you may."

"That…that is…" In the end, Yurimi could only facepalm. "I guess I should not be surprised. Then, The Explosion Song…"

"Oh, you don't want to get into that. Besides…"

Sayuri made a curious smile. The smile of the gossiping girlfriend.

"…we weren't talking about me, were we?"

Sitting down, Sayuri invited Yurimi to join her. Not being one to disobey a nine-tails, the Lily Seed complied.

"Yurimi, correct me if I'm wrong," Sayuri began. "Are you training hoping that onii-chan will pay more attention to you that way? Do you hope to impress him this way?"

Yurimi dropped her gaze, finding it difficult to respond to that. Finally, she nodded, albeit weakly.

"Master…likes strong women."

"Well, Yuria's crazy strong, I'll give you that." Sayuri nodded. "But you can still beat her."

"Yuria's strength goes beyond her physical prowess," Yurimi retorted.

Sayuri smiled and nodded. "Right. You know her better than anyone else in the clan."

"Yuria will surpass you, Yurimi."

The silver-haired lily hung her head low.

"But you already know that, don't you?"

Another weak nod.

"It's not really surprising." Sayuri shrugged. "Yuria was born to fight. She revels in the frenzy of battle. When she fights, she's truly free. Just like some are adept to expressing their thoughts and feelings through art, poetry or song, Yuria finds her true self in the battlefield."

There was an unusual elation in Sayuri's tone. To Yurimi's ears, it was almost like hero worship.

"When she fights to protect, when she fights to be acknowledged…she shines beautifully."

"And that's why onii-chan loves her. Because she's like him."

Yurimi nodded. She was completely aware of that.

"You cannot become Yuria, onee-chan. And onii-chan doesn't want you to."

"In that case…" The two-tails finally spoke. "…what should I do? How can I make him look at me? How can I make him love me…the way he loves her?"

"You can't."

Yurimi closed her eyes, flinching as if Sayuri had struck her physically.

"He will never love you the way he loves Yuria. The way he loves me. The way he loves Mayuri."

"Higashiyama Yurina. Higashiyama Yuriyo. Katsura Kotonoha. Kiyoura Setsuna. Katsura Kokoro. Ichiraku Ayame. Umino Iruka. Sarutobi Hiruzen. Higashiyama Yurine. Higashiyama Chiyuri. Uchiha Sasuke. Haruno Sakura."

"I could keep adding names, Yurimi. They all have one thing in common: onii-chan loves them. Each in his own, unique, special way."

"Yuria's the reflection of his own self. He drives her forward, and she pulls him forward with her. There's nothing they can't take on together. Together, they're invincible, unbreakable."

"I am honored to be the one closest to his heart. I was literally that for almost thirteen years. He knows me better than anyone. He loves not the mighty Kyuubi no Youko. He loves his cute, little Sayuri. And I love him for accepting me, for loving me, even when he has every reason in the world to despise me."

"Mayuri…he doesn't know it yet, but Mayuri's his panacea, just like he's hers. They heal each other."

She made a face as if tasting something particularly disgusting.

"…they complete each other."

"A fairytale romance. A maelstrom of sexual energy. The fulfilling warmth of family. The most intense passion and desire. The comfort of honest, unbridled affection. A bond forged with tenderness and gratitude. The exultation of acknowledgement. The affection that ties together an entire village. The unveiled joy of an endless childhood. The healing embrace of unconditional acceptance. The fiery chains of a driving rivalry. The reflection of one's own weaknesses, and the wish to turn them into strength."

"The feeling may be the same, but different bonds bring out different shapes of love." Sayuri concluded. "And onii-chan has an immense capacity for love."

"What is the nature of your love, Yurimi? What is the shape of the bond you share with him? What is it that you can give him and nobody else can?"

"What are you willing to offer, in exchange for his affection?"

Sayuri stood up, bending slightly forward to place a hand on Yurimi's shoulder.

"Think about it, Yurimi. Think very carefully, and then decide if you want to keep up that 'Master' and 'Slave' game of yours."

The nine-tails departed with the characteristic burst of flame of _**Hi Shunshin no Jutsu**_, leaving Yurimi with her head full of uncertainties, and doubting the worth of her feelings like never before.

* * *

**Scene 30**

"Master."

She got no response. Naruto kept walking to her right, his gaze down, his thoughts lost somewhere she could not reach.

Still, she insisted.

"Master."

Her usual tone of voice did not really help matters much. She remained ignored.

"Master," she said for the third time, adding a tinge of urgency to her call. Realizing it would remain unheard; she decided physical action was necessary.

Naruto gasped when a hand forcefully pulled him backwards.

"Yu-Yurimi, wha…?" It was then when he noticed the lamppost he was just about to bump into. "Oh…damn. Sorry for that. U-Um…yeah."

He continued walking, and Yurimi quietly followed.

When an awkwardly quiet Naruto declared after lunch that he was going out for a walk, Yurimi offered her company. Yuria was off to train, so that was not an issue.

The fact Naruto hesitated for a few seconds before letting her join him bothered her substantially. His quiet, reclusive attitude bothered her even more. The fact that he was so distracted that he was bumping into lampposts was the icing on top.

Naruto's mind, of course, was still lost in that morning. He still shuddered when he remembered Setsuna's alluring voice when she demanded him to call her "mistress." Her lips, her tongue, the warmth of her small, thin body; they all remained fresh in his thoughts. It was maddening.

Why did such a thing happen? What was it with Setsuna…and himself? What was this burning feeling that drove them to lose control like that, and why did it only happen with his teacher?

It was truly maddening.

With Naruto lost in thoughts of Setsuna, and Yurimi lost in thoughts of Naruto, there was little attention paid to the road in front of them.

"Oomph!" A clearly male voice grunted when Yurimi's body carelessly impacted his left side. Suddenly brought out of their funk, the young—Yurimi IS still young—couple halted their aimless walk. Naruto only noticed his companion stumbling a little, and patiently held her shoulders from behind.

"Whoa, Yurimi…maybe you should stick a little clo…" He raised an eyebrow at the two-tails, fiercely latched to his left arm all of a sudden. "…ser."

"I count my blessings, Ma…Naruto-sama," Yurimi was quick to correct herself in public. With that, the two turned to present the proper apologies…

"Ah." This was Naruto.

"Oya, isn't this interesting?"

It was a clearly amused Sarutobi Asuma who returned the look, and it was he who had bumped into Yurimi (or the other way around, whatever). He turned to his own companion for that afternoon.

"Don't you think so, Kurenai-san?"

The kunoichi rolled her eyes but did not hide the tiny curve of her lips. Still, Hinata certainly would not like this…

"My deepest apologies." Yurimi bowed before the two Jounin. "I was lost in my thoughts and not really paying attention to my surroundings…"

"Somehow I feel your choice of words is not really helping things…" Naruto muttered.

"Now, now…" The visibly amused Asuma intervened. "You shouldn't say those things to your girlfriend, Naruto-kun…"

"She is not my—why are you giving me that look, Yurimi?"

The foxgirl looked away. "This is my normal face…"

"I know your normal face! And don't sound so disappointed!"

"…my bad."

Asuma was laughing by this point. "Ahahaha, well, at least you're getting along. So, how did this happen, Naruto-kun?"

The flustered boy also looked away. "I-I…just showing her around…"

"You have been 'showing us around' for days already. Is it so hard to call it a date, Naruto-sama?"

"It's not a date—oh God, the eyes!" Naruto cringed when faced by Yurimi's stare. "They're boring into my soul!"

Ignoring the boy, Yurimi turned to the two adults. She liked Naruto a lot, but she also acknowledged that he was still a child. So was she, for that matter.

She bowed again, this time a lot more respectfully.

"Naruto-sama has been kind enough to look after me and my family for a while already. I am Higashiyama Yurimi. Pleased to be made your acquaintance."

It was their training that allowed the two Jounin to keep their faces straight after the introduction. By this point, all ANBU and Jounin of Konoha knew of the Kitsune presence in Konoha. The Hokage's orders were to not intervene in any manner, as the leader of the group of youkai was watching over them as carefully (if not more) as he and Jiraiya were watching over them. There would be (or could be) no intervention from Konoha until their intentions towards the village, Naruto and the Kyuubi were made clear.

Still, the fact that there was one of them right in front of them, spending the afternoon with Naruto–and having a good time, to top things off– was unsettling, to say the least.

Once the introduction was returned by the two adults, Yurimi continued.

"I must apologize for my bluntness, given that we have just met, but, if I may ask: are the two of you currently dating?"

Very blunt, this foxgirl is.

While Kurenai went beet red and Naruto facepalmed (he's really getting into this facepalming thing), Asuma only chuckled nervously.

"Maa…I wonder—oof! You elbowed me!" The bearded man quickly lashed at Kurenai, who stiffly looked to the side, as if she could avoid guilt like that.

"Maa, I wonder," the kunoichi repeated using a cold tone. Asuma winked at Naruto and mouthed a daring "women" to the boy.

Naruto, still facepalming, only shook his head in response. Women, indeed.

Yurimi turned her attention to the other female.

"Kurenai-san, if it is not too much asking, why exactly do you like this man?"

"Oi," Asuma immediately complained, while Kurenai stiffened at the Kitsune's direct questioning.

"Uh…wha…wha?" Like that.

"Well, at first glance, I look at this person and see absolutely nothing that could possibly draw me to him," Yurimi explained. "His posture is gruff and indecent in its lassitude. His eyes lack intensity or even interest. His looks are, at most, average…but this is a subjective opinion. In all honesty, I find beards extremely unattractive," the foxgirl admitted. "He is even keeping a lit cigarette hanging between his lips, so I wonder whether he actually respects you or even thinks of your comfort. As a first impression, I find your partner very lacking."

"Huh…" Kurenai's response was poor in words, but very meaningful given the way she was looking at Asuma. The suddenly uncomfortable Jounin inched closer to Naruto.

"I don't like your girlfriend very much, Naruto-kun," Asuma complained.

"She's not my—aww, screw it."

"I keep waiting for that," Yurimi stated.

At the sight of the flustered Naruto and Kurenai, Asuma just had to laugh. Yurimi was really mean, but he had to admit, that was awfully funny.

"Therefore," Yurim continued; her eyes still on Kurenai. "I must insist on my question. What is it about this man that could be deemed attractive, Kurenai-san?"

Asuma's mouth became a flat line. "I really don't like your girlfriend, Naruto-kun."

"No comments," Naruto swiftly avoided further discussion.

"That's…" Kurenai was very uncomfortable all of a sudden. "…that's a very sudden question, Yurimi-san…"

Why was she using "-san" to address this girl?

"I understand…" Yurimi dropped her gaze, her expression changing in a split instant, at least to the eyes of Naruto, who actually could read her to a point. "I just…I am trying to understand my own feelings." She bowed again. "My apologies for the rudeness. Please ignore everything I said."

"Yurimi, let's go."

Yurimi's eyes met Naruto's for a moment. Naruto was just staring at her intensely, and the foxgirl found a meaning behind that stare. Whether it was Naruto's intention or she just saw what she wanted to see, well…

"As you wish, Naruto-sama."

Bowing to the other couple one last time, Yurimi attached herself to Naruto's arm and allowed herself to be guided away in whatever direction the boy chose. Naruto only offered an awkward grin to the two Jounin before turning his back to them. Kurenai and Asume remained unsure of what to make of this conversation. It did not really tell them anything concerning the Kitsune's interests in Konoha, after all. However…

"Yurimi-san."

Yurimi stopped, forcing Naruto to stop with her. It was only an inclination of her head which told Kurenai she had the two-tails' attention.

"Maybe you should try looking at yourself rather than looking for nothing in him."

After a few seconds of pondering, Yurimi dropped her gaze and muttered, barely loud enough for Naruto to be able to hear.

"That's…what she said, too…"

Like that, the young couple walked away, in silence.

It was a bothersome silence, but Naruto was respectful. It was obvious Yurimi was deep in thought, and the last thing they needed was to start bumping on objects and people again, so he just quietly guided her and waited for her to settle her thoughts on whatever it was she was thinking about. He is not much of a deep thinker, so he doesn't really know how that works.

On a side note, his new preoccupation with Yurimi pushed all thoughts of Setsuna away…for a while.

It took around five or six minutes before Yurimi spoke again.

"Master."

Her voice was soft, intended just for Naruto to hear.

"Yes?"

"Master…understands what I was talking about with Kurenai-san…right?"

"Hmm…" Ignoring the crowd around them, busy as they were with preparations for the next three days, Naruto watched the autumnal clouds for a moment. "I'm not the smartest guy, but…I guess I have an idea."

"I…see."

They eventually reached a familiar place. It was a bridge of memories for Naruto: Team 7's usual gathering place. Around them, the cherry trees, the source of much awe and beauty during springtime, created a gloomy corridor on both sides of the stream. The whole place seemed to lack color and life. Such is the cycle of death and rebirth.

Halfway past the bridge, Yurimi let go of Naruto's arm. The boy walked two more steps before turning to his Kitsune companion.

"Yurimi." He had tried to make it a question, but…

"I've been thinking…about why I love Master."

That was the difference between these two. Did Naruto ever think about why he liked Sakura? Yurimi? Setsuna?

Well, he's been thinking about Setsuna lately, but this is more a matter of unexpected circumstances.

"I fell in love with a mental construct; with the image of Master I created from Kokoro-san's reports. I was perturbed; I fell in love with a human child."

Yeah, he could see that.

"Then I met the real Master. So similar to my mental image, and so different at the same time. It…confuses me."

Her expression had not changed throughout her speech, but there were odd inflections to her voice that Naruto still could not interpret.

"So, I have been thinking…about Master. About Master's traits...but, I really don't know."

Her eyes narrowed down and her face leaned a bit forwards. She was no longer looking at Naruto's face.

"I keep asking myself 'why do I love Master?', and there is no answer. I…I just do not know."

Naruto remained silent. It would do no good to speak before she was done and, besides, he had no idea what to say.

"So, lately, it has been suggested to me…that I could be looking at things the wrong way. What I'm trying to say is…that my feelings might not be associated with any one of Master's traits that could possibly be labeled as appealing."

"Somehow I get the feeling you're saying some really horrible things about me…" Naruto muttered as he sweatdropped.

"Instead, there's something in my nature that attracts me to Master's traits, regardless of their attractiveness and appeal from an objective standpoint."

"REALLY horrible things," Naruto insisted.

Clasping her hands together, she fiddled with her fingers; a gesture utterly inappropriate coming from Yurimi. Naruto could swear he had seen something like that before.

"I guess…what I am trying to say is…"

It was then when he noticed her shoulders were trembling. _What the hell…?_

"I-I'm sorry for m-my unsightly behavior."

_She's stuttering!_

"I-I…I'm Ki-Kitsune, so…I was not educated in thi….this sort of thing. It's an aspect of relationships I find alien to my nature."

Even Naruto was shaking a little by this point. This behavior, it was…kinda…

"I love you."

Naruto skipped a beat. Oh God, those eyes…!

It just did not make any sense!

"I don't even understand it myself, but I cannot deny this feeling. I love you. P-Please, accept my feelings."

And then she bowed. And she stayed like that, with the obvious intention of not moving until Naruto responded in some way.

It was ridiculous!

This was…it was just…just like…shoujo manga!

And it was not funny! Or cute! It was plain scary!

Ok, so it was actually very cute. But still! It was the essence of the act itself!

Yes, Naruto was scared! He was facing a true, honest-to-God confession! Yurimi was offering him the powerful, earnest words he had dreamt of hearing from Sakura's lips! And she was Kitsune! Kitsune certainly did not seem the type to pull off pre-teen-girl-style love confessions!

And, no offense to Sakura, but Yurimi had her totally beat in the beauty department. The only way in which those two matched would be their identically flat chests! And with the mother she had, Naruto had LOTS of expectations from Yurimi in the future!

This scene is full of exclamations!

So, yes, Naruto, in the presence of a real and masterfully performed confession, was scared out of his mind. Flattered beyond belief (despite the fact, that, like Yurimi herself admitted, he had no idea was made him so appealing to her), but scared nonetheless.

It was complicated, really. He liked Yurimi, of course. He wouldn't have kissed her several times throughout this story if he didn't. But there was the immediate issue of Setsuna. And he was Yuria's mate, after all. Not that it really matters, really, but let the guy stress himself out unnecessarily.

How could he even dare to return Yurimi's earnest, honest feelings with things the way they were? He just had an epic make-out session with Setsuna hours ago!

It was just like he had thought all this time.

Yurimi, he realized, was just too good for him.

Gripping his fists in self-deprecation and gritting his teeth as if to stop himself from exploding in self-mutilating ways, Naruto dropped his gaze half an inch.

"I…"

Yurimi raised her head to properly face his response, and all attempts at speaking died in Naruto's choked throat.

She was just as scared. It was the little things in her otherwise impassive posture: the quivering of her lips, the occasional tremble of her shoulders, the way her fingers rubbed against the fabric of her clothes and the odd, dim glow in her carmine eyes.

His silence was killing her, and he feared his answer would destroy her.

As if he needed further proof.

Yurimi loved him. Really, really, REALLY loved him.

The awareness as scary as fuck. How was he supposed to deal with that? Uzumaki Naruto, the orphan? The guy nobody likes (with some exceptions)? The demon brat?

Uzumaki Naruto, regardless of the changes beginning to take place in his body, is still nothing but an inexperienced child.

"I…" The only thing that stopped him from tearing up on the spot was his pride as a man. "I just…I can't…"

After dropping his head to conceal his face from the slightly taller foxgirl, Naruto shook it almost desperately.

"I just don't know…!"

What to feel? What to say?

He wasn't sure of even that.

"…Master."

Fearing he would lose her forever if he didn't, Naruto quickly raised his head to meet her eyes. Had he been slightly girlier, he would have covered his face with his hands.

It was done.

He had hurt her. This girl loved him and his inability to respond properly to her confession had hurt her. Her eyes said everything. Not even her mask could cover such powerful eyes, full of emotion.

"You're seriously pondering my words. That makes me happy."

_That's a lie! _Naruto's mind yelled.

"An answer is not really necessary. Master has other things in his mind at the moment."

_Liar! You want an answer! Who wouldn't!_

"So…let us return to the apartment. Is that okay?"

It shamed him, but he had never wanted to run away from something as much as in that moment.

"P-Please go ahead. I…I'll…stay here for a while," he declared, looking away at the uncaring stream.

When Yurimi moved a step closer, Naruto stiffened. He was sure he would bolt like a wild hare if she moved an inch closer. He was also completely certain of what he would see if he looked at her face one more time.

He had just rejected her, had he not?

He could not stand looking at her hurt eyes one more time.

"Master…"

It was a whisper. It was a plea.

She was gone.

Regardless of the circumstances, she obeyed. This was also Higashiyama Yurimi's love.

Naruto gripped the nearby rail, threatening to leave marks on the wood with his nails.

"I'm the worst…" He muttered.

It was a tough day for Uzumaki Naruto.

* * *

**Scene 36**

"Haa…that was surprisingly good. And tasty, too! I didn't know they offered food in tea ceremonies, too!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly as he left a certain large building. His charming companion watched him with her usual placid gaze.

"I'm glad you found it enjoyable, Master."

The grinning Naruto turned to face Yurimi…and his smiled dropped. "Don't make me do it ever again; my legs are so wobbly!"

"It is to be expected. Master is not really used to seiza."

She did not hesitate to wrap her arm around Naruto's.

"Allow me to support you, Master."

Naruto chuckled. "As good an excuse as any, right, Yurimi?"

After a second of hesitation, Yurimi nodded and allowed her lips to curve slightly upwards. "Master knows me too well."

It had been an odd afternoon for the two. Naruto had suddenly invited Yurimi to "a walk." Indeed, they had walked, quickly reaching the more commercial area of the village. It was a placid, but silent walk for the two. Naruto seemed to be deep in thought, and Yurimi would not interrupt him.

They stopped in front of a fancy-looking tea house, and Naruto invited her to go in, claiming that, having never attended a tea ceremony before, he was a bit curious.

Sometimes Naruto made it really hard for Yurimi to hide her emotions. His intentions were so obvious it was almost painful to watch. Still, how could she choose not to acknowledge them?

She had already shared with him her interest in the _**sadou**_, the Way of Tea. Practicing the minutiae of the tea ceremony was one of her hobbies, and she secretly looked forward to performing for her Master one day.

Of course, in her delusions, Naruto threw away her tea to take her on the tatami mats, but that's not the point here.

Really, it isn't.

And don't make me go into the other things Yurimi wants to "perform" for him. Really, don't.

So! Naruto was doing this for her and only for her. Who was she to say no?

It had been a strange two hours. Not because of the ceremony itself, though. It had been performed nigh flawlessly, and that means a lot coming from Yurimi, who is very exigent when it comes to the tea ceremony.

No, the issue was, of course, Naruto.

The sudden step into an environment he was not accustomed to quickly revealed his young age and lack of social skills. Not knowing what to do, or how to behave (because, above all, he did not want to make a fool of himself in front of Yurimi), he went awfully silent and quietly tried his best to copy Yurimi's actions. Yurimi found this a bit unsettling, being used to his boundless energy and enthusiasm. But she could not deny that it was also a bit endearing. He was obviously uncomfortable about the whole thing, and he was not really one for such formal events, but he was doing what he could, for her. By the end of the whole thing the host and the other guests were also offering fond smiles to the boy who was trying his best.

It was a bit embarrassing, but she had never felt prouder to be Naruto's slave.

"But…" Naruto spoke as his steps regained what could be called a standard pace. "I can see why you like it. It's very you, Yurimi."

"Should I take that as a compliment, Master?"

"Hmm…" Naruto only grinned.

While they walked with an uncertain direction, Yurimi shared a story with him.

"The leaders of the Twelve Great Clans meet once every year. It's supposed to be a diplomatic conference, but most of them are more interested in the yearly Poker Night."

"Poker Night?" Naruto's eyes blinked in recognition. "You mean…"

"Yes. That Poker Night," Yurimi confirmed. "There is a rotation, so a different clan acts as the host each year, and the rotation is reshuffled every twelve years. The last time Higashiyama Clan hosted the meeting was almost fourteen years ago. Sayuri-sama was the great winner that time."

"That's a way to put it."

Yurimi nodded. "While the clan leaders are busy with their discussions, it is our duty to look after the additional guests the other leaders bring with them. We do not get many chances to socialize with other Kitsune, so it is always an interesting experience."

"I believe the meeting before the last one was…twenty-five years ago? I apologize; it eludes my mind at the moment."

Naruto made an odd face for a moment there. That was a cruel reminder of the tremendous difference in age between the two.

"That was when I met Ashibashi Sarasa-san."

Her eyes gazed at the distance for a second, as if she could see the memory running past her eyes, before turning her attention back to Naruto.

"She's the second daughter of the leader of the Great Clan of Earth Kitsune, Ashibashi Sengoku-sama. She gave a completely different feeling than her father…I was not the only one impressed. Even Mother praised her elegance and poise, as well as her gentleness and respectfulness. She is a finely trained, elegant beauty."

"She offered to prepare tea for us. Yurisa-nee-sama was not very happy about this, of course. It was supposed to be the other way around, after all. But it would not have been proper to get into an argument with an important guest because of such a small thing."

"It was perfection, Master. Truly, it was as flawless as something can be. I had participated in tea ceremonies before. I had watched Mother and Kotonoha do it. I…I cannot really explain it, but Sarasa-san's understanding of sadou is just perfect. Every single action and motion was carefully planned and executed. There were no unnecessary motions, only perfect efficiency."

"That kind of elegance is awe-inspiring, Master. Even Yuria, who is not really into such things, was impressed by Sarasa-san. And I…I wished to be more like her."

Naruto noticed somehow they had reached the south-eastern outskirts of Konohagakure. Buildings and houses were being rapidly replaced by larger and larger patches of greenery.

"I had the chance to enjoy a private conversation with Sarasa-san later that night…yes, I remember, it was around the time Sayuri-sama joined the game. I know because the voices from the gaming room became considerably louder."

Naruto chuckled and sweatdropped at the same. One of these days he would have to ask for the details of that Poker Night.

"Sarasa-san told me that she had trained herself in etiquette and the tea ceremony almost at the expense of everything else. It seemed her father was not very pleased by this." Noticing Naruto's lack of understanding, Yurimi explained further. "The Earth, Fire and Mountain Clans are generally considered to be the most…martial-oriented among the Great Clans. I guess Sengoku-sama would rather want his offspring to be capable in combat…or at least able to direct a group of combatants."

"I believe, however, that it would be a crime to deny Sarasa-san's talent. Even if it is something as…irrelevant as serving tea. Mother would be pleased to have a chance to exploit such skills."

"That doesn't surprise me."

"And I…I really got into tea, I guess," Yurimi concluded. "I am still far below Sarasa-san's level, however."

"Hmm…well, you've still got time."

"Yes."

It bothered him, but he had only half-listened to Yurimi all this time. The more he walked with her the stronger his headache. It had nothing to do with her words, of course…well, not her current words.

She had confessed to him the day before. Of course, she had professed her love for him in several very impressive ways since the very minute they met. However, the scene last afternoon was definitely special. It had a unique conclusive feel Naruto could not deny. It was special because Yurimi did not rely on her body to express her love. She used nothing but words, and her words carried with them the emotions her face carefully concealed.

He was troubled.

After all, the day before, he had also, with Setsuna…

His trip to the hot springs with Kotonoha had cleared his mind in several ways. Still, that morning had been really, really awkward. The way it ended, while it certainly did wonders for his relationship with his mistress, it did not help his current situation in the slightest. In fact, it might even make it worse.

What did he feel for Yurimi? What was the real extent of Yurimi's feelings? And what about Setsuna? Did he like her THAT way? Did SHE like him THAT way?

It was really hard to tell with that little one.

And that was just those two. Add Yuria to the equation and things reached a whole new level of complicated. Hell, let's be kind and include Yurina, Kokoro, Mayuri and Sayuri there. Yuriyo doesn't really matter in this context.

Sakura who?

This was Naruto's latest dilemma. Considering that his big fight against Neji was the day after tomorrow, it was a dilemma he certainly did not need at the moment.

"Let's sit down, Yurimi."

"As you wish, Master," Yurimi unhesitatingly responded.

She followed Naruto to the nearby trees and sat after him on the soft grass. Naruto's eyes followed her all the time. In the same way Yuriyo was alluring, Yurimi was elegant in every single moment. She was exactly like her mother in that regard.

Yurimi was beautiful to his eyes. Too beautiful.

"It seems my words from yesterday have troubled you."

Naruto's eyes widened at these words.

"No! No! No…of course not…I-I'm happy…of course…" He blushed faintly. "You're the first one…who said something like that to me. So, really…I'm happy."

"But…"

"But…" Naruto repeated, before releasing a long and uncharacteristic sigh. He went back to something Yuria said in that long night when they first met. "But, Yurimi, how long will it last?"

The way her face responded to his question was almost scary. Her eyes first widened like his just before, but then her cheeks and pupils hardened to fix an expression of what Naruto could only call suppressed fury.

The moment Yurimi realized what Naruto was seeing; she gasped and hurriedly covered her face. "I—My deepest apologies, Master! I…"

But Naruto was quick to take the blame. "N-No, Yurimi, I…I'm sorry…"

It was not a very strong apology, mostly because he had no idea what just happened.

"No…" Yurimi shook her head, her hands still covering her face. "Just…just give me a minute, please…"

It took considerably longer than a minute. The whole time, Yurimi kept her face covered and took deep breaths, while Naruto sat there looking uncomfortable.

"Yu-Yurimi, I—"

"Master."

Yurimi revealed her face, and it was back to her usual impassiveness. The only difference was her pupils, which carried within the intensity that rendered Naruto speechless the day before.

It worked again. Naruto was sure that it would work even thirty years later.

"I…" she began. "I do not have an answer to that question. I did not expect to be asked such a thing. It bothered me."

Naruto thought "bothered" was not precisely the right word, but he knew better than to voice that thought.

"I…I sincerely do not know," Yurimi admitted, dropping her gaze for a second before looking back at Naruto's eyes. "I understand what Master implied. Master is human. I am Kitsune. The Kitsune Way…is cruel to Master."

Yurimi was bothered by this development. It was true, of course: humans are humans; Kitsune are Kitsune. A Kitsune who found a human interesting would stay with that human only for as long as that interest lasted. It was one of the truths of this world, just like Jiraiya being a pervert and the kappa's love of cucumbers. It was not something Kitsune wasted many thoughts on, for precisely this reason. It did not matter. It was, to put simply, the way things are.

To Yurimi, however, it suddenly mattered. It made complete sense. The human who had caught her interest happened to be Uzumaki Naruto. This was not the usual male target of a fox-woman. This was not the standard fair-looking male meant to satiate a Kitsune's thirsts. It was not the standard object of interest, pleasure and amusement. The standard human mate was willing to participate in the mindless fling with the stunning, mysterious woman. Most never found out that the best sexual partner they had (and will ever have) happened to be youkai.

Unfortunately for little Yurimi, it was not that easy this time. Naruto had no interest in "harmless flings." Of course, he would learn to appreciate the carnal implications of a relationship with a Kitsune (she would make him learn or die trying!), but this was not what Naruto was looking for.

It was all about bonds.

It was the reason he had gotten along with Yuria and Kotonoha so well, so quickly. They connected with him, and provided him with something besides a romantic relationship, which he was not actively seeking (yet). Hell, even Yuriyo won him over with her annoying straightforwardness.

It was what the Sayuri from the future had brought up. The one thing Yurimi could offer him.

It took a lot of thinking, and she was not sure if her answer was the right one. She did not even know if it counted as an answer. But it was the truth. This…attraction she felt towards the young blond could not be denied. She refused to deny it. She would not force Naruto into a relationship, of course. That would be unsightly and dishonorable for a Kitsune. But she would not give up, either. Not because of honor, Kitsune pride or things like that.

It was simply what she wanted.

"I do not know for how long these feelings will remain. I was not ready for them in the first place. My attraction to Master…I cannot fully explain. I wonder if it is like this for all Kitsune, or I am just…odd."

"I cannot answer your question. I cannot give you reassurance. This deeply pains me. However, I can say this."

She looked down one more time, at her hands, before fixing her eyes on the unsettled boy.

"These feelings of mine…they are real. I know Master knows this."

"Yes," Naruto spoke very softly. Of that he was certain. "B-Bu—"

"How long I will feel this for Master, I do not know. What I know is that, whether it is four weeks, four decades or four centuries; for as long as these feelings remain, I will look at Master and only Master. For as long as these feelings fill my heart, I will belong to Master and only Master. I will not look at any other male but Master. I will not lust for any other male but Master. Everything I am: body, heart, mind, soul; they belong to Master and exist for Master to use as he wishes. For as long as these feelings remain, Master will be the subject and object of my existence. I will exist for Master, to fulfill his every desire. This lust, this desire, this affection, this obsession, this **love**…for as long as it is a part of me, it will be everything I am."

"I say this as Higashiyama Yurimi, sixth born of Yuri, who bears the Crest of the Butterfly; so it is truth, and may the wrath of eight million gods descend upon me if it ever ceases to be so."

Of course, a response took a while to form in Naruto's head. How was anyone supposed to respond to THAT?

What Yurimi offered was complete and absolute devotion for an indeterminate and unknown interval of time. As simple as that.

Yurimi did not want to be his girlfriend, or his mate, or his wife (of course not), or even his friend. She wanted to be his belonging. It was a completely one-sided relationship, from the crudest standpoint. One existing solely for the sake of the other. It worked because "the other" in this case was Uzumaki Naruto, who would certainly not make this bond as one-sided as it could be.

His shaky, calloused hands fell on Yurimi's knees, as if fearing she were a sand doll that would fall apart with the slightest touch. Yurimi frowned. It was a strange reaction.

As the shaking moved up his arm, past his shoulder and took possession of his entire body, Naruto leaned forward, closer and closer to the foxgirl. When he was close enough, Yurimi heard it for the first time.

He was crying. Softly, very softly.

"Ma-Maste—"

His forehead fell on her lap, and she said no more. The boy, hunched down and burying his face on her thighs, sobbed bitterly and quietly. Yurimi tried to comfort him, wanted to, but she hesitated. She was afraid.

She was afraid, because she did not understand.

"I don't…" Naruto muttered, and Yurimi leaned forward, too, to catch those words.

"I don't…deserve this…"

Yurimi blinked, and then stifled a chuckle. "Master, your ignorance shows."

"Ugh…" Naruto moaned against the fabric of Yurimi's kimono.

"My apologies."

Relieved and finally full of the certainty she so desperately needed, Yurimi allowed her hands to fall on Naruto's hair, stroking it softly and tenderly.

"Love is not about deserving it or not. Love is something we want; something we seek; and when we find it, we happily accept it…for as long as it lasts."

"…really."

"Really," Yurimi insisted. Seriously, sometimes Master was so… "…well, that is how it works for Kitsune."

"Hmm…" Naruto waited until the few tears dried out. It would not do to embarrass himself any further. When he deemed it safe to show his face again, he did so by revealing the very best smile he could shape up at the moment.

It was a very handsome smile, as Yurimi could attest to…then again, her opinion is highly biased.

"Then…I will count on you from now on, right? Yurimi."

Yurimi blinked, before forcing herself to close her eyes shut. Such simple words, but she knew…this was his acknowledgement.

What they had become, she did not know. They were not boyfriend and girlfriend: Naruto was not after that kind of relationship. Besides, it would be safer to keep problems with Yuria to a minimum.

What they truly were, Yurimi did not know. To Yurimi, it did not matter. Naruto was Master. She was Slave.

Opening her eyes to allow the tears of happiness to be free, Yurimi took off her mask. Everything she was now belonged to Master, so there was no need to hide things from him anymore…at least not when there was nobody else around.

She proved, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that decades of cloaking her emotions had not dulled her capacity for body language.

She smiled; her most tender, purest, loveliest of smiles.

Naruto fell in love.

* * *

_**Yurimi Side – End**_


	28. Lily of Many Petals, Mysterious Side

**Author's Note: **The chapter for all the scenes I cannot associate with a single character, except maybe Future Sayuri. Anyway, just try to enjoy it.

* * *

_**Naruto Genkyouien**_

_**- **__**ナルト**__**- **__**幻**__**脅**__**威宴**_

**Chapter Fifteen: Lily of Many Petals—Mysterious Side**

* * *

**Scene 6**

Seating on top of the water tank on the rooftop of Naruto's apartment building, the older Higashiyama Sayuri watched the starry sky. It was good, that Konoha's nightly illumination was still not enough to blacken the sky. In the apartment, she guessed, the little Sayuri was making up for a whole day without conversing with her beloved onii-chan. Naruto had also invited Yurimi to stay in his apartment for the duration of the clan's stay. The young lily had not hesitated to drag Kotonoha to her camp to take down the tent and move her luggage to Naruto's residence. She would not be sleeping in the bedroom, it being Yuria's territory, but it was more than good enough.

"Where…**when** I come from…" She was getting tired of making that correction. "…you can see a beautiful starry sky from Konoha. Of course, you would have to be suicidal to try to come watch it."

She smiled down at the figure clad in purple. "Good evening, Sayoko-san. Will you bless me with your company for a while?"

Sayoko did not move. She had no need to. Under the cloak of the night, she was Goddess. Undying. Asymmetric. Eternal.

Sayuri was not surprised when, in the interval between blinks of her eye, Sayoko **switched** ("moved" was definitely not the appropriate word) from her original position on the rooftop floor below to the water tank, seated to the nine-tails' right.

The evening in Konoha was still rich with activity, and the village was a solitaire island of artificial light in the plutonic sea of forestry. On that rooftop, however, that feeling of life and humanity was heavily dimmed. Sayuri stared at the shadows in the corners, and by the closed door that led to the apartment levels.

The shadows waved a greeting; an invitation to a lunatic dance woven from alien instruments and a tempo conceived by the mind of a satyr born from the nuclear chaos.

Shifting her gaze to Sayoko, she noticed the Void Kitsune was staring at the exact same spot. Sayoko's hand moved in an impossible, arcane gesture, crafted by fingers that should have far more than three joints for such a sigil to be mechanically possible.

The shadows were just that. Shadows. The obscure projections of a reality cracking at its seams.

Sayuri looked down, at Sayoko's hand.

It was a normal hand. Small, feminine, outright pretty.

"…thank you for the hard work."

Sayoko nodded.

Sayuri turned her eyes back to the starry sky, halfheartedly tracing imaginary lines between the stars. More often than not, the resulting figures were of things she'd rather not remember. A few minutes within her light mental exercise, she was forced to stop.

The lines were beginning to pop up by themselves, before their eyes, scribbling profane symbols in the dark sky.

"The madness never sleeps," she declared. "And that is why our battle is a losing battle."

"Everything will turn into Chaos," Sayoko continued. "And when everything is Chaos, it will implode into Oblivion."

Silence suffused the stage. Hidden whispers; promises of bliss and mindless peace beyond the Gates of the Silver Key, were drowned by the random noise of the village below.

"Humans and youkai are blessed in their ignorance, and Gods have fully submerged themselves in their denial. Ignorance and denial are truly blissful." Sayuri chuckled. "Where are they now? Mumbling, mad gods; locked in their sanctuaries nibbling at the skin of their fingers, screaming and sealing their eyes shut to deny the unraveling of the world that worshipped them and sustained them."

"And humans…haa, humans…their pointless struggle to understand the crawling madness only makes things worse for them in the long run."

Sayoko's eyes were pools of misery as she looked at the morbid, fatalistic nine-tails. "Then, your timeline…"

"We were doomed the moment you died, Sayoko-san. We knew nothing about the Silver Key, and when we learned enough to know fear, it was far too late. Onii-chan managed to save Mayuri from the cult, but the damage was done. The Gate had been opened, if only for a moment, and madness seeped into our world. In a way it was a good thing onii-chan died young..."

"This village…" Sayoko concluded. "…it fell apart."

"Of course," Sayuri agreed. "Both Mayuri and the Key were here, after all. I hate her, but I definitely don't envy what she has to go through. Considering that the **Crawling Chaos** itself settled down here, we pretty much gave up on recovering this land."

"You mean, they're already—"

"Like I said," Sayuri nodded. "The Gate was opened, right? All sorts of Elder Evils sneaked through, and they have drowned my world in a pestilent sea of insanity. Sure, we've had our share of victories – I took care of **The Usurper**, for example. Mayuri made sure **The Great Priest** won't be bothering us any time soon, and both **The Wind Walker** and **The Horror from the Hills** are dead."

Sayoko's eyes widened until her muscles complained about it. In all her years…!

"You…you killed—"

"Yup." Sayuri grinned. "It's something to be proud of, I know!" But, just as quickly, her smile faded. "But I know it's pointless."

"I have seen them, Sayoko-san. The monstrosities that lurk within the Nuclear Chaos. I see them constantly, in my dreams. We drink tea together in a regular basis."

"Tea?" Sayoko sweatdropped. What the hell?

"Long story. Anyway, the point is that I know. I see the depths of their apathy and I know it's pointless."

Sayoko looked at the defeated expression on Sayuri's face, and she understood.

This Kyuubi, this woman named Sayuri, was tired. Tired of the fighting, of the hopelessness, of the bleakness of a pointless universe.

How old was she? Sayoko could not tell. Just how far in the future did this Sayuri come from?

Regardless of how old she was, this Sayuri had suffered way too much.

"So, when you return to your timeline…"

The nine-tails shrugged. "I guess I'll just give up. Really, I'm done." Her eyes brightened for a moment. "Oh, right. I have to settle things with Mayuri before I die. The bitch's gotta pay."

Sayoko did not ask. If it was necessary for her to know, she knew she would find out sooner or later. "So, you came here to…"

"Oh, my job here's pretty much done," Sayuri admitted. "Now I just have to fulfill Shinigami-sama's condition and wait for the Time Gate to be opened again."

She smiled. The shift to a more positive topic was very welcomed. "This new timeline…it's strong. It will hold and remain stable and away from the madness for a long time to come. I feel it." She turned her smile to Sayoko. "Of course, I'll be counting on you to look after the Silver Key the way you've done all this time. How long has it being, anyway?" Noticing the nervous look on Sayoko's face, she made a dismissing gesture. "Nah, forget I asked. That was rude."

"Auuu…sorry."

"Don't be."

Another lapse of silence followed. Sayoko wondered what kind of thoughts went through the greatest of the lilies in moments like these. The Sayuri she remembered, after all, was small, cute and awfully dangerous, and she was not prone to long moments of silence like these.

"Sayoko, would you spar with me before I leave? I need more experience fighting the Void."

"This coming from the one who killed Fubuki?"

"Ah, well, that was a long time ago, and she was overconfident…" Sayuri winced. "…sorry. Forgot Fubuki was your…"

"That doesn't mean anything anymore," Sayoko reassured the nine-tails, but could not hide the sadness in her expression when thinking of the current Void Kyuubi.

Sayuri sighed. "Thanks. Well, like I said, I was lucky that time. Chaa-chan is way tougher."

"Chaa-chan?" Sayoko's eyes widened in recognition. "By any chance, do you mean…?"

"Chachamaru. She's still around." Sayuri smiled fondly. "She's awesome. Everything Fubuki should have been and more." Her right fist fell on her open left palm. "Hey! Now that I think about it, she's a perfect candidate!"

"Ca-candidate? For what?"

"To be your successor, of course."

Sayoko was stunned. Her lips separated, but no sound came out.

"You'll have to hand over the Silver Key at some point, Sayoko-san. You cannot be the Guardian forever. I can guess you've hold out for who knows how long, looking for the right person, but, really, haven't you done enough?"

Sayoko looked down at her lap. At this moment, the Silver Key was mixed among the few things she had brought with her, inside Yuri's Spirit Pagoda. It might seem irresponsible to leave such an important item away from her eyes, but she would be able to tell the moment it was moved from its position.

A successor…she had thought about it, of course. She had even considered several people. But…

"Not yet." She shook her head defiantly. "The right one hasn't shown up. And I…I…I still can't let go of it. I don't intend to die yet, anyway."

A grim smile. "This coming from someone who did not hesitate to sacrifice herself…umm…two days from now."

"Ahh, that." Sayoko even allowed herself a tiny chuckle. It was strange, being able to laugh at her own death like that. "I guess…I did not want her last deed in this world to be a complete disaster."

It was even weirder, justifying a death that never happened.

They remained silent after that; their thoughts lost on issues far beyond the scope, or even the awareness, of humans and youkai. When the thoughts became too depressing, they restored their desolated wills the only way they knew. Sayuri filled herself with images of her beloved onii-chan and her darling sisters and nieces.

Sayoko went back to more peaceful times. To what she still considered the best years of her long life. After roaming the word with Higashiyama Yuyuko and getting into all sorts of trouble, she settled down in the shrine, to look after a delightful, adorable young lily with the shiniest, loveliest of smiles.

"_Sayoko-saaaan, tell me a story, pleaaaase!"_

Her voice was like the songs of countless birds welcoming the spring sun.

"_Sayoko-san, Sayoko-san, look! I did it! Kitsune Fire!"_

Her touch carried the gentleness of a mountain creek after the last snow.

"_Sayoko-san! I…I…Sayoko-san, I lo—"_

"Hypocrite."

Sayuri heard the word, but she could tell it was not addressed to her. She also noticed the strange smile and the lone tear going down Sayoko's face.

She did not comment on those, either.

This woman, Kurosaki Sayoko, deserved nothing but her utmost respect, after all.

* * *

**Scene 7**

What. The. Hell.

Those three words ran in a constant stream inside Tenten's head.

On another note, she was running for her life.

Sure, it was the dead of night, and most of the population of Konoha was trapped in sweet slumber. That still did not explain why nobody had yet noticed the young and lovely girl in the ridiculous garb being chased by some sort of stone monstrosity.

Where were the ANBU patrols, anyway? Where were the PEOPLE?

"What the hell is going on?"

**Umm…we've been running for several minutes already. I would have expected Master to have a good grasp of the situation by now.**

"YOU KNOW WHAT I MEANT!" The rumbling sound of rolling stones was getting closer. "WHAT THE HELL'S THAT THING?"

**It is reminiscent of an Earth Elemental. However…**

"Gyah!" Tenten jumped away from an incoming fireball.

…**as far as I know, Earth Elementals are incapable of shooting fireballs.**

The figure was certainly humanoid, or, at least, it looked like a conglomerate of stones put together to make a human shape. A human shape three times bigger than the average adult, but human nonetheless. It did not walk either. Instead, the two rocks that made up for the lower half of its "legs" rolled and carried the whole thing, like a tank.

The thing did look to be built up as one.

"Where the hell is everyone?" Tenten wanted to know, even as she ran away from the monster.

**That I cannot answer.**

It was just too weird. Tenten had been roused out of her bed by Heart of Justice, saying he detected "something abnormal and dangerous."

It had not taken them long to find the thing.

But, still, how come there was nobody on the streets? It made sense for people inside their homes not to notice: the thing was surprisingly silent. But Tenten just could not believe that the entire population of Konoha had chosen that very night to stay home and sleep soundly.

"This isn't normal," she stated the obvious. "But that doesn't change anything. I gotta do something about this…thing."

**Elemental.**

"Whatever!" She reached for her pouch. "Tch, why didn't I restock? I have nothing I could use against that thing!"

She did not carry any explosive notes, and her Taijutsu, unfortunately, had yet to reach rock-shattering levels.

**Of course you do, Master. You have magic.**

"Tch." She stopped for a moment. The Elemental was homing closer and closer. "That thing's awfully fast for its size."

She took to the rooftops. "But I doubt it can jump."

Indeed, it could not. However, it could shoot.

Tenten watched in rapt attention how the creature (?) concentrated a large "mass" of energy, which crystallized into a boulder as large as itself. Before the kunoichi could gulp, however, the boulder cracked and shattered into pieces, which themselves shattered into more pieces, until the Elemental was surrounded by a ring of rock shards the size of an eraser.

Then they caught fire.

And then Tenten gulped.

**Oh, so they're not just fireballs, they're rocks coated in flames. Fascinating.**

"Gee, great to know."

She drew the wand and jumped just in time to avoid the first volley. She was impressed by the monster's aim; none of the flaming rocks hit the building she was standing on. It was like…

"Is it just me or is it avoiding hitting anything else but me?"

**Talk about blessings in disguise.**

"Well aren't you witty," Tenten growled. "Now, tell me what to do!"

She could hear the sound of the Elemental's stone body dragging on the street, following her. Jumping off the roof to a lamppost, hearing the high-pitch wheeze of high-speed fire bullets on her back, she followed up with a second jump to the building across, hoping to buy some time by moving to the adjacent street much faster than the enemy.

**Master, you have been told several times what to do. Visualization, Assimilation, Externalization.**

"As if I could understand that!"

**Think of what it is you wish, and will it to be!**

"It's not that easy!" She landed on the sandy street. "Where is it coming from? I can't hear it!"

**I could help if you used a scanning spell…**

"Oh, shut it!"

That was when the ground under her feet began to tremble.

"Oh crud!"

She jumped in time to not get caught by the violent emergence of the Elemental, breaking the street with its mighty body. She could not prevent its thick stone arm from smashing her with the force of a bull, however.

"Guah!"

Tenten cried a second time when her back hit a nearby wall, hard.

"Guh! Cr-crap…w-why…" Falling to a seated position, the young Genin winced and held her midsection. "Why didn't Kawarimi work…?"

**Where does Master expect to find a perfectly cut log in the middle of the street?**

Tenten was in too much pain to twitch angrily. "Great, NOW we're following logic." She winced again. "I think I broke something."

**If by "something," Master means three ribs, then, yes, Master broke something.**

"You're not very likable."

Her eyes grew in alarm when the massive figure of the Elemental loomed over her, almost fully covering her field of view. Reflexively, she drew the magical wand in front of her, as if it could somehow ward off the monster.

_I-I'm gonna get killed here!_

As if to reinforce the point, the monster's left arm caught flame as it was raised; the arm that was about to be dropped on her, and most likely smash her body like a tube of toothpaste.

**Master! Focus!**

Her grip on the wand strengthened. _Something…somehow…I need…I need…!_

The teardrop-shaped jewel on the top section of the wand glowed mysteriously.

**Magical Guard.**

When the deadly arm fell upon her, Tenten's eyes were blinded by light. She cried for a moment, but, having become aware that death had yet to show up, she went with opening her eyes again.

"Wha…?"

What could only be described as a quarter-sphere of violet energy was protecting her from the otherwise deadly attack. The Elemental was insistent, however, aiming to crush the sudden defense with sheer physical power.

"Thi-This is…magic?"

**Yes, Master. It is your magic. What is your next wish, my Master?**

Tenten allowed herself to stare in awe at the magical protection for a moment more. Then, she reacted.

"Blow him away!"

**Magical Counter.**

A soft, artificial hum was emitted from the barrier, which also seemed to be vibrating. Then, it exploded outwards, pushing the monster back a considerable distance, but otherwise having no further effect.

"Alright!" A triumphant cry came out of Tenten's mouth as she got back on her feet. Her grip on the wand was strong and unfaltering. There was no fear or uncertainty in her eyes anymore, and a strange sensation inflamed her.

Somehow, for some reason, this felt awfully right. Wielding this wand, shaping magic…it felt like these were things she had done before…and things she had to do right now.

"Yes…" She moved the wand closer to her face. "…yes! I can do this!"

"Let's go, Heart of Justice!"

**Yes, Master!**

The Elemental threw a flaming rock the size of a bowling ball.

"Whoa!" Tenten inelegantly leapt away from the big projectile. In an instant, the creature was on her.

_Fast!_

"Magical Gua-argh!"

Tenten's back suffered yet another harsh impact. So did her front, for that matter.

"…ugh…alright, gotta work on casting speed. Got it."

**Not cool, Master…**

"Quiet, you."

**Umm, you know, Master does not have to declare the spell every single time…**

"Really," Tenten deadpanned. "That would have been great to know BEFORE THE MONSTER ATTACKED!"

…**sorry.**

* * *

**Scene 11**

Saying that Hyuuga Hinata was happy that morning was an understatement.

She was ecstatic.

Her danger senses kicked in, and she jumped away from the path of the incoming flying water needles.

Some distance away, an easygoing Kotonoha prepared the next set of water needles, relying on several buckets gleefully provided by the most helpful Hanabi. Noticing the incoming onslaught, Hinata strengthened the grip on her magical device.

"Last Word!"

**Wind Edge.**

After glowing for an instant, the katana surged with what could only be described as magical wind, circling the blade in a thin, endless spiral. Feeling the weapon lighter in her hands, Hinata slashed the incoming water projectiles, tearing them apart like a diamond razor on paper.

She did not need kenjutsu. For a beginner, reflexes were enough.

**Above, milady.**

Looking up, Hinata held back a gasp at the sight of at least a hundred needles ready to descend upon her. She did not hesitate to send a mental order to her device.

**Spiraling Barrier.**

Raging winds circled Hinata's body, creating a sphere of turbulent air that blocked the deadly rain.

"Good!" Kotonoha called. "Now, ranged attack magic. Show me!"

"Ye-yes! Last Word!"

**Spiral Shoot.**

Hinata was not a natural fighter. Claiming something like that would be nothing but outrageous. She lacked an aggressive nature; as simple as that. Her mission record was the ideal display of her lack of attitude, not aptitude. She had the foundations (as her Academy grades showed) and the talent (she was a Hyuuga), she only needed to find the will to amalgam those foundations with that talent and create something wondrous. That would be hard, considering her lack of confidence and self-esteem regarding anything ninja-ish.

Things changed when Last Word began to instruct her in the magical arts. Last Word, not Kotonoha. This was the first time Hinata met the woman since the time she received the magical katana, two days before. She had received a strange written message from Kotonoha the previous day, however.

A strange, glowing magical wind rapidly gathered and coalesced. "Rapidly" was a bit of an overstatement, however: Hinata knew this spell was still too slow for combat, and she knew it could be done much faster. It was, most certainly, her reluctance to attack at work.

The magical squall twisted and raveled itself into a single arrow, or, more precisely, a drill-shaped projectile. The shy Hyuuga smiled, satisfied with the result.

This was not like her depressing ninja skills. This was magic: the power to turn imagination into reality.

She could do this.

She was good at this!

BOOM!

…well, maybe not that good.

"Onee-chan!" A visibly worried Hanabi hurried to look after her fallen sister. Kotonoha approached at a much more sedate pace.

"Oww…my magic hurts…"

"That's never bad," the swordswoman offered. "Now, get up. Your raiment must have nullified all damage."

"Yes…" Hinata still took her time to get back on her feet. Sure, the magical uniform protected her, but the sudden impact still hurt! "Actually, about this…raiment…"

"What is it?"

Hinata made a pouty face, squirming as if trying to make herself invisible. "It's really embarrassing!"

"Well I think it's lovely. Definitely worthy of the new Magical Word."

It was an interesting outfit, even for a magical girl. The base was a perfectly skin-tight, sleeveless black leotard. The leotard was further pressed against Hinata's body by a dark blue underbust leather corset tied with very thick straps. It additionally included same-colored garters to hold up her black stockings. Dark blue, low-heeled, knee-high boots protected that part of Hinata's body. Fingerless opera gloves of the same color fulfilled the same function for her hands and arms. An impressive black cape with silver trim adored her back, and a pointed black hat with a silver feather tied to the side crowned Hinata's unusual attire.

"But you'll have to let your hair grow. The hat just doesn't work with that strange hairdo of yours."

Hinata only frowned at that.

"Mou…I want a device, too." Hanabi was pouting; her childish envy clearly visible in the way she glanced at Last Word. Kotonoha gently patted the little Hyuuga's head.

"Sorry, I only had that one with me."

"Onee-chan gets all the cool toys; it's not fair."

"'All' the cool toys?" Hinata muttered. Kotonoha offered some encouraging words to the younger sister.

"Ah, don't worry, don't worry. Given who the author is, I'm sure there is something very interesting coming your way in the future."

"Huh?"

Kotonoha chuckled. "Nothing, dear." Turning to Hinata, she returned to the matter at hand. "Well, you've got the hang of melee and at least barrier-type defense. You should work on a shield-type spell if you really want to be efficient with your magic."

"Yes, ma'am."

"But the real issue is your shooting magic. If you are going to take so long setting it up you might as well go for area-of-effect. You need to be able to set up your Spiral Shot as quickly as your defensive spells. It's your primary mid-to-long range spell, after all."

"Ye-yes!"

The swordswoman nodded and walked a few steps away. "So, how was last night?"

"Ah…" Hinata went after her mentor of sorts, and Hanabi quickly followed. "I…I couldn't find anything like what you mentioned in the note…"

The Kitsune nodded. "That is understandable. You'll need to be faster next time. Try to come up with some Tracking and Movement magic."

"I…I think I understand." Hinata was relying on her usual habit of fiddling with her fingers. "Kotonoha-sama…"

"Hmm?"

"Well…is…is it true…? In your note, I mean…"

Another chuckle from the taller woman. "Yes, it is true. If you succeed, you will gain the power to make your dream come true."

While her cheeks gained a bright red, Hinata would not hide her feelings this time. She was happy and excited, and there was nothing wrong about that.

"Yes! I'll do my best!"

"Hmm." Kotonoha's expression hardened. "I must warn you, though. You might not be the only one after the same objective."

"Eh?" Hinata tilted her head. "What…what do you mean, Kotonoha-sama?"

The fox-woman rested her hands on Hinata's shoulders and leaned down to get her eyes closer to the young girl's level.

"What I'm saying is that you might find others with powers similar to yours."

The unusual strength of will that filled Hinata that morning began to dim.

"Ma-magic, you mean…?"

Kotonoha nodded. "If you meet somebody else capable to using magic, no matter who it is, it must be treated as an enemy after the same objective as you. Do you understand, Hinata?"

A little bit hesitant, but still determined, Hinata nodded fiercely. "Yes!"

And Kotonoha's smile grew brighter. "Good."

_This should be interesting, ufufufufu…_

* * *

**Scene 21**

"Justice, begin an area search, please."

**Yes, Master. Spectrum Scan.**

Tenten was fairly relaxed while her magical wand did its job. Of course, as a trained kunoichi, she kept her senses on alert. However, she knew that, like in the two previous nights, the streets were suspiciously empty. As if something (_or someone_, Tenten thought with a mental grunt) made sure there were no witnesses of her monster hunting.

After figuring out magic during her first encounter, things went surprisingly smooth during the second. And she could not deny magic was pretty cool. Now, if only she could do something about this ridiculously frilly dress…

**Reading consistent with Primal Core detected. Distance, 343 meters. Direction 011.**

And there was that, too. The so-called "Primal Cores." The pretty yet dangerously sharp yellow crystals the monsters left when destroyed. After consulting with Ayame, the accursed ramen wench only smirked and claimed that "something good will happen if you collect them all…"

Of course, she had failed to mention just how many there were. The good thing was that, by assimilating the Cores, Heart of Justice was able to locate more of those monsters via the spell, Spectrum Scan.

It brought back an odd thing that happened the previous night. They had detected two of the monsters, but by the time she was done with the first, the second signal had already disappeared.

"Only one?"

**Yes.**

"Alright." She tightened the grip on her wand and began to trot in the direction indicated. "Let's get this done and over with. Justice, get ready for Magical Shooter the moment we see the thing. I don't give a damn how it looks like this time, let's just blast—WAH!"

Tenten had to cover her face from the cloud of dust raised by whatever it was that sped above and past her…above?

Opening her eyes, she confirmed the unbelievable. It was a person! It was flying! And it was wearing a really risqué costume!

"Wa-wait!" Tenten followed as fast as her years of ninja training allowed her to. She arrived in time to see the flying femme (because with those curves it was obviously female) readying a katana. The silvery gem embedded between the hilt and the blade gleamed under the pale moonlight.

**Wind Edge.**

Tenten caught a glimpse of that night's apparition, another human-shaped creature, seemingly made of pure iron.

Then it was cleanly sliced in two. Almost too easy. The female touched ground and did not hesitate to bury her blade in the iron construct's torso, even before it could touch the ground. Deprived of its life (or whatever passed as such for that thing), the creature crumbled into tiny pieces, revealing the treasure concealed within its body: a yellow crystal shaped like the tip of a spear, and gleaming with a mysterious light from within.

"Well, that was pretty fast," Tenten muttered, startling the other girl.

"'E-Eh? Who-who-who's there-ah!"

Two Magical Girls met for the first time.

"Hi," Tenten greeted in a subdued tone. "So…who are you?" She asked, even if the costumed girl's appearance was ringing a certain bell…

"Ah-umm…" The embarrassed young girl, obviously not expecting company, was a bit taken aback by the whole situation. It would explain why she just answered the question like that. "U-Um…Ma-Magical Wo-Word…"

It clicked.

"Aren't you the Hyuuga girl…Hinata, was it?"

The heiress went awfully red and flinched. "AH! Ah, au-au…h-how did you figure out my secret identity?"

"Uhh…it's not really much of a secret, ya know…" Tenten sweatdropped. "I mean, we're not even covering our faces or anything."

"Ah…umm…r-right…eh? Y-You are…Neji-nii-san's…"

"Yeah, yeah, took you long enough…" The older girl scratched the crown of her head. "Name's Tenten…well, I guess I'm 'Magical Heart' right now…ugh…"

Hinata's eyes roamed up and down the other kunoichi's frame.

"Te-Tenten-san…anoo…those clothes…"

Twitch.

"Oi, what's with that 'I can't believe she's wearing that' face?"

"Ah, so-sorry…"

"I won't take that crap from someone who's wearing a leotard under a corset!"

"Uuuu…"

"I mean, that looks seriously skintight, and…holy crap I can see your nipples from here!"

"T-Tenten-san!"

"Sorry, sorry! But, really, what the hell's with those clothes!"

"Auuu…it's embarrassing…" Hinata did a poor job of covering her breast and crotch areas.

"Tell me about it…" Tenten turned her attention to the crystal floating in front of Hinata. "…so, um, I kinda need that thing…I think…so…"

"Eh…wha…ah!" Something clicked within Hinata at that moment. Carefully seizing the Primal Core, she leapt to the nearest rooftop, startling Tenten.

"Wha-oi! Did you even listen to what I just said?"

"I did," Hinata sharply responded. She had almost forgotten Kotonoha-sama's words. But, to think it would be one of her fellow Konoha kunoichi…

…but, that did not really matter, did it? This was for the sake of her dreams!

"I-I can't give you this. I need this. I-I…I don't want to fight you, Tenten-san, so…umm…Last Word."

**Sonic Flyer.**

A gust of wind expanded outwards from Hinata's feet, threatening to lift Tenten's awfully short skirt to dangerous levels. The older kunoichi could only watch how Hinata quickly took to the air and disappeared on an indeterminate direction.

"And away she goes…" Tenten muttered. "Tch, I could have asked how she ended up involved in this stupid mess…and how come she can fly and I can't?"

**That would be because Master has not really tried.**

"Quiet you." She looked at the far-away distance. Hinata was no longer visible. "So…we lost the Core. Any chance she could misuse it and bring the world to its doom?"

A very reasonable question.

**Not to my knowledge.**

"Any chance she could misuse it and provoke annoying yet hilarious gender-bending mishaps?"

**I certainly hope not.**

"Okay…then I guess it's okay. If anything I'll harass her tomorrow morning until she gives it back."

With that conclusion, a relaxed Tenten departed from the scene. The hidden Kyuubi waited until she was well away before dispelling her cloaking illusion and the Aura of Antipathy that covered the whole area.

"Fuuu, that was anticlimactic," the adult Sayuri mumbled. "Meh, I guess it's too early to ask for epic magical battles. Oh well, the chance will come."

And the mighty nine-tails departed for a well-deserved sleep.

* * *

**Scene 33**

"Alright, let's get this done as fast as possible! Justice!"

**Yes, Master. Visual contact with the enemy in five seconds.**

"Alright!"

Tenten reveled in the results of her last two days of effort: Star Flyer.

She could fly. She could fuckin' fly!

"Let's see Neji top this! Bwahahahahaha!" That was her first comment after getting the hang of this new spell, followed by evil laugher.

You know it's evil because it starts with a 'B'

There had been no incidents the previous night. As if to make up for that, she was surprised to find three readings in her Spectrum Scan this night. Knowing Hinata would be after them, too, Tenten did not hesitate to take flight.

She had not been able to meet Hinata during daytime. The Hyuuga heiress was smart enough to stay within clan grounds and reject all visitors.

**Master!**

"I see it!"

Tenten stopped in midflight to watch her target from a safe distance. It was another of those stone "elementals". It lurked aimlessly through the abnormally empty streets, with no apparent purpose.

Really, it was like it had no other purpose but to be destroyed. It wasn't even thrashing around the village or anything. It was pointlessly stupid.

"Justice."

**Target lock. Magical Shooter.**

A pink-violet orb of magical energy popped up at the tip of the wand. Whenever Tenten moved the wand to a different spot, a new sphere appeared, until she had half a dozen.

"Shoot!"

The poor elemental, incapable of long-distance attacks, would have never reached Tenten even if it had noticed her. As it was, the six shots on its back were enough to destroy it.

Tenten smiled satisfactorily as she claimed the Primal Core. "Well, that was easy. Justice, the other ones?"

**Another signal disappeared exactly seven seconds ago, Master!**

"Tch! She's fast!" Tenten quickly took flight again. "Where's the last one?"

**450 meters, direction 074. Master, she's already on her way!**

"Damn it!"

Tenten's wordless instruction gave shape to four new magical shots, which flew alongside her until she caught sight of the last target.

**Master!**

"I see her! Damn, she's fast!"

Indeed, the curvaceous figure of Magical Word was like a speeding rocket with no intention of stopping before reaching the third elemental.

"Damn it all! Shoot!"

The four spheres gained a burst of speed and flew the remaining distance to the target. In response, the other magical girl's body flickered for an instant before disappearing.

"Shunshin?" Tenten managed to mouth out before the explosion that rocked the street below.

"…ok, I'm pretty sure my Shooter didn't do that."

Hinata's figure jumped out of the smoke cloud, expectantly waiting for it to disperse. When it did, only the Primal Core remained, floating like a mystical jewel in the middle of street for the taking.

The Hyuuga girl did not hesitate and rushed to claim the golden crystal, but her spatial awareness urged her to jump aside in the last moment, right before two pink shots impacted the ground around the Core. Hinata tightened her grip and looked up at the other magical girl with a cold stare.

"Ah, hello, hello~" Tenten used her most amiable tone. "Can we chat for a while?"

"Last Word."

**Spiral Shoot.**

"Oh come on!"

**Magical Guard.**

Hinata's three drill-shaped magical constructs bounced off Tenten's spherical barrier and faded harmlessly.

"Really, is it so hard to open up to me a little bit?"

"Last Word, Spiral Shoot."

**Sequencer Mode.**

Tenten gaped at the two dozen spiral shots surrounded their invoker.

"You have got to be shitting me."

"Fire," was Hinata's only response.

"Holy crap, this girl is hardcore!" Tenten cried before flying away from the path of the first three shots. Three new shots appeared by Hinata's right just before she shot the next series of three.

Hinata's shots moved strictly in a straight line, so they were easy to dodge, especially when movement in three dimensions became available. The problem was that the barrage seemed to be endless.

It wasn't, thought.

Hinata looked almost bored as she watched the flying girl dodging wave after wave of her magical attacks. Lowering her sword and taking a stance, she mentally stated her instructions.

"…Last Word."

**Strike Impulse.**

Tenten watched Hinata's form flicker and disappear just like before. "What the hell is…?"

**Master! Above you!**

"The hell?"

Hinata was free-falling some meters above her, sword poised to attack.

**Storm Strike.**

Tenten barely had time to raise her own wand to block the sword slash.

"Shit-"

The sky exploded, as the magical impact released a sonic burst and a reckless torrent of razor winds in every direction. An instant later, a missile named Tenten hit the ground with a meteor-like impact.

"Gah!" Tenten cried in pain. "My back…my back is broken…"

**It is not, Master. Please do not overreact.**

The gentle sound of boots touching solid ground drew Tenten's attention. As expected, Hinata was not wasting time and claimed the third and last Primal Core of the night.

"Are all…Hyuuga…so damn…unreachable?" Tenten grunted the words, struggling but unable to get back up. Standing with her back to her, Hinata spoke.

"I know what you're after, Tenten-san."

_I'm not after anything! This whole thing is stupid and pointless!_

Her mind paused.

…_but the magic is awesome._

"…I will not let you win!"

Those were Hinata's last words before taking to the sky. Still lying amidst a small crater of hard-packed soil and dust, Tenten could only sweatdrop.

"Alright, that's it, next time we're kicking her ass. Just for the hell of it."

**About damn time, I would say, my Master.**

"But how come she's so much better at this magic stuff?"

**I would say…Master has not yet found her own style.**

"…my own style, huh…I'll think about that. Now, can you do something about this? I really don't think I can move right now. That Storm-whatever attack hurt like the dickens!"

**We are incapable of using healing magic, Master.**

"…damn, you're useless."

Some distance away, two female and very adult figures stood on a rooftop, having watched the short exchange.

"Waaa…Tenten-chan, so laaaaame…"

Ayame was facepalming. "As her predecessor, I must say I am very ashamed."

"Ah, well…" Sayuri scratched her right cheek. "I guess our expectations were a bit too high. But that other girl is pretty good."

"She's got drive, I'll give her that," Ayame acknowledged with a nod. "So, we end it here?"

"Oh, come on, don't be like that. Tenten-chan just found her motivation!"

"To kick the Hyuuga girl's ass? I'd expect something nobler from a magical girl."

"It works for me!" Sayuri grinned.

Ayame sighed.

"…why are we still doing this, anyway? The Hyuuga girl is good, but it would still take her years to get anywhere close to Setsuna's level—"

"It's impossible." Sayuri shook her head. "Setsuna's become far stronger than she was during your time as Magical Heart. These girls will never reach her level."

"Well there you have it!" Ayame exclaimed in frustration. "This whole thing is pointless!"

"Pretty much," Sayuri admitted. "It's fine anyway. I believe onii-chan will handle Setsuna just fine in this timeline, uhuhuhu~"

"There's something about the way you said that I really don't like, Sayuri-sama." Ayame sweatdropped. "And don't get me started on the 'uhuhuhu'. And, you still haven't told why we're still keeping up this silly charade."

"Isn't it obvious?" Sayuri shrugged, making her decent breasts jump a little. "Because it's fun!"

The possessed human stared at the taller female. "…you're a Kyuubi alright. Your mother must be proud."

"Mugyuu…"

* * *

**Scene 38**

He could have done it the ninja way, jumping his way to the apartment. However, he decided to be gentle this time, for her sake.

The thought had not crossed his head yet, but his heart had already made the choice. For the tortured little girl in his arms, he would go through hell and back.

His face fell upon her sleeping face, affectionately, compassionately. Her brow was furrowed in unease, her mind ravaged by images of destruction both real and imaginary. It was the reason she always made the effort not to sleep. The nightmarish visions were at their strongest when her brain was not constrained by the boundaries of conscious thought.

"Mayuri…"

There was nothing but affection in Naruto's voice. As if responding to his call, the sleeping fox-child snuggled closer to his chest, willing to face even more terrible tortures if it allowed her to bask in his warmth. The boy had a strange urge to kiss her forehead, but he knew that would do more harm than good.

She had finally opened her heart to someone; to him, of all people. She revealed a terror beyond anything his feeble, rather idiotic mind could have possibly imagined. Her powers, so immense, but carrying with them the direst of prices.

What could he offer in return, but his very existence?

At the end of the last set of stairs, he was met by quite the unusual sight.

He recognized her instantly, of course. She was the Matriarch's friend, the one the lilies address as "Sayoko-san."

She was sleeping.

On the floor.

In front of his apartment's door.

It made for a rather cute, if disturbing, sight.

With hesitant steps, he closed the distance between them. Not willing to let go of Mayuri, he went for the other available option.

"Um…excuse my rudeness."

He nudged her with the tips of his toes.

"Sayoko-san?"

Blink, blink.

Naruto held back a grateful sigh when the elder Kitsune opened her eyes. He was almost impressed by the unbelievable apathy in her dark eyes like bottomless pools of boredom and laziness. He was almost scared by how the top half of her body swayed upwards to a sitting position, without using her arms as support. Her eyes fixated on his, asking him a wordless "what?"

"Umm…hi?"

Apparently, Sayoko needed some time to become fully aware of her surroundings. It makes you wonder how she's survived that long.

Her almost-dead eyes glimmered very weakly when she recognized the boy. Not saying a word to return the greeting, she stood and calmly pushed the door open.

How the hell did she do that without a key?

"Ara, Sayoko-sama," Kotonoha's voice reached Naruto from someplace where he could not see her, most likely the kitchen. "We did not expect to see you here. How did you find out of—ara?"

Unable to beat his curiosity (and aware of the sleeping girl he cradled), Naruto walked around the open door and into the apartment, where he was met by yet another interesting sight courtesy of the suicidal Void.

Sayoko had turned on the electric stove and placed her head on the black cooktop. She was unaffected.

"…auuuu…"

Kotonoha's face was a mixture of compassion and annoyance. "Now, now, Sayoko-sama, please think of Naruto-sama's bills. He should not have to pay the energy cost of Sayoko-sama's death."

Sayoko's eyes met Naruto's again. He could not tell whether she was apologizing or asking for help.

"Auuu…"

As slowly as she did everything else, Sayoko walked to the dining table, claimed a seat and slammed her head on the table surface, hard.

Then, her stomach grumbled.

Kotonoha's eyes found Naruto's. The two stared at each other, as if unsure of how else to react. In the end, they went with quiet acceptance.

"Should we include Sayoko-sama in the dinner count, Naruto-sama?"

Naruto shrugged. "Why are you even asking? You Kitsune are always welcome here."

Kotonoha gave him a bittersweet smile Naruto could not interpret. "You are too kind, Naruto-sama."

"Oooooi!"

Naruto took a step aside just in time to allow Yuria to rocket past the entrance and smash herself against the trash can.

An arm was feebly raised amidst the pile of garbage. "….'sup."

"You really gotta do something about those landings, Yuria."

"It's called the element of surprise!" Yuria argued while she got back on her feet.

"Yeah, keep saying that to yourself."

While dusting her pants off, Yuria noticed Naruto's little sleeping beauty. The boy knew what was coming even before his mate quirked her lips and raised an eyebrow.

"…lolicon."

"Oh, if you want me to carry you like this you just have to ask; no need to get all jealous."

The foxgirl 'hmph'ed' and looked away. "Idiot."

The bathroom door opened, revealing Yurimi and Yurisa. The visibly wetness of Yurimi's hair and the brush on Yurisa's hand explained their latest circumstances.

"I heard Yuria-nee-sama's arrival. I am pleased to see you again, Master."

"Hello, Yurimi. You know Yuria, she likes to make an entrance."

"Har har, the hilarity," the three-tails grumbled.

Naruto quickly tried to reassure Yurisa, who had hurried to check on her sleeping daughter.

"She needs to rest; take her to the bed," Naruto said as he handed the girl to her mother. He wisely omitted commenting on the obvious swelling around Mayuri's eyes after shedding so many tears.

Yurisa did not ask, but she gave the boy a look that declared 'we'll talk later'. Naruto could only nod and smile uncomfortably.

That was when his bedroom's door opened, revealing a pair of very pretty sisters.

"Can you believe he's got no porn AT ALL? I mean, seriously! Not even a gravure photo, a page ripped off a magazine, nothing! Makes me wonder if he's ga—it would explain why he hasn't tried anything with-ah! Honeybuns! Long time no see! How's it going with ya?"

"Honeybuns?" Yuria murmured.

"I'm not a pervert, Yuriyo," Naruto declared sternly right before the half-Void raised her arms over his shoulders and caught him in an intimate embrace. "I'm not like you."

"Oh, you love me and you know it." Yuriyo winked.

"Is it me or you're a little too clingy today?" Naruto's mate struck.

Yuriyo turned so that it was her back pressed against his chest. She didn't let go of Naruto, however, and the result arching of her body delightfully displayed her curves and exalted her developing bosom. The gratuitous glimpse of cleavage Naruto could see over Yuriyo's shoulder was most definitely not an accident.

"I'm just affectionately greeting my good buddy here!" She rubbed her cheek against Naruto's drawing further ire from Yuria. "We're great buddies, aren't we, hot rod?"

Yurimi voicelessly mouthed the words "hot rod," as if she could not figure them out.

"Uhh…yeah, I'd like to say we're friends," Naruto admitted, and Yuriyo grinned.

"There you go. Great buddies. We're not fuck buddies yet, but we're getting there."

"Not happening," Naruto deadpanned…before guiltily looking away. "At least not anytime soon."

The other people in the room (sans Sayoko and the sleeping Mayuri) gaped at Naruto in utter disbelief of his blunt admission.

"…what?"

Yuriyo was positively glowing. "Ha! Nice." She gifted him with a loud smooch on his right cheek. "Look forward to it, sweetie."

"I…I…" Yuria facepalmed and shook her head. "I'll just pretend this never happened. Can I ask a hopefully unrelated question?"

"Fire away," Yuriyo said while she shamelessly tried to get Naruto's hands to rest on her thighs. Our protagonist was putting up a heroic resistance.

"Why hasn't your sister said a word about this whole situation so far? I would have expected to at least scream in outrage once by this point."

Yurina was leaning against the bedroom's doorframe, stiff as a board and red as a tomato. Her lips opened and closed continuously, driven by a desire to speak and held back by unimaginable embarrassment.

Of course, Yuriyo, knowing her sister better than anyone, also knew how to make her regain her bearings.

"Ah, she's just embarrassed 'cause just a while ago she buried her face in Naruto's pillow and masturbated."

"**ONEE-CHAN!**" It worked wonders. Yurina's face looked like it would burst in any second. "**I DID NO SUCH THING!**"

Yuriyo made the look of someone who has just become aware of something.

"Oh, right, right…that was me."

"**ONEE-CHAN!**"

Yuriyo laughed, visibly enjoying the looks on everybody's faces. "Ahahaha, okay, okay, I've had enough."

Yurisa took this chance to take Mayuri to the bedroom, and the flustered Yurina approached Naruto.

"Anoo…onii-sama, I'm very sorry…we-we went into onii-sama's bedroom…"

"I was looking for porn," Yuriyo declared almost proudly as she let go of the boy.

"Ah, don't worry, don't worry," Naruto dismissed the half-Celestial's concerns. "There's nothing really secret in there, anyway. Nothing to be embarrassed about, either."

"Hey, it's my bedroom now, too!" Yuria complained. "And I like my privacy!"

"Never been your bedroom, Yuria," Naruto deadpanned.

"Tch. Whatever." Yuria crossed her arms. "So, what are we here for?"

"Uhh…dinner?" Naruto proposed.

"Nah," Yuriyo intervened. "What Yuria wants to say is, we want to know why Kotonoha asked us to come here."

Naruto looked at the swordswoman. He knew nothing about this summons.

"There is something I wish to discuss with the girls here," Kotonoha admitted. "I hoped Yurine-sama and Mayuri-sama would also join us, but I believe the discussion can be relayed to them later. Where is Yurine-sama anyway?"

"Auuuuu!"

"Hai, hai." Kotonoha did not hesitate to return to her cooking.

"At the camp, making dinner for the others, I guess." Yuriyo commented.

"As a matter of fact, she is not."

Everybody turned to the front door, where the Matriarch of Higashiyama stood calm and complacent. Her five-tailed daughter stood behind her, looking at anything and everything with the curious gaze of a child.

"I don't think I've ever had this many people in my apartment." Naruto did not seem very happy with this development, though.

"My apologies," Yuri's voice was anything but apologetic. "I asked Sayoko-san to give a message to you on my regard, but I made a mistake."

"What mistake?" Yuria asked. It was not every day her mother made such an admission.

"…asking Sayoko-san to give a message on my regard."

Everybody looked at the Void Kitsune, who returned the looks with her usual bored gaze, as if she were not the topic of conversation. Then, she allowed gravity to do its thing and let her head fall on the table again.

"…right." Naruto turned to the Matriarch. "So? I'm here."

"I can see that. I was hoping we could walk together, as I was also summoned by Sayuri-sama."

Naruto blinked. "Uh, sure. Why not?" He was still a bit uncomfortable around the eldest of the lilies, but he had no reason to deny her. "Um, Kotonoha? Dinner will have to wait for me."

"That is rather convenient for me, Naruto-sama," Kotonoha admitted. "Your presence would have disrupted my discussion with the ladies here."

"…huh?"

"She's gonna tell us something and she doesn't want you to be here to hear it," Yuriyo explained.

"Then why the hell are you doing it in my home?" Naruto argued. "What did you intend to do, kick me out while you did your thing?"

Kotonoha only smiled sweetly and went back to her cooking.

"Okay, terrible question. Got it." He turned to the Matriarch. "Can we go now? Weird as it may be, right now I feel safer with you than staying with these girls."

A pair of slender arms wrapped around Naruto from behind, and a half-Void's face peeked out over his left shoulder.

"IIIIIIIIT'S RAEP TIME!"

Eyes could barely follow the mighty black tail that slammed Yuriyo against the nearest wall.

"Gods, I needed that," Yuria mumbled.

Naruto looked at the Matriarch one more time.

"…please?"

Yurisa suddenly emerged from Naruto's bedroom, with Mayuri still in her arms and a not very pleased look on her face.

"Why didn't you—?"

Naruto was not allowed to finish the question. Yurisa was trying to keep a composed expression. The twitching vein on the side of her head spoke of the magnitude of her effort.

"There's a bothersome damp spot on the sheets…and a disturbingly familiar smell in the air. Can you explain that, Naruto-san, Yuria-chan?"

Yuria immediately went into angry, blushing, heated denial mode. "I-I-I-There's no way-!"

Even when her face buried in a wall, Yuriyo had the decency to raise her arm.

"Ah, my fault," she mumbled.

Feeling the expressions on the many faces around her (even if she could not actually see them), the half-Void shrugged.

"What, you thought I was joking earlier?"

The response came in the form of a black tail and a silver tail smashing her even deeper in the concrete.

"Ow."

"**ONEE-CHAN!**" Yurina was too flustered to even think of aiding her sister. And when the hell did Yuriyo do that on onii-sama's bed without her noticing?

Yuria, meanwhile, shot an odd look at the owner of the offending silver tail.

"…I don't know what took over me," Yurimi "explained."

A shy hand reached for Yuri's kimono.

"Take me with you. I'll do anything."

Naruto knew he had screwed up when he saw how the Silver Lily's placid smile shifted to a wicked grin that promised nothing good.

"Now, my dear boy, that's one phrase you should never, ever, say to a Kitsune."

There was something in Yuri's tone that made all the other Kitsune chase her with their eyes. The ambition, mischief and hunger in her voice…it was dangerous.

Naruto was paralyzed, like the tiny mouse caught in the gaze of the cobra, allowing Yuri to smoothly embrace him from behind and lean down to rest her unbelievable breasts on the back of his neck.

Winking at the lilies, Yuri announced her (their) departure.

"Ta-ta…"

With that, both woman and boy literally dispersed, as if their bodies were made of wispy silvery smoke.

"Ghost Walker Technique," Yurisa explained.

Yuria reached for the empty space with an arm, as if to make sure there was nobody there anymore. "She wouldn't!"

Noticing the looks she was getting, she rolled her eyes. "Ok, she would. But not with—"

"Of course not," Kotonoha interrupted. "Yuri-sama respects Yuria-sama's claim. Besides, Naruto-sama's not really Yuri-sama's type."

"She has a type?" Yuriyo mumbled within the wall.

"Oh, Sayoko-san, your meal's ready-ara?"

Kotonoha was facing an empty seat.

"Mou…and I went out of my way to cook this for her…" The busty guardian pouted cutely. "And then people wonder why I start slashing and stabbing and skin flaying and womb ripping and all that…"

Noticing the heavy silence that suddenly permeated the apartment, Kotonoha looked at the other foxgirls.

"Ara?"

Cuddled together in one furry bundle of prettiness, the Higashiyama Lilies glanced at Kotonoha with nothing but abject horror.

Kotonoha could only blink at this.

"…was it something I said?"

* * *

**Scene 39**

He did not wait to see where they were. The moment he felt solid ground under his feet, Naruto desperately crawled his way away from Yuri.

"Ara ara…" The seven-tails chuckled with the amusement of someone who has seen a dog pull off a trick. "Now that's unnecessary."

"Wha-wha-what the hell was that?" Naruto was shedding cold sweat. He noticed they were outside Konoha proper. Once again, he was surrounded by forest. The sun was almost gone beyond the horizon, and the tapestry of green casted overlapping shadows around the couple.

"Oh, you mean the jutsu? I wonder, how did it feel to Naruto-sama?"

How it felt, she asked. Naruto felt cold, awfully cold.

It was truly the cold of the grave.

"Don't do that ever again."

"Hmm…" In the end, she nodded and offered a conciliating smile Naruto did not buy. "Very well. Next time I'll ask Sayoko-san. Speaking of which, are you there?"

"Yuri-sama."

Naruto was startled. It was one scary thing after another. His eyes had never left Yuri's direction, yet he did not notice the sad-looking woman behind her! She was not there a moment before, and then…!

"Instantaneous movement as long as there's a shadow. You're scary, Sayoko-san."

"Auuuu…to Yuri-sama, I'd never…"

Yuri smiled at her companion. "I know."

"Do you ever show that smile to your daughters?"

Yuri was startled by Naruto's words, but she hid it quickly enough to make Naruto doubt what he saw.

"Let us go. Sayuri-sama awaits."

It did not take long for Naruto to recognize where exactly they were. They found the adult Sayuri very easily.

It was strange, meeting her in that of all places. Naruto did not know exactly what to feel about it.

The fire goddess greeted them with a rather melancholic smile. She turned her back to them, to gaze at the slab of rock some feet away.

"I won't ask onii-chan, because he already knows. Mother, do you know what this is?"

Yuri looked at the sculpted rock. "I would guess it is a monument of some sort. A rather small one, may I add."

"Mm-hmm." Sayuri stepped closer, resting a hand on the smooth stone. "A monument for the heroes of Konohagakure, including those who died almost thirteen years ago fighting the terrible nine-tailed demon fox."

"Oh…" Yuri responded, more out of a need to respond that for any other reason. "Ufufufu…"

Naruto's head jerked to seek Yuri's face. She was chuckling. She was chuckling!

"Amusing, hmm?" Sayuri mumbled very softly.

Everything happened in an instant. Before Naruto could lash at Yuri for her disgusting attitude, the whole situation took a drastic turn. In what can only be described as an instant, two of the three Kitsune moved.

Next thing he knew, Sayoko was standing in front of Yuri, her arms extended in a protective gesture. Sayuri had moved close to the three, and her left arm was stretched towards Sayoko's chest. A tiny ball of orange-gold chakra hummed between Sayuri's arm and Sayoko's body. While her hand threatened Sayoko, Sayuri's eyes were on her mother.

"Do I look amused, Mother?"

Yuri did not seem to mind the new situation. "No, but Sayuri-sama does not look irate, either."

After three heavily tense seconds, Sayuri sighed. "You can read people too well."

"I would not have made it to this age if I couldn't."

"True enough. And Sayoko-san, so quick to protect your best friend. You are aware my power surpasses yours."

"I…swore to protect your mother…a long time ago."

"Then why did you not help me when Sayuri-sama showed up a week ago?" Yuri wondered.

"I…deemed that confrontation necessary."

"Ahahaha…" Yuri giggled, somehow amused by the answer. "You're awful, Sayoko-san."

"Auuu…"

Sayuri dismissed her Kakuton chakra and sighed again. "That's all nice and good, but please do remember you have a greater responsibility with the world at large, Sayoko-san."

Sayoko was stunned. "You…you really know everything."

"Of course I know. I could not have made it here without your knowledge, Sayoko-san."

The Void Kitsune stepped back until she was standing behind her best friend.

Sayuri looked melancholic again. "Things have changed a lot where…I mean, when I come from."

"Uhh…I'm lost."

"I must admit I share your sentiment, Naruto-sama," Yuri added. Her eyes went to Sayoko, who averted her gaze. Yuri's gentle smile never faltered.

"Everybody has their share of secrets, Sayoko-san. Have I ever attempted to pry into yours?"

The shorter fox-woman shook her head. She looked like a child when compared to the regal and imposing Matriarch of Higashiyama.

"Well that's that. As long as I can count on Sayoko-san's feelings and loyalty; that is all I need."

With that, she turned to Sayuri. "Sayuri-sama, if I may ask, why were we asked to come to this place?"

A third sigh from the Kyuubi. "I…I'm not sure myself." She walked back to the monument. "I still…this place is hard for me to deal with."

"I know…I know what is expected from me. I am aware now, of the destruction I caused, of the pain I inflicted, of the lives I destroyed. The day after you died, Mother, a furious Third Hokage and Jiraiya-san dragged me to this place, pulling me from my hair. He smashed my face on this stone slab and forced me to read each and every single name." A bitter chuckle. "Onii-chan was unconscious; he couldn't help me. That's why they did it that day."

An idle finger traced the carved kanji.

"It took me a while to figure out how some of these names are read. I was a child, after all, and my education was incomplete."

"Every time I read a name wrong; every time I stopped reading for a few moments, the Third would pull my hair and smash my face on the stone. I regenerated anyway, so he didn't care. It was really a harsh lecture."

Naruto stared at Sayuri with shock and disbelief in his eyes. Was the old man really capable of such a thing?

Yuri and Sayoko listened in obedient silence.

"Don't think ill of him, onii-chan," Sayuri continued, as if reading Naruto's thoughts. "He is the Hokage, after all. He wanted to show me…the magnitude of what I did that night."

"It hurt…I was so angry…I really, really wanted to blast them to bits…but I couldn't. Even at that age, I knew that, if I did it, they would kill the others in response. Besides, I had promised…not to hurt anybody from Konoha."

"So I let them beat me, yell at me, hate me…until you came."

She sat down, resting her back on the stone block.

"You regained consciousness and immediately noticed I wasn't around. Even the Third was stunned when you showed up, trembling, bleeding, still clad in a hospital robe."

Her eyes watered and her cheeks gained a lovely pink.

"I remember, onii-chan. You walked slowly, shakily…everybody could see you were hurting so much…and you chose me."

The tears were unstoppable.

"You chose me, onii-chan. Between the village you swore to protect and this worthless Sayuri, you chose me! You held me so tenderly, and you challenged them to hurt me again! You chose me! The nine-tails that almost destroyed your home! The monster that made your life miserable! You chose me, onii-chan! I didn't understand back then, but now! Now…!"

Pat, pat, pat.

Sayuri had been so busy feeling miserable that she had not noticed Naruto approaching her.

"There, there," Naruto muttered while patting her head the way he knew her younger self enjoyed. "You're dwelling too much on the past; stop dwelling on the past."

Sayuri looked up, and gasped when she saw his tears.

This was it, wasn't it? The one trait that attracted so many humans and youkai; the one aspect of Naruto's personality that made the base for his unbelievable charisma!

Naruto and his tremendous capacity for acceptance.

"Onii-chan!"

Naruto held steady after being glomped, allowing the crying Kitsune to soak his jacket with her tears. He could only caress her hair the way he always did.

"Onii-chan…to be able to hold you again like this…I…I…I don't deserve this happiness…but…I just…I'm so selfish…"

"Don't say that…" Naruto spoke softly. There was a lot of pain in this girl's heart. He could only imagine what tribulations she went through in her timeline. "You can be as selfish as you want."

"Onii-chan…I love you."

Naruto's heart throbbed with emotion. "I…I know."

"I love you…I love you…I couldn't…I couldn't tell you enough…show you enough…how much I…"

Naruto closed his eyes, and his hands gently offered comfort to Sayuri.

This was love, right? Purer than Yurimi's, more honest than Yuria's, Sayuri's affection was…

Naruto could not stop the tears, either.

"Thank you, Sayuri…really…you…" He sniffed. "Thank you…"

They held each other for a while. They had many tears that needed to be released. Yuri and Sayoko still remained silent, left to thoughts of their own.

It would seem, Yuri thought, that they would need to keep a closer eye on Uzumaki Naruto.

"You know, Sayuri, have I ever said I hated you for what happened?" Naruto spoke when things had mostly settled down between the two. "I mean, you were…you were…well…"

"Chasing my tails?" Sayuri offered with a pretty giggle.

"Um, yeah," Naruto chuckled nervously. Sayuri was still awfully cute after growing up. "It's not like you wanted to hurt anyone, or destroy anything…for a change. And, well, it seems you understand what you did, so…eh?"

Sayuri had made a pained face at that last part.

"And that would be the issue, wouldn't it, Sayuri-sama?"

Sayuri shot a half-hearted glare at her mother, but acquiesced. "You're right."

Offering a smile to Naruto's puzzled face, Sayuri stood up again to face the monument.

"No matter how much they drilled it into me, they can't understand. I don't blame them, though. I am a Kitsune, and I was an ignorant child."

"They say I killed all these people…and I can acknowledge that. I just don't care."

She boldly faced Naruto. "These lives I took…mean absolutely nothing to me. The names on this rock…they're nothing but that: names carved on stone. These people do not matter to me. I did not watch them die, and their deaths do not weight in my heart."

"Because they're human."

"Because I don't care," Sayuri stated in response to Naruto's bitter outburst. "I will never lie to you, onii-chan. That's why I'm telling you this, right now. The only human I truly care about is you. I would like to include Ayame-chan, but she died too early in my timeline for us to actually bond."

"One day, I expect you to explain the truth of that night to my younger self, onii-chan. Expect her to accept it. Expect her to believe you. Just don't expect her to feel sorry or apologetic. What happened that night was a terrible event in Konoha's history. To me it was the night I ended up sealed in your body after chasing my tails in giant form. I can understand why it happened now, but that's it."

"Anything you want to say, Mother?"

Yuri shook her head. "Not really. A Kyuubi should not bother too much with the affairs of humans, unless these become a threat to our entire race. I guess we are fortunate Konoha was more interested in healing its wounds rather than trying to find an explanation for the 'attack'."

Sayuri shrugged. "In a way, it was better for them. It was pretty hard for them, when they realized I wasn't attacking at all."

Yuri chuckled, and once again Naruto frowned at the Matriarch's sense of humor. "Ufufufu, I can imagine."

"Even at that age, they wouldn't have had a chance if I had actually wanted to destroy Konoha," Sayuri admitted in a sad tone, offering an apologetic look to her beloved. Naruto just sweatdropped, looking nervous. He was already acquainted with Sayuri's power, after all.

"Anyway, thanks for your company. You may leave now, if you wish, unless you have anything else you'd like to discuss."

"Umm, actually…"

"Yes, onii-chan?" Sayuri was delighted by the chance to extend her Naruto-time.

"I was wondering how Sayuri's doing. Eh, you know, little Sayuri. Haven't heard much from her this week."

"Ah, well, when we're not training she's resting. She doesn't really have time for hanging around, which was pretty much the point. She's fine, if a little moody. She'll need a lot of petting after we're done tonight, onii-chan."

Naruto sighed at the sight of the grinning nine-tails. "Yeah, yeah—wait, you're done?"

Sayuri shrugged. "Pretty much. There isn't really that much I can teach her, anyway. She can come up with Katon and Kakuton techniques herself. She's creative…if a little too straightforward. Anyway, we just worked on Reinforcement and chakra control. I'm really not the best person to teach her Illusions or Enchantments. I also made her promise not to use Kakuton until she's properly learned how to contain the explosions. You'll have to make sure she keeps that promise when I'm gone, onii-chan, otherwise it will be bad."

"Bad," Naruto repeated.

"…really bad."

An uncomfortable silence followed, until Sayuri clapped twice and smiled. "Anything else?"

"Seriously, these mood changes are gonna kill me some day," Naruto mumbled.

"Ahaha, onii-chaaa~n, don't talk like an old man!"

"Sayuri-sama, if it is acceptable…"

"You may speak."

"Just what is the Triumvirate?"

Sayuri paused for a moment, and then she raised an eyebrow. "Now where did that come from?"

"I am trying to figure out how much I can ask."

Sayuri chuckled. "Fair enough." Sitting down one more time, she rested her head on her right hand.

"You know there's not much I can share about the future in my timeline. It doesn't matter much anymore, anyway; this timeline has fully separated from mine now that I've stopped you."

"In a way, that tragedy was a catalyst for many things in my timeline. I can say that due to certain…events, the world rapidly descended into a time of chaos and strife. Conflicts both small and big swallowed every nation, involving both humans and youkai. Of course, I'm saying 'rapidly' within youkai standards."

"It reached a point where the Kitsune race was on the verge of destruction, ravaged by enemies of every nature, even enemies from within."

"Kitsune have always been chaotic, individualistic creatures. Our society is very loosely defined; the Council of the Great Clans is a farce, limited to obeying the whims of the ruling Kyuubi and acting as pawns in their endless competition. Kyuubi versus Kyuubi, Celestial versus Void, Shinkirou versus Kuromiya."

"One Kitsune realized that, to survive and thrive in this new world of strife, the Kitsune race would have to stand together and show a unified front against all threats. We could no longer be the hidden race of tricksters. We had to become a nation; a civilization that could live in harmony with humans and youkai; a stable, self-sustaining society. Anarchy had to give way to social order."

"She gathered allies, myself one of them, and together we brought down the Shinkirou Clan. She personally slew Kougon."

"So she was a nine-tails," Yuri concluded, but Sayuri shook her head.

"Inari never appointed a replacement for Fubuki after I killed her. By the end of the Foxmourn War, as it was called, I was the only living Kyuubi no Kitsune."

Yuri looked awfully tense.

"Then, who…who could have possibly…Kougon-sama…?"

"The Empress defeated Kougon because she realized the one weakness of all Kyuubi, and developed the power she needed to exploit that weakness."

Naruto gaped at the nine-tails with the utmost amazement. "The weakness…of Kyuubi?"

"Mmm." Sayuri nodded, but did not speak any further of this matter. "After taking Kougon's life, she crowned herself as the Empress of All Kitsune, ordering the remaining eleven clans and all free Kitsune to acknowledge her. Those who refused to bow before her were mercilessly slain. It was cruel, but necessary. The new order had to be established, by force if necessary."

"However, The Empress was not really a ruler. She fought to make it to the top, but once there she was overwhelmed by the responsibilities behind governing an entire race of youkai. So, she gathered three who could handle the job together and left them in charge so she could be free to wander the world as she liked."

"This is the Triunvirate, Mother: the Vizier, the High Priestess and the Hierophant."

"The Empress chose well. Not only we can take care of the Kitsune race, we can also keep tabs on each other. You see, we have something of a rock-paper-scissors relationship. The High Priestess beats me; the Hierophant beats the High Priestess; I beat the Hierophant."

"So that's about it. We three take care of all Kitsune, and every once in a while the Empress shows up and we report to her. It's kinda boring, my current life. I really hope the changes I've made here give the little me the chance for something better."

She looked at the raven-haired fox-woman. "I'll have to ask you to look after things after I'm gone, Sayoko-san."

"Uuuu~Sayuri, please don't bring up unpleasant thoughts…"

Yuri and Naruto could only wonder about the silent exchange between the Kyuubi and the Void. Naruto did not seem to mind not being in the know, though.

"So, how does it feel to be left out, Yuri-sama?" He smirked at the regal Higashiyama.

"…shush, you."

* * *

**Scene 40**

There was a lot of yuri in that room.

Naruto had never planned for large gatherings of people in his apartment. Hence, there were nowhere near enough seats for everybody having dinner that evening.

Most fortunately, Higashiyama Yurisa arrived to save the situation.

"Hawaa…" Yurine watched in childish wonder how her younger half-sister crafted furniture out of ectoplasmic matter. Yurisa could only smile with utmost compassion.

There was a time when Yurine could do the same, after all.

Yuria, Kotonoha, Yurimi and Yurina had taken Naruto's dining table. Yurisa, the now-awake Mayuri, Yurine and Yuriyo were using Yurisa's construct. Kotonoha moved swiftly and gracefully across the room, setting the dishes for a most bountiful meal.

"So? What's the big news you had to call us all here for, Kotonoha?" Ever impatient Yuriyo was the first to bring up the subject.

"As well as to keep it hidden from Master."

"Ma-Master…" Yurisa mouthed with word with a strange look on her face. It was just so weird!

"Very well. It is as good a time as any. Please look at the food in front of you."

They all did as told. It was just food. It smelled good, and there seemed to be plenty enough for everyone, especially the big eaters like Yuria and Yurine.

"Looks tasty!" Sweet Yurine voiced everyone's thoughts. Everyone, Mayuri included, nodded in agreement.

"Thank you. Your words honor me, Yurine-sama." After bowing to the five-tails, Kotonoha continued. "All the ingredients for this meal come from Naruto-sama's kitchen."

"I would expect as much," Yuriyo declared as she shrugged. Kotonoha nodded.

"All the ingredients for this meals were purchased by Naruto-sama, or, more precisely, by his Shadow Clones."

"Yeah, we get that. Get to the point."

Yurisa, who had already understood the point Yuriyo kept missing, smiled at the swordswoman. Maybe this was the reason Yuri appointed her to educate Yurimi. Mayuri, who knew the point since the very beginning (super hax powers and all that), quietly nibbled at her portion while waiting for the subsequent reactions.

"Yuria-sama, how many days have passed since you moved to Naruto-sama's apartment?"

"Eeh…" The three-tails actually needed to think for a moment. "Ehh…40 scenes, at 6 scenes per day on average…plus the previous chapter…about a week already?"

"Indeed."

"Damn…" She crossed her arms under her bust. "A week already…and in just two chapters."

"Ano…bu-but, this chapter's a little too…"

"Anyway," Kotonoha interrupted that particular discussion. "Yuria-sama has been staying here for a week already. Yurimi-sama was invited two days later. Besides them two, everybody else here has partaken of Naruto-sama's hospitality at least once. Have you ever wondered where the money for all this food is coming from?"

There it was. The point. Suddenly, the lilies were looking at the food on the table with completely different eyes.

"Before this week, Naruto-sama lived alone," Kotonoha continued. "I have done research of my own. The only reason he can have this spacious apartment all to himself is because the Hokage arranged it for him, and now nobody else wants to get even close. Now, the apartment that was spacious for a single person is currently housing three people plus one guest. It's not so spacious anymore."

"Naruto-sama's expenses have multiplied by a factor of four, plus additional expenses. In 'additional expenses' I include extra food for the occasional visitors such as Yurine-sama and her daughters, as well as the purchase of Yuria's new belongings after they were burned by Yuriyo-sama here."

"Ugh…" The half-Void tried to avoid Yuria's gaze, only to realize that Yuria was busy with thoughts of her own.

"Yuria-sama's new clothes, underwear, toothbrush, towels, bindings, shampoo as well as an extra pillow." Kotonoha was reciting a prepared speech. "Before we arrived, Naruto-sama only had eating utensils for himself, so he had to purchase plates, bowls, cups, glasses and chopsticks for additional people. Not only that, he only had a single chair in his dining table, so he purchased three more, and I know he was considering buying a larger table."

"In conclusion, putting aside the increased budget due to an increased food, energy and water consumption, Naruto-sama has made considerable purchases in the past week."

Yurisa and Mayuri nodded. Yurine hawaa'd. Yuria was rubbing her new AWESOME orange jacket between two fingers with a forlorn look on her face.

"_It's not like I can afford clothes for myself right now…"_

He had muttered that, didn't he? When they were looking at the mannequin…

"Now, allow me to bring up another point." Kotonoha was not done. "Naruto-sama has spent his mornings and evenings training for his Exam the day after tomorrow. He has spent the afternoons either shopping or tending to each and every single one of us. Sometimes both at the same time."

The others could not deny it. They had kept him awfully busy this week.

"His teammate, Uchiha Sasuke—"

"We have a character with that—"

"We already made that joke, Riyo-nee-chan," Yurina interrupted.

"Tch."

"…as I was saying, his teammate, Uchiha Sasuke, is also training for the Exam, under the guidance of Naruto's Jounin supervisor."

"Wait, wait, wait a damn second here." Yuria seized the right to speak. "If Naruto has this 'supervisor', why is he training with the tsun-loli?"

"Let's keep that discussion for the fandom, alright?" Kotonoha diffused that bomb with a strained smile. "Where I'm going is that, since the beginning of the Chuunin Exams, Naruto has not performed his work as a shinobi of Konoha. Therefore, I ask: where is Naruto-sama's income coming from?"

There was a prolonged silence, as nobody had an answer for this question, until it clicked in Yurina's head.

"Ah! Onii-sama! Onii-sama's clones! The clones are working!"

"That's right," Kotonoha agreed. "Five days ago, Naruto-sama asked the Hokage to let him handle the easiest available missions, D-rank missions, solo. The Third Hokage agreed only because he's acquainted with Naruto-sama's Shadow Clone Technique. This means that, every morning, Naruto-sama splits his chakra amongst his clones before his training begins."

"How much chakra does that boy have…?" Yurisa wondered, amazed.

"More than any one of us here, with the exceptions of Yurine-sama and Yuria-sama."

In her mind, Mayuri estimated that Naruto and she had about the same chakra capacity. Maybe she had a bit less.

"In spite of his immense capacity, however, I fear that for the first time, he's spending chakra faster than he can recover it. But that is the smallest of our issues right now."

"The issue here, ladies, is that we have not only permanently disrupted Naruto-sama's lifestyle by occupying his residence; we have also forced him to make significant expenses of his time and his money. What have you, lilies of Higashiyama, done in return for his boundless hospitality?"

"I let him see me naked—"

Yuriyo's face was promptly smacked by a big black tail.

"Damn it Yuria, that fucking hurt-OW! Again!"

"Be quiet, girl," Yuria growled. She was not in the mood.

Kotonoha was addressing the question to all the ladies present, but Yuria knew she was, by far, the one most involved with this. None of the others were as closely involved, as deeply accepted into Naruto's life. Yuriyo was his flirty friend and Yurimi was his sorta-girlfriend-slave-thing. She was the woman he slept with. She was the last person he saw before falling asleep and the first face (and cleavage) he saw every morning.

His companion. His best friend. His mate.

She had claimed those roles for herself for a week already, but…had she really done anything expected from a companion? A best friend?

…a mate?

"_I got into this mess, I might as well make the most of it. We do get along just fine, even if you're a brat."_

She just realized how incredibly selfish those words have been.

She was not a partner! She was a parasite!

But…but…what could she do?

"Kotonoha-san, if I may."

The swordswoman nodded to the most responsible adult present. "Please, Yurisa-sama."

Yurine was older, but, well…you know.

"I do not think you would bring this up unless you had already planned a way to deal with this situation."

Kotonoha nodded. "I would not call it a plan, though. It is nothing but an opportunity. It will be up to each and every one of you to decide what to do with it."

"Tomorrow is the last day before Naruto-sama's tournament. According to Yuri-sama, our stay in this village will conclude after that event. Therefore, tomorrow is most likely our only chance to properly…compensate Naruto-sama for his favors towards us."

"Naruto-sama will conclude his training for the exam tomorrow morning. After that he should only use the remaining to rest his body and restore his stamina for the following day. I would hope Naruto-sama can enjoy a good time tomorrow after he's done training. It is then awfully convenient that Konoha is preparing a festival tomorrow evening, to welcome the many visitors who have arrived for the Chuunin Exam."

It was a blessing in disguise that nobody saw the positively wicked gleam in Yuriyo's pupils.

"I don't know the details yet, but I like where this is going. Count me in."

Kotonoha acknowledged the Night Lily with a pleasant nod. "I was hoping you would say that."

What everybody did see were the grin exchanged by swordswoman and succubus. They were definitely an omen of sexy things to come.

Yuria did not like it in the slightest.

"The objectives would be twofold," Kotonoha continued. "First, I would like to ensure Naruto-sama enjoys some proper rest and relaxation after his strenuous training."

"Ah, ah, um!" A certain half-Celestial was quick to raise her hand. "Yurina…Yurina, can help onii-sama…with that…"

Everybody was surprised by Yurina's sudden bout of initiative, as ambiguous as it might be. Kotonoha was definitely pleased.

"Very well then, I'll leave it in Yurina-sama's capable hands."

"Yes-yes!"

"Yurine too!"

The others wondered just how much of the previous conversation the five-tails had understood. Her kind daughter was sweatdropping.

"Um, mom…"

However, not even Yurina, a notable example of cuteness, could fight against her mother's immensely powerful pout.

"Ugh…ha-haa…yes, mom…you can definitely help Yurina."

"Yay!"

Kotonoha nodded. That would be at the very least interesting. "Second, I would hope for Naruto-sama to enjoy a delightful time at the festival tomorrow night. I have discussed a few things with Yuri-sama. Yurine-sama, Yurisa-sama, I would like to count with you on that side."

"Um!"

"I will be happy to."

"And his mate will drag the boy to that festival, and we'll have a great time even if it kills me!" Yuria proudly announced while smashing her fists together.

"You're not jumping into a brawl, Yuria…" Yuriyo muttered in a mock-scolding tone.

"Well then, everyone," Kotonoha clapped excitedly. "We better eat before the food gets cold. We can discuss further plans afterwards. In the meantime, you should all think of wonderful gifts for Naruto-sama."

"Oh, I have some ideas…"

"Ok, that's it, I'm setting rules," Yuria growled. "I know just how far some of you horny vixens can go to 'show your gratitude'."

"Tch, party-pooper."

"Be quiet, Yuriyo."

The half-Void chuckled. No matter what Yuria said, or what rules she set on the table, nothing would stand in the way of **her** fun tomorrow.

Lots of fun with her newest friend tomorrow, oh yeah.

* * *

_**Mysterious Side – End**_


	29. Lily of Many Petals, Yuria Side

**Author's Note: **The final section! There is a god!

* * *

_**Naruto Genkyouien**_

_**- **__**ナルト**__**- **__**幻**__**脅**__**威宴**_

**Chapter Fifteen: Lily of Many Petals—Yuria Side**

* * *

**Scene 4**

That morning, as Setsuna had instructed before, Naruto dedicated himself to the chakra tail training after the 3-day _**Izanami **_session. It was unbelievable, the difference a lack of support made. However, this handicap was mostly countered by channeling chakra through his Wonder Gate, which really did wonders to his control. Creating the tail was not that difficult. However, Setsuna told him he had to work on it until the chakra that shaped it reached a certain "density." He did not know exactly what that entailed, but Setsuna "would know it when she saw it." Apparently it had to do with shoving as much chakra into the tail as possible without losing control of the construct.

Then they talked a bit about Kage Bunshin and Kuchiyose before an exhausted Naruto left for lunch, with the promise of meeting Setsuna later in the afternoon.

This is how we find her, back in the training grounds after a rather frugal meal and some rest. Madara…that is, Tobi, might be a humongous annoyance, but she had to give his cooking skills some credit. He was actually better than her, which bothered her substantially for some reason.

It was a nice day, with a nice breeze and a mostly clear sky. A good day for many things, training being just one of them. Sometimes Setsuna wondered why she lived such an awkward life. Couldn't she just try an ordinary Kitsune (her half status notwithstanding)? Of course, there was the issue of finding a mate…maybe she was just too picky?

Looking down, she noticed that, at some point, she had brought her hands to rest on her minuscule chest. Blushing a deep red, she threw her arms apart and away.

"What the hell am I doing?" She hissed.

"Ah, there she is. Setsuna!" Naruto's clear voice reached from behind, triggering a switch the four-tails did not know she had.

It was like a scene out of a romance movie. Setsuna was elegance and delight incarnate as she turned around to face her prized student. Her lovely cerulean sundress fluttered like a flower in the spring breeze, and her eyes glimmered with warmth and emotion. Her smile was charming and inviting, so different from her usual despondent attitude it was almost frightening. But, no doubt about it, it was also very, very pretty.

All in all, for that single half-turn, Setsuna had become the very image of loveliness.

"Good afternoon, Naru-gurk."

Yes, she did actually say "gurk."

Yuria shot a glance at her mate. "Why did she make that sound as if a pigeon was shoved down her throat?"

"How do you even know how a pigeon shoved down one's throat sounds?"

"You DON'T want to know."

"I have to agree with you on that," Naruto admitted.

Himeyuri's youngest, Yurie, did many, many strange things "for the sake of knowledge."

Setsuna was still stuck mid-turn. Her lovely smile had disappeared long ago, replaced by a quivering and very unsightly rictus.

"So, this is your new teacher," Yuria pondered.

"Yup."

"…she's a loli."

"That she is." Naruto nodded as if proud of the fact.

Yet another odd glance from Yuria. "If this is your way to prove you're not interested in small children, let me tell you Naruto: it's NOT working."

"Right, right, let's put aside my unhealthy interest in small children." Noticing Yuria's raised eyebrow, Naruto continued. "Which, for the record, does NOT exist."

"You say this as you introduce me to your child sensei—"

A mighty bolt of lightning crossed the small space between the couple, stunning them into silence.

"Who the hell is a child!" Setsuna finally found the will to speak. Needless to say, her voice was made of pure, unbridled fury. "Boya!"

Naruto shuddered at the intensity of her call. Her eyes were a silent promise of pain, and he already had a pretty good idea of just how much pain Setsuna was capable of inflicting.

In case you do not remember, it's a lot.

"Who is this brat and why is she intruding in our special tim—TRAINING!"

Fortunately for Setsuna, she was in front of the two idiots in this setting who could actually miss her little faux pas.

"Bra-brat!" Yuria immediately threw the gloves. "Have you looked at yourself in a mirror, you chibi?"

"Ch-chibi!" Setsuna exploded. "You're just as short as I am!"

"Well, at least Naruto won't be able to iron his clothes on MY chest!"

"Y-Youuuuuu!"

Naruto had several very good ideas of fun things he could do with Yuria's chest. Ironing clothes was definitely not one of them.

"NARUTO!"

"Ha-hai!"

"How dare you bring this, this…insolent human to my presence?"

"HUMAN!" Yuria blurted out.

"Oi, why do you say that as if it were an insult…?" Naruto muttered weakly.

"I am Yuria! Proud lily of Higashiyama!" Three black tails revealed themselves in all their furry glory. Naruto held back the urge to facepalm.

"Three!" Setsuna howled. "It seems your mother did not teach you manners, wench!" Setsuna responded by revealing her four beautiful appendages. "Know your place, child!"

Yuria was certainly struck speechless, eliciting a triumphant smirk from the Queen of Loli. However, it was for an entirely different reason than Setsuna believed.

A gentle hand fell on the elder Kitsune's right shoulder.

"Huh," Yuria spoke in a flat, deadpan tone. "That was really rude of me. Sorry. Must be tough for ya, huh?"

After two seconds for her brain to process the words, Setsuna's face rapidly gained a vibrant red. It was not one of her adorable tsundere outbursts. This girl…this…BRAT, was pitying her! She was pitying her height, and her looks!

"You…you…youuuuu…"

Something broke in there. Setsuna stopped moving; her gaze lost somewhere in the distance, staring at something only she could see.

"Uhh…" Yuria turned to her mate. "Naruto?"

The blond was sweatdropping. "Ehh…maybe it would be better if you practice water walking on your own for a while, Yuria."

"Eeeeh?" Yuria immediately whined. "But I wanted to practice with you…"

"Now, now…" The boy quickly assumed the strange role of voice of reason. "You can work on that by yourself, and you know it will really help your chakra control. And remember that I promised to teach you Kage Bunshin when you show me you can walk on water."

Some steps away, Setsuna shuddered in a visibly unnatural manner.

"Muuu, you're treating me like a child, Naruto."

"Well, other than those amazing things you keep under wraps you pretty much look like one."

The three-tails quickly crossed her arms protectively in front of her chest. "Perv!"

"Yeah, yeah. I'll pick you up later for shopping, okay?"

"O-kaaay," Slapping his arm in what could be seen as an affectionate gesture, Yuria waved her goodbye to the boy. "Break a leg, mate of mine."

Setsuna shuddered again, this time more strongly.

"Hnn."

"**Wait**."

The voice sounded a lot more appropriate for a demon lord than for a four-tailed Kitsune two inches shorter than Naruto. It did a good job of stopping Yuria, though.

"**You**." Setsuna pointed at the other Kitsune, then at Naruto. "**What did you call him just now?**"

It quickly clicked in Yuria's brain. It was a surprising bout of perception from the Naruto-ish foxgirl.

"Um! Just like you heard!" In an unusually sadistic manner, Yuria struck the point across by latching her arm to Naruto's. "He's my matey! I claimed him fair and square!"

Naruto could not prevent the blush from forming on his cheeks. "Uh, Yuria, that's kinda embarrassing…"

"Heheheh~" Yuria only chuckled before hammering the last nail on the coffin by planting a chaste kiss on Naruto's cheek. Whose coffin exactly remained unclear.

"Okay, I'm leaving now~"

With a big smile on her lovely face, Yuria pranced her way until she was out of sight. Her mother would have been proud.

"Uhh…that was weird," Naruto concluded. He was quick to dismiss the weirdness and focus on what really interested him.

Poor, poor bastard.

"So! Training!" He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I'm still a little sore from this morning, but I'll do my best!"

"Hoooh…your best you say…"

The dark shadow that covered Setsuna's eyes had no physical explanation. Naruto's lack of scientific knowledge rendered him unaware of this simple and most dangerous fact.

"Hmm…" The familiar crackling sound triggered the first alarm in the boy's head. "Must be nice…consorting with pretty foxgirls before your most important exam…"

"Hey, now that's unfair!" Naruto complained, the idiot. "I'm just being a good host…and stuff."

"Hmm…" Sparks flew all around Setsuna's overly tense body. "And to score yourself such a lovely **mate**—" Crackle, whizz, flash. "…at such a young age. Aren't you the ladies man, booooou~yaaaaaa…"

"Okay, now you're scaring me."

Just now?

"Well then, if you have time to fool around with the pretty foxgirls, then you must be quite ready for me to push things a notch, hmm?"

"You kidding me? You spent the whole morning kicking my ass!"

"Hmm, yes, yes…" The awkwardly shuddering Setsuna paid no heed to the boy's words. "Yes, I have been too lenient a mistress, my boy…it is obvious now I must work harder…"

She grinned, and it looked positively deranged.

"…all for the sake of my dear student, right? Ufufufufufu…"

It was a stroke of good fortune that Naruto did not comment on how much he was reminded of Kotonoha at this moment.

Of course, by this point, the owner of the metaphorical coffin was pretty obvious.

It was a long, painful afternoon for Naruto.

He gained a healthy respect for electricity after that.

* * *

**Scene 8**

There was a single flower on the bedside table. A lonely daffodil watching over the sleeping boy.

There was a second, unwanted watcher. One tormented by murderous thoughts.

Discomfort and a lust for blood distorted the face of one Gaara of the Desert. Looking at the sleeping boy's face brought out the memory of his Jounin teacher, the one who saved him from Gaara's deadly sand. He remembered the man's eyes, and how they challenged him; how they looked down on him.

Why?

Why did it bother him so much?

With a snarl, Gaara approached the bed. The boy, Lee, slept soundly, blissfully unaware of death looming by his side.

His right hand was shaking as he raised it over the sleeping boy's face. It was disgusting, but Gaara could not stop it. Regardless, shaking or not, his sand responded with the same eagerness.

Bloodshot, unblinking eyes buried holes on the unaware face of the hapless victim.

Some doors away, Ino and Shikamaru showed up to visit their teammate, secluded to a hospital bed after overconsumption of meat. Curiously enough, both boy and girl brought their friend a fruit basket. After eating both in gratitude, Chouji had to extend his stay another day.

Sand flowed out of the large gourd, slowly crawling to create a second heavier, deadlier blanket…

"_**Extension**_."

A wall of sand was immediately raised to block the incoming attack, but the black tail simply wrapped the barrier and crushed it until it crumbled down.

This was enough to draw Gaara's attention. His special Shield of Sand, reinforced with blood and chakra, was destroyed by a physical attack!

Two more tails lashed out at the Suna Genin, one wrapping itself around his neck and the other snaking around to entangle all his limbs.

With his motion completely restricted, Gaara could only watch how Naruto dashed into melee range.

Setsuna would have been proud. Then she would have blushed, averted her gaze and found something to criticize, but that's beside the point.

It was perfectly executed; the natural result of dozens, hundreds, thousands of repetitions. Center of gravity lowered as far as possible, legs spread with knees pointing to opposite sides. Sliding the right knee towards the center while lowering and bending the torso to make a counterweight for the left leg being raised. All this to apply the full strength of every single muscle involved in thigh and leg movement.

While Setsuna's _**Izanami **_is a powerful Genjutsu, to those trapped within, it is reality. The brain interprets the events that occur within as if they were reality and responds accordingly. In response to the four days of training Naruto has undergone within the jutsu, the brain has responded by demanding further reinforcement of Naruto's leg muscle fibers. Sayuri's presence accelerates this process, which explains why only four days could make such a notable difference.

Where am I going here?

Naruto's quadriceps, adductors, vastus and glutei are all very, very, VERY strong now.

"SPEAR!"

Naruto doesn't like French.

Foot met Shield of Sand. Shield of Sand cracked. So did a nose.

"Ungh!" Gaara groaned, and some of the sand now lingering on the floor trembled before lashing at Naruto in the shape of a deadly spike…which Naruto stomped down with the same leg he had just used to kick Gaara's face. Naruto parried, and followed with a roundhouse kick, with the SAME leg.

It was another one of Setsuna's moves, _Moulinet_.

Not wanting to test his luck a third time, Naruto jumped back to Yuria, who stood by the door. The objective of distracting Gaara away from Lee was fulfilled.

"What the hell are you up to, bastard?" Our protagonist growled menacingly.

Gaara's face had already returned to its threatening impassivity, but it still looked distorted by the shattering Shield of Sand.

Yuria's face was a mixture of confusion and discomfort. "Naruto…"

"What are you up to?" Naruto insisted, ignoring his mate.

Gaara did not respond, and Yuria's discomfort grew. "This guy…"

"Oi!" Naruto grew annoyed by the second. "What were you trying to do to Thick Eyebrows?"

Gaara would have rolled his eyes if he were that kind of person.

"I was trying to kill him…"

The couple's expression hardened. This guy was bad news. Only Yuria, however, could somehow tell just how much bad news he was.

"Naruto…"

"What's your problem?" Naruto complained. "You already beat him! He's on that bed because of you! What do you have against him?"

"Absolutely nothing." Gaara grinned. It was creepy. "I'm going to kill him just because I want to."

"Wha-what the hell? You bastard!"

"This guy…" Yuria muttered quietly. "He's really messed up…and…"

She was not really squeezing with her tails, but the fact Gaara remained so calm despite the whole situation really bothered her. And there was also…

"Naruto…" she called for the third time, and she was still ignored.

"If you get in my way…" Dramatic pause. "…I'll kill you too."

"Hmph." Naruto smirked. "It's two against one."

"Naruto!" Yuria hissed. "This guy…he's not normal!"

"I can see that!" Naruto finally responded. "He's creepy as fuck!"

"I don't mean that, you idiot! He smells weird!"

Naruto's stare went awfully flat. "…huh?"

"Do-don't give me that face!" Yuria blushed in embarrassment. "I-I can't explain it, okay? It's just…he gives me a weird feeling! It's…it's…it's just not human!"

Naruto did roll his eyes. "Whatever! You're not human, either."

"Naruto!"

The boy turned back to challenge Gaara. "I've got a youkai inside my body, and she's the strongest person I know…"

Yuria pouted. "Praising me won't trigger a flag right now, idiot."

"We won't lose to the likes of you!"

"Hmm…" Gaara sighed and closed his eyes. "A monster…"

When he opened his eyes again, there was a noticeable difference. A hidden…anger (frustration?) concealed behind the mask of apathy.

"Then…it's the same for me. I, too, have a youkai inside my body."

That did a pretty good job of striking the couple speechless for a moment.

"It was chasing its tails too?" Yuria could not stop herself from asking.

Gaara tilted his head, visibly puzzled by the strange question.

"No…no, forget I said anything." Yuria shook her head. "Please go on."

"It was my father, who attached it to my body, when I was still inside the womb of the woman I would have called 'mother'. I was brought into this world in explosion of blood, gore and sand. In her last moment, she cursed my already-accursed existence."

"I am a twice-cursed monster."

Naruto was speechless, as his mind became aware of just who he was facing.

"A monster…youkai…wha-what kind of…?"

"It is called Shukaku…a tanuki spirit of the sand. It was sealed into me, and I was taught the shinobi arts, so that I would become Sunagakure's greatest weapon."

"Wha…that's…"

Yuria could understand Naruto's case. Sayuri's sealing was pretty much an accident. But, for someone to actually do that on purpose?

"That's…insane…"

The next minutes were a blur to Naruto. Gaara spoke of love; of his twisted definition of it. He spoke of family; the family that feared him and the father who now sought his death. Of how he became an object of fear in his home village, and it was decided he was too dangerous to exist. Of how he found his reason to live, in death. By surviving, and claiming the lives of those after his, he found the acknowledgement and significance of his own existence.

"I exist to kill every human besides myself."

The meaning of life was in the fear of death.

"To fight for only yourself, while loving only yourself. Everyone else exists to allow you to experience that feeling."

The joy of living resides in taking the lives of others.

"As long as there are people in this world for me to kill and continue to feel that joy of living, my existence will not vanish."

Naruto took a step back.

This person…he could understand this person. He could understand this person so well…it was scary. It was definitely scary, to witness what he could, what he should have become. He was 99.5% sure the youkai sealed within Gaara was not an adorable loli.

To realize there were people like Gaara in this world. Children are always told there are people out there faring much worse than they are, as a way to keep them from complaining about anything and everything. Naruto had just been shoved that truth down his throat, and it was terrifying.

A boy like him, who had grown in a world of darkness, in the company of nobody but a wicked youkai…there were so similar, yet they were so different!

Too different!

How…how could he expect to fight, to beat such a person?

"That's…" Yuria had her own opinion of the whole story. "That's too messed up…so messed up…humans are so messed up!"

Please don't generalize, Yuria-san.

Her senses went into red alert when irregular clusters of sand began to rise from the floor.

"Naruto, watch out…Naruto?"

Naruto was a trembling wreck.

"Naruto! Snap out of it! Shit!"

The foxgirl did not hesitate to step in between her paralyzed mate and the threatening sand.

"Saa…" Gaara hissed; his expression having changed into a deranged grin at some point. "Let me feel it…"

"That's enough!" A fierce, unhappy voice reached those inside the room. Maito Gai made his appearance and, while his posture looked his relaxed, his face was the one of a person you don't want to mess with. It was enough to drive Naruto out of his funk and straight into "Oh Shit"-land.

"The finals are not today. Let's not get hasty, children."

After a moment of tense silence, Gaara grunted and glanced at Yuria. The Kitsune somehow got it and loosened her grip, allowing Gaara to step free and walk away.

"I'll definitely kill you…just wait…" He muttered menacingly, avoiding Gai's face as he stepped outside the hospital room. The Jounin followed the dangerous boy with his eyes until he was well gone. Only after that did his focus shift to the remaining two.

"I believe there is much we must discuss, Uzumaki Naruto…Kitsune-kun."

Yuria made an act of hiding her tails behind her body, as if it would make a difference.

"Urk."

As usual, Naruto shines with his dialectic breadth.

* * *

After making sure that the convalescent Lee (miraculously) remained asleep, the trio of two humans and a foxgirl exited the room and the hospital altogether.

They had to give credit to Gaara. Not a speck of sand lingered on Rock Lee's bed sheets.

There was a large green area behind the hospital, frequented by the ailing and their families, as well as by cats. Unlike most parks, it lacked benches or other playground elements. It was a small piece of cleared forest in the middle of the village…which makes little sense in a village entirely surrounded by forest.

"I guess I must thank you for being there to help my cute student, Naruto-kun…" Looking at the Kitsune (her tails and ears hidden now, of course), Gai hesitated. "Umm…"

"Higashiyama Yuria," the girl introduced herself, but then her lips curved in a teasing smile. "But I guess now I'm sorta 'Uzumaki', maybe…"

"Higashiyama," Naruto growled. "She's Higashiyama. Definitely. Believe it."

"Sheesh, aren't we touchy."

"Very well, Naruto-kun, Yuria-kun, thank you very much."

Gai is old-fashioned like that.

"But I have to ask…" He suddenly looked a bit embarrassed. "Please don't take it badly, Naruto-kun, but, to visit my Lee, well, I wouldn't expect you…ahaha…"

"Right, right, I get it," Naruto dismissed Gai's discomfort with a grin and a hand gesture. "I'm not that close to Fuzzy Eyebrows, I get it. We just met. But…" The boy's expression softened. "He…he helped Sakura-chan in the Forest of Death, you know? And, well, in the prelims…" An uneasy laugh. "He really made an impression."

"I mean, I thought I worked hard until I met that guy." He shrugged. "I guess I just can tell. How much effort that guy put to become that good at Taijutsu. And he's incredible, really! Even I can tell…I wouldn't have a chance against Fuzzy Eyebrows…the way I am right now."

"Oh, but I'm really doing my best now!" Naruto suddenly exclaimed, excitedly. "My sensei's really tough, but the training really works! I don't care if he's your student, I'm gonna beat that Neji!"

Gai laughed merrily. "As his sensei, I will support young Neji, but I'll be grateful if you put up a good fight, Naruto-kun! Maybe the excitement of a true challenge will stoke his youthful flame!"

"I'll put up way more than 'a good fight'!"

"Ahahaha, that's the spirit, boy."

Gai could not be more proud of his student. To drive and inspire others to follow his example, it was truly something laudable.

"So, yeah, I wanted Yuria to meet Fuzzy Eyebrows. That's why we came here today."

"Hmm?"

Naruto immediately responded to Gai's curiosity. "Well, Yuria's as much of a hard worker as he is…no." He shot a strange, calculating gaze as his mate. "I get the feeling she's even worse."

"Hmm, it depends," Yuria declared. "Has Fuzzy Eyebrows asked to be set on fire on purpose?"

Naruto and Gai stared at her in silence.

"Ooo-kay…you're not hardworking, just plain insane."

"Extreme objectives demand extreme training routines."

"Immolation is not a routine!"

"Not to humans, maybe." Yuria crossed her arms stubbornly.

"I'm sure Kitsune don't make a habit of setting themselves on fire."

"I have to agree with Naruto-kun…" Even Gai was sweatdropping. "I always support anything that unleashes the fires of youth, but I cannot see how something like that could make you a stronger illusionist…"

"Illusion?" Yuria made a face. "Nah, I can't do fancy stuff like that. I just want to be strong. The strongest Kitsune-no! The strongest youkai!" Showing off some made-up boxing moves, the three-tails smirked. "The most awesome of all, something like, dunno…The Empress of All Youkai. Yeah, that sounds awesome enough."

"Yeah, sure, whatever, just don't hit me."

"Wimp."

"Your punches FRIGGIN' HURT!" Naruto lashed back. "Even when you're holding back! Especially when you're holding back!"

"That doesn't make any sense!"

Naruto ignored Yuria's accurate comment. "I was lucky you didn't even touch me the night we met."

Yuria stopped the not-so-fancy footwork and pouted. "I wasn't being serious. Fighting a human and stuff…"

"Pfft!" Naruto snorted. "You actually think I'll believe that? We've sparred after that, too, you know. You're just so easy to read it's ridiculous. And coming from me, that's really, really sad."

"I hate you. And it's not like you're much better."

"I'm working on that!"

Looking at Gai, who was observing the exchange with a confused expression, Naruto had a sudden flash of inspiration.

In actuality, little Sayuri was trying to set the seal tag on fire, but the seal responded by reflecting her power right back at her. Future Sayuri could only facepalm at the sight of her younger self burning without being consumed. It was even more amusing because Sayuri did not seem to care about being on fire herself, and just kept acting as if she wasn't covered in flames.

But I'm digressing here.

"That's it!" Moving behind Yuria and placing his hands on her shoulders, he presented her to Gai. "This girl, she sucks at Kitsune stuff. You know, illusions, mind control and all that crap. She sucks. Badly. She sucks so bad her family won't respect her. She sucks so bad…ok, I don't know any sucking jokes, so let's leave it at that. The thing is, she really, really, REALLY sucks."

"Sheesh, I can just feel the love and support from my mate…"

"Quiet, you."

"Did she just say you're her mate?"

"Funny story. Remember to tell you about it sometime later." Naruto quickly dismissed Gai's question. "Anyway, she sucks."

Yuria cracked her knuckles.

"But, the deal is, she's strong. Scary strong. She's, like, the weirdest Kitsune ever. Really. And I've met the rest of her family."

"Hey!"

"Anyway, can you teach her Taijutsu, Gai-sensei?"

Yeah, it took him a while to get there.

"Eh? Wa-wait, Naruto—"

"What's there to complain about?" Naruto immediately argued. "Gai-sensei is an actual, honest-to-God Jounin-sensei, which not only means he's way stronger than me; it means that, unlike me or Kakashi, he's actually capable of teaching. AND he is a REAL Taijutsu expert, if he taught Fuzzy Eyebrows all that incredibly awesome stuff he did in the Prelims."

"You keep mentioning this 'awesome stuff'…" Yuria muttered, unhappy for not being in the know.

"By the way," Naruto continued, never taking his eyes off Gai. "I'm not asking you to teach her any of those forbidden techniques and stuff…"

"Forbidden?"

Naruto glared at the disturbing gleam in Yuria's eyes. "I insist. Don't teach her the forbidden stuff. Just…just try to make her not suck, please? Only until the day of the finals!"

"You know, for some reason, when you of all people say that, it really, REALLY pisses me off."

Gai thought he was standing in front of a really interesting duo. Odd, true, but definitely interesting. It wasn't like he was surprised by Yuria's presence. The Hokage had already warned all Special Jounin, Jounin and ANBU squad leaders of their arrival. They were also being observed very subtly and carefully, as it was almost impossible to watch over the fox youkai without them being aware of it. Apparently the leader of this group was a particularly powerful specimen. So, no, he was not really surprised to find Naruto in the company of a Kitsune. He would admit, however, that their interesting relationship deserved a bit of consideration. They obviously had formed a particular friendship. Not only that; the girl had referred to Naruto as her mate. Gai knew enough of Kitsune to understand what that meant.

But he held back his speech on protecting the virtues of youthfulness. Naruto was right about something. This Yuria was most definitely an odd one.

He had met his share of youkai in his life as a shinobi, and they were really, really focused. Yuki-onna manipulate snow and ice and can't stand warm things. Tengu are absurdly fast, boisterous and overall hard to follow both physically and mentally (and coming from Gai, this says a lot). Kappa…they are just weird. Oni are immensely strong but slow of thought and possess short attention spans, at least when found alone. Inugami are collected and thoughtful, but awfully quick to act when the situation arises. Nekomata are lazy but playful, pretty much smarter, slightly more amiable cats. And Kitsune, well, Kitsune are controllers and illusionists; non-violent creatures who normally choose to rely on illusions and mind-controlling techniques when possible, but perfectly capable of using powerful elemental techniques to defend themselves. Some would say Kitsune are the most human of all youkai capable of anthropomorphic shapechanging, save for their disgusting fickleness.

The idea of a Kitsune who could not make illusions was, well, weird. Besides, Kitsune always struck him as the kind of creatures who would want to accomplish anything with as little effort as possible. Just like, you know, most humans. So the idea of a Kitsune who could put up as much hard work and effort as his precious student was a strangely conflicting thought.

Of course, he had no other proof than Naruto's words, but Gai trusted the boy. If anything, the words he used to describe his wonderful Lee made Gai absolutely certain of Naruto's honesty.

"Yosh! I, Maito Gai, acknowledge your noble intentions, Uzumaki Naruto-kun!"

"Awesome," Naruto deadpanned.

"I will test the young Yuria here," he smiled at the foxgirl, who raised an eyebrow at the odd glimmer of his blank teeth. "If she shines as bright as my excellent student Lee-kun the way you claim, I will accept to train her for as long as she stays in the village!"

"Great!" Naruto's enthusiasm came out a lot more sincerely this time.

Yuria pulled at his jacket. "Nee, is this really a good idea?"

"Of course it is! It's my idea!"

Yuria stared at her mate for several silent seconds. "Okay, let me rephrase. Is this REALLY a good idea?"

"Oh, be a good woman and keep quiet for once," Naruto closed the topic and walked after the Jounin.

"What the hell's THAT supposed to mean? You pig!"

"Hohohoho! I can feel your friendship bursting out like youthful flames!" Gai declared even as he walked ahead. "I, the Noble Green Beast of Konoha, am delighted to see such wonderful and inspiring feelings!"

"I wonder if he even knows what he's talking about," Naruto pondered.

"Yeah, I've been wondering about those figures of speech myself…"

"Don't bother," Naruto stopped his mate. "Nobody gets it."

"And the spandex—"

"Ah, well…" Naruto grinned. "That looks kinda cool. Would be better if it came in a brighter color…"

"Like orange?"

The grin grew wider. "I love it when you finish my thoughts!"

Yuria returned the grin with an identical one.

No matter what anybody sees or says, these two really get along well.

Now, some might be wondering why Gai is not against training a young Kitsune. We could bring up several reasons.

The first one would be, of course, curiosity. It's not every day he met a youkai interested in his passion, after all.

The second would be hope. While he firmly wanted to believe his great student would be able to practice again, he had to admit he was a little lonely right now. There was not really much he could teach Neji, and Tenten was never much inclined towards Taijutsu beyond the basics. He loved teaching, and he loved inspiring his students even more. If he could impart his doctrine of hard work and dedication to a Kitsune of all people, it would be a success of immeasurable value to him.

The third would be strategic interest. He would be able to keep an eye on one of their Kitsune "guests," and, by proxy, on the others as well as on Naruto. He could even learn more about Kitsune powers, which was always valuable intelligence for experienced shinobi.

And the fourth and most immediate reason would be, well…why the hell not?

Regardless, he was honest about one thing. No matter how valuable it could be for Konoha if he could get closer to this Kitsune, he would not agree to train her if he did not deem her worth teaching.

She got the first point when, once they arrived to the training grounds, she took off her kimono shirt, showing her excellent build. It also showed him yet another curious facet of the two's relationship.

Naruto, more than aroused, seemed impressed by the girl's body. Yuria also noticed this.

"Heeh, you're not even nosebleeding."

Naruto did not like the comment. "Gah! I-I'm not gonna act like an idiot every single time you show me your breasts!"

"SHOW you?" Yuria was outraged. "I've never SHOWN you ANYTHING!"

"Y-You know what I meant! I'm not a pervert!"

"All men are perverts. All of them!"

"Now, now, Yuria-kun, it's bad to generalize like that—"

"ALL OF THEM!" Yuria stated. "I'll say it in red if I have to!"

"No, I don't think we can do that in this story…" Naruto quickly dismissed the idea. Good job, Naruto. "Formatting issues, you know."

Damn it.

"It's the one thing I remember from seduction lessons."

"You actually get seduction lessons…" Naruto mumbled, but was simply ignored.

"Every mortal has a price. It doesn't have to be…you know, ecchi stuff. Money, love, power, even health and safety. Everybody has something they want. As long as you can make them believe you can provide whatever it is, they're open to be manipulated. It's in the book."

"What book?"

Gai nodded. It was an interesting insight into Kitsune mentality. And it made perfect sense. Everybody has a price, no matter whether you're good or bad.

"So that's it," Yuria declared. "But you know, it's kinda disheartening…" A mock-pout. "I'd expect my mate to, ya know, appreciate me more…"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Someone seems to have forgotten just how this 'mate' thing started."

"Urk."

"Right. Besides…" Naruto had the decency to look a bit embarrassed. "I've never said you aren't…you know…I don't mind looking at ya."

"Hmm? Oh…" Yuria joined him in blushing…for exactly 2.7 seconds. Then she grinned. "You'd just rather touch them now, huh?"

"Mm-hmm…wait. YURIA!"

Gai sighed at the laughing girl and the embarrassed young boy. Yep, she was a Kitsune alright.

"Peeeeeer-vert! Naruto's a peeeeerv!"

Naruto took a deep breath. It wouldn't do to lose it in this situation. If he had learned something these past few days, it was that lashing at people the way he always did would not work with the foxgirls.

"Right. You're absolutely right."

That stopped Yuria on her tracks. "Huh?"

"You said it." Naruto shrugged. "I'm a pervert. And a hypocrite, for lashing at Jiraiya because of that."

Gai raised an eyebrow. The boy knew Jiraiya of the Sannin?

And, well, he could not blame Naruto for criticizing the hermit's unhealthy interest…

"I want to touch them, Yuria."

Yuria went straight back to blushing. "Wha-wait, Naruto, what are you saying?"

"I said I want to touch them." Naruto raised a trembling hand. Every time it shuddered, it also made a disturbing squeezing motion. "I want to put my hands on those enormous things and squeeze them hard."

Gai covered his face with his hand. He could not believe he was listening to this.

"O-Oi, Naruto! What's wrong with—DON'T CALL THEM 'ENORMOUS'!" The three-tails covered her chest in a bashful manner. "They're not that big…"

"Eighty centimeters..." Naruto mumbled in a sing-song voice

"HOW DO YOU EVEN KNOW THAT?" She's screaming a lot today.

"Kotonoha."

"DAMN THAT YANDERE!" Yuria looked like a kicked puppy at this point. "She doesn't have to teach you that kind of stuff. And it's because I'm short…"

And she was right. Yuria's breasts would have looked normal and very appealing on an average adult woman. On a female even shorter than the rookie kunoichi, they were just too much.

"Well, I think mates should not keep secrets from each other…"

"What do you know?" Yuria mumbled.

"Well, my biggest secret is Kyuubi, and you know plenty about that."

Yuria mumbled a few curses under her breath. Naruto was struggling not to laugh at this point. It was just too easy. He knew it was not supposed to be this easy. Wasn't she a Kitsune, for Inari's sake?

"So, Yuria…" Squeeze, squeeze. "You don't mind…right? I'm…I'm your mate, after all…"

"Eh? Wha-wha…" Yuria was reminded of the matter at hand. "Naruto! I…"

She stopped. Did she mind, really?

And he was right: Naruto was her mate, after all. And, with the circumstances of her claiming, it wasn't like she had a right to complain…

"Bu-but!" Yuria whined weakly, as her defenses rapidly crumbled. "We can't do such a thing in public…"

"Gai-sensei doesn't mind five minutes."

"I DO!" Gai quickly retorted, glad for the chance to stop this madness. "I MIND! I'M MINDING THIS SO HARD RIGHT NOW!" His voice was very frantic.

"That doesn't make any sense," Naruto declared. "So, Yuria…"

"N-No, Naruto, this isn't like you—stop wriggling your hands like that! It's creepy!"

"But, I can't, Yuria! I can't control my hands anymore!" Naruto was being overly dramatic by this point. "They have a mind of their own!"

He could do a great Hamlet.

"Yuriaaaaaaa!"

"Gyaaaaaa! Get away from me!"

Gai was left speechless, so he just watched the idiotic scene: a laughing Naruto chasing a desperate Yuria all over the place; his hands still making those risqué squeezing motions.

"Come on! I'm sure it will feel good for you too!"

"LIKE HELL IT WILL!"

Long story short, this is how Yuria became Gai's temporary student.

Well, not like THIS.

It was more like five minutes later, after Yuria's tails effortlessly lifted a one-ton boulder, threw it thirty yards and then shattered it to kunai-sized pieces with the very-appropriately named "Tail Rock Breaker."

At this unbelievable sight, Naruto shuddered and clung to the Jounin.

"And that's the woman I share my bed with every night."

Yuria was cackling in the distance.

"Fear the awesome might of Yuria-sama! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

At this, Gai could only drop a hand to pat the boy's head.

"There, there."

* * *

**Scene 12**

Like the drowning man who finally makes it to the surface, Naruto awakened with a desperate gasp. On cue, his muscles reacted to the strain of three consecutive days.

He took a deep breath…

"…OW!"

It was the end of the second 3-day session within Setsuna's _**Izanami**_.

Setsuna was tired herself, but she was not very vocal about it. Emptying her lungs with a long, deep exhalation, she let her buttocks fall on the grass underneath.

"You're too loud." Her smile mocked her student's situation.

"Wha…what did just happen?"

Setsuna's smile dropped when she remembered there was a third person. "Ah, right. You're still here."

Yuria frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?" She pointed at the groaning Genin. "And what the hell's wrong with him?"

"He's a bit sore after training."

"A BIT?" Naruto cried.

"What training?" Yuria insisted. You two just stood there, and then you did that creepy thing with the eyes and that's it!"

Setsuna rolled her eyes. "Do I really have to explain, boya?"

Naruto only sent her an apologetic smile, and Setsuna rolled her eyes again.

"Great."

One minute later, Yuria's eyes were sparkling.

"Thr-three days of training! In an instant! That's…that's…wait. How come his muscles hurt, anyway? He didn't really move, it's just Genjut—"

"It's not Genjutsu."

If Yuria expected any further explanation, she would not get it. Setsuna turned to Naruto.

"You're getting better, boya. You can react to most of my attacks."

Naruto groaned. "You mean I notice them. There's no point if I can't dodge them."

Setsuna shrugged. "Speed is not something that can be developed in a week or two. Besides, the opponents you'll be fighting at your level are nowhere near as fast as I am. You'll be fighting other puny human Genin. Against them, the results of this training will show."

Realizing that she was the only one standing there like an idiot, Yuria made a noise and slumped down. "Hmph."

"But you need to attack more, boy," Setsuna continued. "I don't think your opponents will let you run around the place for three days straight."

"Aren't you the one who says that I should look for the gaps in my opponent's defense instead of attacking recklessly? You don't have any gaps!"

"Sure I do. I keep making them for you, and you keep missing them."

Naruto groaned again. "So it comes back to me being slow."

"I guess. Have you tried chakra reinforcement?"

"I keep pumping chakra through my limbs nonstop!"

Setsuna raised an eyebrow. "Really? Then you really are slow…"

"You're detestable." Letting his body fall prone, Naruto watched the clouds drifting by. "I need to be faster. I need to break through Gaara's sand defense."

"Sabaku no Gaara? The tanuki's vessel?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "How do you even KNOW these things?"

A concealing smirk. "I am Kiyoura Setsuna. Kiyoura Setsuna knows."

Yuria frowned. "What's the big deal? I had no problem getting through."

"Don't compare your awesome tails with my puny arms and legs!"

"Ahahaha~ You flatterer, you~"

Naruto growled at the blushing femme. "You did that on purpose, didn't ya?"

"I thought you were fighting the Hyuuga, boy."

"I am," Naruto conceded. "Gaara could be my second opponent."

"Hmm." A mild chuckle. "You just don't have it easy, do you, my boy?"

"Tell me about it."

"No, you tell me."

This led to Naruto explaining the extent of Gaara's powers, from what he had seen during the prelims and earlier that morning.

"I see…tricky business, that sand." She turned to Yuria. "You defeated it because your Extension is even faster."

"When it's about Extension, I cannot be beaten," Yuria proclaimed proudly. It did not last long, however. "The problem's that, no matter how fast, attacking with my tails is just too obvious. I got that Gaara guy because he just stands there and waits to get his ass kicked. Even Naruto can dodge them, because he actually, you know, moves."

"What do you mean 'even Naruto'?" The boy pouted.

"That's true," Setsuna admitted. "Tails are big and obvious, and it's hard to make good attacks with them, because they have to move around your body before reaching for the opponent. The increased range is not really much of a consolation."

"Right!" Yuria was enthusiastic that somebody could see her point. "Really, if I could hit with my fists the way I do with my tails…"

"How about reinforcement?" Setsuna somehow enjoyed "technical" conversations like this. It was the only reason she was tolerating Yuria's presence.

"Don't you think I already tried that?"

"Saa, who knows? Considering that your brain weights less than those disgusting blobs of yours, however…"

"Wha-?" Yuria crossed her arms around her breasts. "B-But, they're bound! How did you—?"

"THEY'RE BOUND!" Setsuna screamed in outrage, making the other two flinch away. It did not help Yuria much, as the matriarch of the Uchiha leaned closer to poke Yuria's shirt.

"Kyah! What the—!"

"I can't believe this…" Setsuna was mumbling, lost in her own world. "…these annoying things, in this tiny body…"

"You're as short as I am!"

"…only makes them look bigger…" Setsuna bit her lower lip. "…such outrageous, obnoxious, grotesque…" Poke, poke.

Yuria turned to Naruto. "Get her off me before I kill her."

Naruto sweatdropped. "Saa…a part of me is actually enjoying this."

"Cocky brat."

Naruto grinned.

"Alright, alright!" Yuria planted her hands on Setsuna's shoulders and pushed her away. "They're big. I know. Everybody knows. Sheesh."

Setsuna's grin was positively deranged. Electricity crackled between her fingers as she spoke.

"I'll enjoy tasting your misery when the World of DFC is upon us! Bwahahahahahaha!"

Yuria stared at the laughing Kitsune before shooting a look at Naruto. "I don't know what the hell's that supposed to mean, but, damn, it sounded stupid."

The boy could only shrug. His Mistress was very, very odd.

They eventually made it back to the original conversation, even if Setsuna shot evil glances at Yuria's chest every once in a while, further grossing out the three-tails.

"Well, there's a reason Kitsune normally don't bother with channeling chakra through their arms or legs."

"I've never seen you using anything but your hands and legs." Naruto commented.

"Well, most of the time I have to keep my tails hidden, so I cannot afford to depend too much on them. Besides, I wouldn't be able to use my Taijutsu if I couldn't channel chakra properly through all my limbs."

"Then how do you do it?" Yuria inquired.

"I'm a half."

Yuria immediately argued against that. "Half-Kitsune don't grow more than two tails."

"Yeah, well, I'm special like that. I can't help you, girl. But why are you so hung on physical combat, anyway? Shouldn't you be learning Spirit Jutsu or something?"

"I can't shape Spirit Chakra," Yuria grumbled. "Don't ask me why."

"Sucks to be you," Setsuna coldly declared, getting a glare in response. "How about your father's side?"

"I'm a Mountain, but who the hell's gonna teach me Doton Jutsu? I never met my father, anyway. Don't even know if he's alive…not that I really care, anyway."

Setsuna snorted. "Really, such a spoilt little princess…"

"What the hell?" Yuria roared, quickly jumping to stand on her feet. "What do you know—WAH!"

A bolt of lightning split the air dangerously close to Yuria's head. Setsuna was sending her coldest, most contemptuous glance at the three-tails.

"Setsuna!" An alarmed Naruto threw all manners of address aside.

"Nobody taught ME how to do that," Setsuna spat. "What kind of excuse is that, giving up because nobody will hand you things on a silver platter?"

Yuria's carnelian eyes were light bright cinders. "Everything I know, I learned by myself! Nobody taught me, not even the most the basic of jutsu!"

"Then why should Doton Jutsu be any different? If you're a Mountain Kitsune, you just have to find the Pulse of the Mountain."

"Huh?"

Rolling her eyes, Setsuna got back on her two feet.

"I'm tired of this conversation. Boya!"

"Ye-yes?"

"Don't neglect your training. See you around."

"Aah, mou!" Yuria sat down on the grass, all the while watching Setsuna's departing form. Yuria knew better than to insist. Besides…

"I don't like her."

"Ahaha…" A nervous laugh from Naruto. "She can be hard to take at times."

"Are you trying to be a saint, Naruto?" Yuria shook her head, exasperated. "Anyway. A spar? Now?"

"Are you kidding me?" Naruto groaned. "I need to rest!"

"Guh, you're so useless."

"That's a terrible thing to say to the owner of the bed you sleep on."

"Urk."

* * *

**Scene 19**

Naruto and his mate went back to the apartment after the riverside barbeque. Despite Yuria's protests, Naruto would not allow her to keep training her right arm swollen the way it was. He knew she was in pain, even if she was very good at hiding it. Besides, it wouldn't do for her to have her arm looking like that when she met Maito Gai that evening.

Big was their surprise when they arrived.

"What…is that?"

Naruto said nothing. He calmly walked over to the huge cardboard box lying by the entrance. Before checking its contents, however, he fixed his gaze on the three objects placed on top of the sealed box. Two small, neatly folded pieces of paper and a small scroll sealed with a silver ribbon.

"The mark on the scroll…" Yuria frowned. "The Crest of the Silver Lily."

"Which means…?"

"It comes from Mother."

"Hmm…" He put it aside. "Oh well, it can wait."

Yuria facefaulted. "Naruto! It could be important!"

Naruto, however, had already picked one of the folded pieces and read.

_My beloved, most wonderful Master,_

Naruto sweatdropped. "Not hard to tell where this came from."

Yurimi's calligraphy was neat and precise, as if using too much ink were a crime.

_It shames me, but I must offer my most sincere apologies. I have been summoned by Mother for special training this afternoon, thus I will be unable to serve you._

"She's getting 'special training'. I never got 'special training'. I want 'special training', damn it!"

"You don't even know what special training is!"

_I am ready to accept whatever punishment Master decides for his irresponsible, unworthy slave. I may be stepping out of bounds, but I would like to suggest—_

"Alright, alright, let's skip to the end!" An utterly flushed Naruto skipped the rest of the paragraph detailing Yurimi's ideas.

"…damn," Yuria was blushing too by the end of it. "…I knew there was a deranged pervert behind that ice queen face."

"Yuria!"

_One more time, I deeply apologize. To be unable to make Master my utmost priority, it pains me._

_With love and devotion,_

_Your worthless slave._

"…she's really into the whole 'slave' thing, isn't she? Who would have thought?"

"You're not helping me, Yuria."

_P.S. I cannot take this morning out of my mind, Master. Even if it is selfish and improper from my part, please, Master, keep showering me with your love._

"Urk."

Naruto was already sweating. The world around him had suddenly gotten a lot darker and colder. An ominous hum was coming out of Yuria's throat.

Slowly, very slowly, he turned around. "Um…Yuria?"

"Yes? What is it, MATEY?"

Naruto took a step back. Was her hair moving threateningly on its own?

"…WELL?"

A sweatdrop. "Umm…well what?"

Yuria's right eyebrow twitched disturbingly. Naruto lost it.

"This-morning-I-went-to-the-shower-but-Yurimi-was-already-there-and-you-had-just-gotten-up-and-I-didn't-want-you-to-find-out-about-it-so-I-walked-into-the-shower-with-her-and-we…we…WE-MIGHT-HAVE-DONE-SOME-THINGS!"

The wincing boy half-looked at Yuria, half-looked away, all the while he evaluated his running chances. Why did he have to teach her the tree climbing exercise?

Yuria, well, she did not look happy. And the way the floor and walls close to her shook menacingly certainly did not bode good things for our protagonist.

However, it passed, much to Naruto's surprise. Yuria's clenched fists relaxed, and her hair stopped wriggling like Medusa's snakes.

"Well…" She shrugged. "…I hope you enjoyed yourselves."

She looked away, at the suburbs of Konoha.

"…Yuria?"

"I mean, it's not like you have to excuse yourself to me…" Her left hand reached for her right elbow, in an obvious defensive gesture. "…the claiming binds me, not you…" Her gaze fell just a little. "…you can still…do…things…"

Naruto was taken aback by her forlorn eyes and the way her right index fidgeted with her long raven hair. He did not like them.

"So!" She was suddenly bright and smiling again. "What's in the other one?"

"Huh? Ah! Right! The other one…" Shooting one last worried glance at Yuria, which she returned with a big closed-eyes grin, he picked the second note.

_Naruto-sama,_

_I have matters to attend today, therefore I will be absent until nighttime._

"Huh…well, that's good to know."

_In my absence please prepare yourself a proper meal, Naruto-sama. I am very sorry I cannot help with today's chores. I can only wish you a pleasant rest of the day, and please send my regards to Yuria-sama._

_Hugs,_

_Kotonoha_

"It's like she's your mother or something."

"Yeah…" Naruto agreed with a pleasant tone. Why was it that such a simple thing as this latter made him so happy?

Naruto pulled away the ribbon and unrolled the scroll from the Matriarch of Higashiyama. He could not help but notice that her calligraphy was almost identical to Yurimi's, only with bigger symbols.

_To Uzumaki Naruto-sama,_

_The Higashiyama Clan has placed an immense burden on you, which you have returned with nothing but kindness and acceptance. Let there be no doubt and I and my lilies are grateful for your favors towards Sayuri and the rest of us. My debt to you is immense, and I believe that, in a way, it will never be repaid._

_It is only the beginning, but I hope you will accept and be pleased by this small gesture. I will look forward where our association with you takes us, so please continue with your favors towards my lilies in the future._

_Yours,_

_Third Matriarch of Higashiyama, Yuri of the Silver Lily_

"Hmm…it's a start." Naruto nodded, acknowledging the Matriarch's words. "So, what is it?"

Yuria had gone ahead of Naruto and checked the contents of the box.

"A new bed."

Naruto's eyes brightened. "Awesome!"

"But it's in pieces. You have to assemble it on your own."

"Crap…your mother's not very nice, did you know that?"

"And apparently she shops at IKEA. The things you learn…"

It was a heavy box, but Naruto had no trouble calling up a clone to aid help him get it into the apartment, after refusing Yuria's help ("Your arm…").

"So! I have to build this bed, shop for ingredients and make dinner." He sighed. "I might as well do all the chores today…"

It was not very often he took the time to clean up his apartment. Since the Kitsune's arrival, the job had been partially taken by Kotonoha and Yurimi.

"We. We're doing this together. And if you say anything about my arm again, I swear to all Eight Million Gods I'll hurt you."

Naruto chuckled at that. "Sure thing. Thank you, Yuria."

She grinned. "Don't mention it, it's the least I can do."

And so, for the first time, Naruto and Yuria worked together to face the ages old challenge of housework. Of course, eager to have a new bed, they attacked the box first.

"Well, from these numbers, it seems Mother did her homework. It's the same size, so we can use the same mattress."

"We would have found a new mattress if the bed were any different," Naruto reasoned. "…I hope."

"Nah, Mom's not that evil. Besides, it's not like you could fit a bigger bed in this place."

"Sheesh, thanks."

"Aww, come on! I like our bed! It's comfy and nice for cuddling!"

A gaping Naruto stared at a suddenly uncomfortable Yuria.

"Ah…umm…y-you…you didn't hear anything."

"…OUR bed?"

"THAT's what you paid attention to!"

Of course, let it be known that these two are not precisely the finest engineers…

"So…Yuria, I need piece…49C…I can't believe there's even a piece 49C. It's a frickin' bed!"

"49C…here you go."

"Wah! YURIA!"

"What?"

"Don't throw those things at me! You almost gouged my eye out!" He picked the piece. "And this is 49B!"

"They're the same thing!" Yuria retorted, holding piece 49C and showing that, indeed, the two parts were identical."

"The instructions say '49C', Yuria!"

"But they're the—gods, you're such a girl!"

"Why—Yuria! I don't want OUR bed to collapse in the middle of the night!"

"Hehehe, you said 'our bed'."

"Shut up!"

They also found the time to make jokes in between.

"Hey, Yuria!"

The boy raised a screw to eye level, grinning mischievously the whole time.

"Wanna screw?"

The couple rolled on the floor laughing for a while.

"Ahaha, hahaha…haha…haa. Damn, that was lame."

"Tell me about it, buddy."

In any case, eventually, they succeeded. Not at the first try, though.

"Alright, it's done!" Yuria exclaimed excitedly after fixing up the mattress. Naruto was reading the instructions over and over, a frown marring his features. "Ladies first!"

"Yuria, wai—"

The foxgirl jumped on the bed and bounced a few times. "Alright! A tall, nice bed, just what the doctor suggested!"

"Umm, Yuria, I think you should get off…"

"Aww, come on, it's OUR bed!" She pulled off her most inviting pose. "Don't you want to cuddle with your mate, buddy?"

"Umm, no, it's just…"

Any further attempt at speech was interrupted by the four legs of the bed separating from the rest of the structure in disturbing unison, with the obvious consequences.

"I…kinda forgot fixing the upper part with screws."

"I hate you."

In the end, they gave themselves a well deserved break. On their new bed, of course.

"It feels weird now…the ceiling looks so close," Naruto commented.

"Hmm…" Yuria nested herself in the space between Naruto's left arm and his torso. Unconsciously, Naruto placed his left arm on her waist and pushed her towards him, setting up the standard sleeping position for the two.

"But it's nice to have a proper bed again. Right, Yuria?"

"Mmm…"

"…Yuria?"

"…zzzzzzz…"

"DON'T FALL ASLEEP!"

After that, they moved on to house chores.

"Why do I have to do the laundry? I don't have clothes! These are my only clothes! Gah, underwear!"

Naruto chuckled at the sight of Yuria using a pair of forks to pick up Naruto's boxers and throw them into the bathtub.

"Would you like to take my place, then?"

"Ugh…" Naruto was cleaning the toilet. "…I'll do the laundry."

"Cool. Hey, thinking about it, you do need some more clothes…"

Yuria frowned at the pensive look on the boy's face.

"Oi, stop that."

"Stop what?"

"The thinking. You're thinking too much. You're not a thinker, leave the thinking to the smart characters."

"Well, ouch." Naruto mock-pouted. "Someone has to carry the brains in this relationship, ya know."

"Of course, that would be me, Yuria-sama!" The foxgirl puffed up. "I'm older, therefore wiser and with more experience."

"Speaks the one who's using flour instead of detergent."

"Gah!"

"I thought you said you could do house chores, Yuria. Remember? The teary, emotional scene?"

"SHUT UP!"

After some discussion, they ended up switching jobs anyway.

"Rotten grime…" Yuria growled while pulling the long sleeve of her kimono shirt, revealing the musculature of her arms. "You've come to the wrong toilet. Pray for the gods to have mercy on you, 'cause this Yuria-sama most certainly will not!"

"Shut up and get to scrubbing already."

It was Yuria's time to mock-pout. "What's wrong, buddy? You've changed. You used to be cool…"

"Oh, I'll be cool…the moment I see that toilet sparkling!"

"Okay, okay, sheesh…here I come! Oryaaaa!"

SPLASH!

"Wah! My eye! It got in my eye! Nasty toilet water!"

"Plus the chlorine."

"Fuck you!"

"It would solve a lot of problems, but no thanks."

Moving on to the living room…

"Hey, Naruto, don't you have another broom by any chance?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow at that. Yuria was seated on the dining table, remotely controlling a single broom with her signature Extension technique.

"I used to live alone until a few days ago. What makes you think I would have more than one broom? More than one anything, for that matter?"

"Good point. I just thought it would make things faster…" A sudden insight. "Speaking of faster, what about those clones of yours?"

"They're busy."

"Doing what?"

"…stuff," Naruto was not very talkative during kitchen cleaning, it seemed.

"Stuff."

"Yes, stuff."

"Huh. Can't you just make more?"

"Don't wanna. Gonna train tonight, so I'm saving my chakra."

Yes, he actually does that.

"Anyway, I'm done sweeping."

Naruto facepalmed. "Then why are you asking for another broom?"

"Just making conversation here."

"Damn, you're weird."

"You're the last person in the world I'm taking that from, boy!"

"Whatever…" Walking over to the large window, Naruto noticed something that elicited a frown. "Did you dust this window frame, Yuria?"

"Ah, nope," The girl grinned as she replied. "I'm gonna do that now."

Naruto held the urge to sigh. "Yuria, what's the point of dusting the furniture AFTER sweeping the floor?"

"Wha-? What does dusting have to do with—oh."

"…right."

Yuria was feeling really uncomfortable by this point. "Heeh, damn, you see, I don't really have furniture in my room, so I never…" She dropped her head dejectedly. "…my bad."

Naruto just shook his head and walked away. "I'll…just go check the laundry."

"Mugyuu…sowwy…"

"Don't do that," Naruto growled as he backed away.

Eventually, housework was over for the day.

"So…dinner." Naruto was feeling a bit odd. He never had to wonder about dinner before. "What to do…? Yuria, any suggestions."

"Ramen!"

Naruto stared at the foxgirl for a few seconds before chuckling and covering his face with his right hand.

"…Naruto?"

The boy shook his head and moved the hand away. He was smiling, brightly.

"This will work."

"What will?"

"This," Naruto insisted, pointing at Yuria and then at himself repeatedly. "The two of us."

Yuria blinked a few time until she got it. Then, she blushed.

"Oh…oh. Cool."

* * *

**Scene 26**

"Haa…haa…"

She was sweating a bit more than she was used to, but she could not afford to swipe her forehead. Blinking more than the absolutely necessary was a terrible mistake.

"No, no, you're doing it wrong, Yuria-kun," Maito Gai scolded from some distance away. "Taking hits is never an acceptable form of defense. You need to dodge, my bright lily, dodge!"

"Dodge…" Yuria growled. "…easier said than done."

"Let's try again…like this!"

Yuria took a step backwards and, in a single smooth motion, turned her body clockwise to face Gai even as his straight punch passed by her. She did not hesitate to grab the thick limb with her left hand.

"Gotcha!"

"Tch!" Gai tried to pull away, but Yuria's grip did not budge. Noticing her right fist ready to strike, he switched to evasive maneuvers.

"Taste the wrath of my fist!"

The corny line was follow by a powerful strike to Gai's midsection, but the Taijutsu Master dodged by jumping up, even with his arm still held by the Kitsune.

"You're not getting away!" Yuria cried out as she readied one of her long tails to lash at the airborne ninja.

"Guh!" Very quickly, Gai twisted and bent his body like an experienced contortionist, using the rigid support of Yuria's arm to swing and catch the offending tail with the soles of his feet. The strength of Yuria's tail met the strength of Gai's legs and torso for a moment.

Right as Yuria let go of Gai, he moved his arms backwards to fall properly when the tail attack pushed him backwards and away. His hands reached the ground first, allowing him to quickly pull off a backflip to return to a standing position.

"Tch, thought I got you there…" Yuria mumbled before grinning. "I can't keep up with your moves, Gai-sensei!"

"Hahaha, thank you, thank you…but that was pretty good, Yuria-kun! Scared me for a moment!"

He took a deep breath. There was no doubt about it. He had seen it several times these past days, and a tiny part of him had tried to deny it, but there was really no doubt about it.

This girl was stronger than him.

With or without chakra involved, whenever they met in a contest of raw physical strength, Yuria came out victorious.

She was also notably fast. She still had a ways to go to match him, but he did not doubt that, with enough training, she could reach his speed, and even surpass him. Thinking about the current batch of Genin, only his wonderful Lee could match Yuria's top speed.

However, that was about it. She had incredible strength and great speed, but that was it. Her body was too rigid; her motions awfully predictable. Her reflexes could not keep up with her own speed, and her perceptive abilities were lacking.

She could hit hard, that was for sure. She had not managed to land a hit on him yet, but Gai knew it would hurt like hell. She just could not hit at all.

She was just too obvious.

He could not teach her an entire combat style in a few days. The only thing he could do was precisely what they were doing at the moment.

Fighting.

Seriously. Furiously. What Yuria needed the most was real fighting experience.

"Combat instinct."

This is what Higashiyama Yuria needed the most. The kind of thing which can only be gained with sweat, blood and adrenaline.

"Ahahaha, Yuria-kun! I'm very happy you allowed me to train you!" Gai took a stout stance. "After all, it's not like I can try this on my lovely students!"

Yuria's eyes widened. _This is it!_ Her mind blared its alarms. _This technique!_

"Kaimon! Kai!"

Yuria braced herself at the sight of the Jounin opening the Initial Gate.

"Chakra to my feet…" she whispered to herself. _Here he comes!_

With speed that her eyes could not follow, Gai closed the distance between them and slammed his right fist right under her diaphragm. Instead of being sent flying away several dozen yards like he expected, Yuria took a single step backwards.

"Gu-ugh…" The three-tails groaned very softly. "…that was tough."

Gai's eyes widened in surprise. He had not even emptied her lungs! What was this girl made of?

"Oh!" This short mental distraction allowed Yuria to wrap two tails around the offending arm. "This is not good."

"Oryaaaa!" With the strength of her tails, it was easy for Yuria to spin poor Gai over and over. "And now smash!"

Right before Yuria could smash his body on the ground; Gai adjusted himself so that his feet would take the impact. He could actually feel his bones' shaking as the force was transmitted throughout his body.

"Wha-no way! Your legs should be bro—" Yuria's words were interrupted by a kick to her chin. This one did succeed in launching her upwards, as her feet were not stuck to the ground with chakra anymore.

"Guh…wha-? This is…"

Gai had followed her; it was the Shadow Leaf Dance. Yuria soon found her movements restricted.

"Wire!"

"Metal wire strengthened with my chakra. Now, here we go!"

"No! Wai—"

"_**Omote Renge!**_"

The resulting impact needs no description. Gai jumped out of the dust cloud and took a deep breath. Of course, at his level, handling the first of the Eight Gates was not a problem. Still, it was the first time he tried this move on Yuria, so he was a little worried.

"Um…Yuria-kun?"

"_**Extension**_."

Gai swiftly swayed his body to dodge the two lengthened tails, which buried themselves deep in tree trunks behind him. Using the subsequent shortening as a reeling force, Yuria launched herself out of the dust and towards Gai, curling her body to use her remaining tail to attack.

"**Tail Rock Breaker!**"

The Jounin's superior speed easily got him away, and the offending tail struck the ground with earth-shattering force, literally.

Cracking her knuckles, Yuria sent a fierce look at her trainer.

"That was pretty harsh, coming from a human, I mean."

"Oh, Yuria-kun, that youkai-like arrogance is not youthful at all!"

In his mind, however, Gai was reviewing the attack from every possible angle. He just could not see how Yuria had blocked or dampened the impact of his Initial Lotus. The single conclusion was, then, that she didn't.

Really, what was this girl made of?

"You must have trained a lot to get that body, Yuria-kun."

"Ehh…"

Flashback…

"_Oi, Bunny!" Yuria ran over to the loafing little girl, holding an orange on her left hand._

"_Mugii! I'm not Bunny!"_

"_Yeah, whatever. Make this orange explode!"_

"_Eh? Um! O-kaaaay!"_

_BOOM!_

Body conditioning, Sayuri style.

Yuria shuddered at the memory. "You have no idea."

Gai wanted to know. The limit of this girl's endurance.

"Kyuumon! Kai!"

"Oh crud."

Yuria could not keep up. She didn't see the fist coming. She only felt the strong impact on her chest and she was sent flying backwards.

Turning in midair, she dug her clawed fingers in the ground to halt her flight. However, her feet had just touched the ground when another fierce impact, this time on her back, slammed her face on the dirt.

"Guh!"

Her tails lashed around her, but caught nothing. Gai was not going to let her grab him again. He used simple hit-and-run tactics, landing terrible blows on the foxgirl who could not keep up with his speed.

Then, she got another kick to the chin, and she was once again launched upwards. The kick had a strange effect, making her body spin as she ascended.

Gai suddenly appeared above her, readying his fist for the finishing blow.

"_**Kaikaku Shintou!**_"

Shell Impact. By rotating his arm in the direction opposite to Yuria's rotation, he forced the two opposing forces to clash and rage within her body to deal extensive damage. The small girl hit the ground like a bullet. Gai landed right next to her, but quickly took his distance, just in case.

Two Gates he could still handle.

"Uhh…and up we go!"

Yuria propelled herself with her legs to get back up. Then, she shuddered.

"Grrrr…GODDAMMIT, THAT HURT! I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS!"

Gai watched the foxgirl run to the nearest tree, then upwards to the canopy of leaves before leaping to the middle of their small battlefield, making a few turns in the air in the process.

"**Tail Rock Trident Breaker!**"

The three tails grew large enough for Yuria to, after one last turn, slam them on the ground with enough force to start a localized earthquake.

The tremors quickly got to Gai, disturbing his balance and halting his movements long enough for Yuria to throw herself at him, using her tails of course.

"Take this!"

Of course, she only hit air. Of course, she landed in the worst possible way.

Gai did not know whether to be impressed or scared. He told her to try dodging things, but he guessed it was impossible at the speed he moved. Besides, it seemed that taking blows to make an opening was actually part of her strategy.

She would take hit after hit until she found the chance to deal her own, and then she would just hit harder. That seemed to be the foundation of Yuria's combat style.

So, the question was…how far could he take this?

"Ugh…dirty again…" Yuria mumbled as she looked at her miko clothes. "Oi, Gai-sensei!"

"Yes?"

"Can you hit harder than that?"

"Much harder," Gai admitted. Yuria blinked.

"…damn. Humans are more impressive than I thought."

The man laughed honestly and heartedly. "Ahaha, thank you very much for the compliment."

"Alright then, show me! I'll take whatever you throw at me!"

"Well…" Gai scratched his cheek. "…I admire your youthful enthusiasm, but I don't think it would be nice to go any further…"

Yuria's response was taking a stance. It did not belong to any particular style, of course; Yuria had no formal knowledge of combat arts. However, Gai could recognize her intention. She was toughening up. She knew she could not evade or even keep track of his strikes.

"Really, this girl…" he mumbled before readying himself for the next level. It still felt wrong, but it was also a bit exciting.

"Seimon! Kai!"

"Here we go…" Whether she sounded excited or resigned, nobody knows.

And thus, Naruto arrived to the scene to witness Yuria being pummeled in midair in a familiar yet not any less impressive (or horrible) way.

The barrage of blows ended with a nasty pull of her midsection, and Yuria realized her torso and limbs were captured in metal wire again. Gai loomed above her, ready for the big finisher of the _**Ura Renge**_.

He was, at least, until Yuria smirked.

He would have said "oh shi-", but that's not very youthful, is it?

He had made the most lame of mistakes. Then again, we cannot be too harsh on him: he is not very used to using _**Ura Renge**_on enemies with tails.

Soon enough he found himself caught within a furry trap. Then it became a matter of who would pull who.

It was pretty close. Yuria, however, had an advantage in the _**Extension**_ technique.

"Oraaaaaaa!"

Swinging her tails as she willed them to grow, Yuria slammed Gai's spandex-clad form on the ground several meters below, and then dragged his body across the surface until slamming him a second time, in this case against a tree.

"Serves you right…" she managed to mutter before gravity did its stuff. She closed her eyes and readied herself for a nasty fall, but she caught by a pair of strong, gentle arms.

"Yo," Naruto greeted his mate.

"Uhh…Naru…to…" The exhausted girl muttered weakly.

"Yup, my name."

"Naruto…Archer is…Emiya…Shirou."

Our hapless hero stared down at his friend in silence.

"…o-kaaaaaay. Ready for lunch?"

"Can you make…Black Rabite Stroganoff?"

"I don't even know what that is," Naruto deadpanned. "Let's just go."

Retracting her tails allow Naruto to carry Yuria away. They were already past their usual lunchtime, anyway.

"What about little old me…?" Gai groaned while upside-down; his body still pushed against a tree that threatened to fall down.

Still, he was impressed.

Three Gates.

He needed three Gates to match Yuria's Reinforced strength. And she wanted to get stronger.

He did not know there were Kitsune like that.

Maito Gai, a Taijutsu Master unique in more than one way, chuckled heartily.

He was honestly impressed.

"Yosh! I, too, will aim to become stronger like Yuria-kun, and stop the malign ambitions of Doctor S once and for all!"

Let it be known that he does not have the slightest idea of what these malign ambitions consist of, but to each his own.

* * *

Even after lunch, Yuria was a little wobbly.

"…you sure you're okay, Yuria?"

"Of course I'm okay! Just fine!" The girl insisted. "Like nothing ever happened."

"You're swollen," Naruto deadpanned. "The only part of you that is not swollen right now are those breasts of yours."

"Good!" Yuria nodded. "It wouldn't be good if they get any bigger." Naruto rolled his eyes at that. "So where are we going, Bro?"'

"Where do you think? Shopping," Naruto answered. With three Kitsune taking residence in his apartment, he had to restock his kitchen on a daily basis.

"'We do that a lot, I notice."

"Yeah, yeah. It's not bad." He grinned at his mate. "It's not like I'm doing it alone, right?"

Yuria returned the grin and affectionately hooked her left arm to his right. "Of course not. Besides…" She looked down at her chest. "These bindings are no good anymore; they've gotten soaked way too many times and now they get loose all the time…"

"Really…" Naruto muttered, clearly uncomfortable. Yuria's bust was not a topic for conversation he particularly favored.

"So, think we can get new ones?"

"Sure, sure…" Naruto dismissed her doubts, while revealing a mischievous grin. "Anything for my darling."

"Har har har…" It was Yuria's turn to deadpan. "You have no idea how bothersome it is to carry these things," she continued, poking her left breast to emphasize.

"Let's not go there, okay?" Naruto dodged the question. "Besides, your mother doesn't seem to mind."

"My mother's a freak of nature. It's like they have their own center of gravity. I suspect magnetic levitation is involved."

"Uh-huh…are?" He saw it.

"Huh? What is—WHOA." She saw it, too.

Like moths drawn to the flame, the couple moved as one towards the glass panel. If it weren't for that glass, it would be within arm's reach.

A Naruto-sized mannequin was wearing a full set of clothes. The leg pouches suggested they were meant for shinobi use.

It was obvious the set was a variation of Naruto's current clothes. It was also orange, which automatically made it a winner. However, it was the differences which made it interesting.

Unable to resist the bewitching call, Naruto and Yuria walked into the store. They needed to see this masterpiece of textile work from every possible angle. The store clerk, a lady in her early thirties who made a living out of selling clothes to Konoha shinobi, held back a chuckle at the sight.

She was not surprised in the slightest. After all, it was she who sold Naruto his favorite orange jacket and pants.

The more they examined the mannequin's clothes, the more they realized it had substantial modifications when compared to Naruto's. The material seemed and felt thicker and sturdier, almost leathery. It was obvious to them that these clothes would also feel heavier when worn.

The list of differences grew when checking the design. The blue and white in Naruto's jacket had been replaced with black, for starters, and the neck was not nearly as high. The red spiral in the back was also absent of course; that was a custom addition Naruto sewed himself. The most visible difference, however, was in the way the jacket was closed. In fact, this jacket was not meant to fully enclose the wearer's torso. Unlike the vertical zipper in Naruto's jacket, this one used two thin, horizontal black stripes that connected the left and right halves of the jacket with snap fasteners. In other words, the central axis of the body was always visible.

The two were surprised to see that the sleeves were detachable via zippers that went around the shoulder. The fabric was also thinner when compared to the torso part. The pants were not much different from Naruto's, only less bulky and intended to cling closer to the body.

"Like it?"

"WAAAAAH!" The couple reacted in unison to the clerk's voice right behind them. The woman had to giggle at their synchronized antics.

"Ah!" Naruto recognized the woman. "He-Hello, oba-san!"

"Uh, hello!" Yuria added.

"Hello," the lady returned. "So, you like it?"

"Yeah…" The couple uttered in a dreamy tone.

"Hmm, good. I was hoping you'd notice it. Nobody else wants the orange."

"Philistines," Yuria growled at the average human's lack of taste. The lady clerk stiffened another giggle. Where did Naruto find this girl?

"Idiots, the whole lot of them," Naruto agreed. "So, there are different colors."

"Of course, but this is the only one left."

"And you actually put it on display so that I, Uzumaki Naruto, would see it and buy it."

The woman guiltily looked away. "…maybe."

Naruto was amused to say the least. "Nice." He shot a longing look at the mannequin. "It's cool, really, but…well, I already have clothes…" His voice dropped to a mutter. "It's not like I can afford clothes for myself right now…"

He shook his head and sighed. He was really an idiot sometimes.

"Yuria, you try them."

The girl's admiration of the awesome clothes came to an abrupt halt. "Haa?"

"You heard me. Try them. If you want, of course."

"Eh?" Yuria could feel her cheeks heating up. "Bu-but, I…I don't…I…you…"

"Like-I-said!" Naruto rolled his eyes but also smiled reassuringly. "I don't need new clothes. You, on the other side, have to wash those miko clothes of yours every night. You told me Yuriyo burned your stuff–which reminds me we have to get back at her for that–, so we have to replace it."

"N-no! You don't have to! Really!"

"Oba-san?"

"Right away, dear customer. Now, young lady, please follow me to the changing room…"

"Wa-wa-wa-no! I said no! Naruto! Don't push me!"

Since the clerk was busy ensuring Yuria did not escape the changing room, Naruto was kind enough to undress the mannequin and hand her the clothes.

Outside the forbidden territory, Naruto could only listen to the women's voices.

"Wa-wait! I—This isn't really—Naruto, you don't have to do this!"

"Saa, saa, don't be shy and take off those dirty—oh my."

"Shirt's off," Naruto mumbled.

Yes, we could say the saleslady was stunned. In front of her there was a short girl with a figure the likes of which she had never seen before. And was that…it was!

A six-pack! She had yet to meet a kunoichi with a six-pack!

Perfectly defined, lean muscles; and a voluptuous bust! Such a body should not exist in this world!

But it did! And the world deserved to witness it! Admire it!

Yuria certainly did not like the squeezing gestures the mumbling lady was making with her hands. "Umm…"

"Now, dear, you have to wear something under the jacket, of course…what do you think of fishnet?"

"Eh?"

Naruto spent the time looking around at all the cool clothes he would never buy, until he heard the curtains being drawn open. He hurried to check on them…and his legs stopped working properly. He had to stop on the spot to not fall on his face.

"Ta-ta!" The clerk seemed awfully excited. "So? I think it looks great! Orange actually suits you, dear."

"Ah…tha-thank you…" The embarrassed three-tails responded in a weak tone. Her uncertain gaze went to Naruto. "Umm…s-so…?"

They had gone with a tight mesh shirt. This meant that not only her umbilical region and the skin immediately above (the epigastric region, if we want to go anatomical here) were revealed by the space between the halves of the jacket, but also the inner sides of her breasts and the line where they met. The uppermost of the fasteners was just below Yuria's sternum, which meant that the tightening further emphasized her chest.

He closed his eyes and covered them with his hands for good measure.

"Wha-what's that supposed to mean?" Yuria's bashful attitude quickly changed to anger.

"It's good."

"Eh?"

Naruto looked at the foxgirl through the gaps between his fingers. "It's too good, Yuria."

"Eh?" Her face went redder and redder as she processed the words. "Oh! Oh…umm…tha-thank you…"

Why did she suddenly feel awfully self-conscious?

The lady clerk stopped herself from squealing like a silly teenage girl.

Ah, young love.

They were leaving the store ten minutes later. Naruto had added black wristbands to the outfit without giving a reason. He took them and put them on Yuria's hands.

"You're taking these too," he had said.

Yuria walked in silence, carrying her shrine robes in a plastic bag. Her new clothes would take a while getting used to, but she could not complain. They were so cool!

She watched Naruto count the money on his Gama-chan wallet. "Do-do we still have enough for…?"

"Yeah, yeah, no problem," Naruto quickly responded. His tone was unusually flat. "Let's get moving, remember the invitation we got this morning."

"U-Um."

They would meet with the clan later that afternoon for pastries and tea.

"Nee, Na-Naruto…"

"Hmm?"

They could tell they were attracting looks. Whether it was because of their almost-matching outfits or because of Yuria showing off her body, they couldn't tell.

"S-so, like…umm…tha—"

"Can I ask you a question, Yuria?"

"Eh? Ah, s-sure!"

Naruto's expression became more serious.

"You're really…really focused on Reinforcement. I mean, it's cool that you want to be much stronger and faster and stuff, but…you seem almost desperate. Why not try something else?"

"Hmm…" Yuria dropped her gaze for a moment, as if wondering whether she should answer or not, before looking back at Naruto.

"You know, when we Kitsune take these human-like forms, we're not much different from real humans. I mean, we just have extra tails and ears. And we're prettier."

"Here we go."

"Ah, joking, joking. What I mean is, well, these bodies are not much tougher than a human's. I mean, I'm tough because I've trained myself to be tough, but you could break Yurimi's nose with your fists as easily as any human's."

"That was a horrible example!"

"It's because of our Reinforcements that we youkai appear to be tougher than humans. Other than that, we're made of flesh and bone, just like you."

"Now think about Sayuri. You saw her true form, right?"

"It's something I'd rather forget."

"Yeah, Bunny is scary as fuck. But anyway, she's pure chakra. I don't know if her evil eyes are pure chakra too, but I don't have the slightest intention of poking them to check."

"Smartest thing I've ever heard you say."

"Jerk. So, Sayuri can also take a humanized form; the little cutie we all know and love, right? That body is just like mine and yours, Naruto. It's made of flesh and bone."

"Do you see my point, Naruto? In their true forms, Kyuubi are truly invincible for us Kitsune. They can't be harmed with physical blows and any jutsu we can throw at them, they can do better. But in their human-like shapes, I can hurt them with my fists! And their bodies are no different, no tougher than mine!"

"It's the Kyuubi's single weakness, Naruto! If my sheer strength can overcome their Reinforcements, then I can defeat the Kyuubi before they switch to their true form!"

She flexed her right arm in front of her.

"I want to become the Kitsune that surpasses all Kitsune. And I can achieve it with nothing but these fists."

"And those tails of yours."

"Right!" She allowed herself a playful smack on her rear. "Damn fine tails they are!"

The couple laughed together. Still, the Kyuubi's weakness…it made sense to Naruto. It made an impressive amount of sense. However, the amount of raw power needed would be…

"That sounds like a nice plan, Yuria, but…"

"It's not as easy as it sounds, I know. But this is my choice. The path I chose to take. That's not a bad thing, right?"

"Right."

Yuria gave him a smile of gratitude. It was her turn to ask a question, though.

"Naruto, I'm wondering about that spiral on your back."

"Hmm…it's a boring story," Naruto admitted, before sharing it anyway. "On my birthday three years ago I got a book from the Old Man Hokage. He told me the book belonged to the Fourth Hokage, which is awesome."

"The Fourth…?"

"The guy who sealed Sayuri."

"Ah."

"Anyway, it's a nice book, actually. I don't read much…other than manga, I mean, but that book's kinda nice. It's a book for children, explaining all those things children usually ask their parents when we're little. Like, why the sky is blue, or why it rains…you know, things like that."

Yuria nodded.

"Well, the book has something written on the first page. It's something the Fourth wrote. It says 'Everything is a Spiral'."

"Hmm…what does it mean?"

"No idea. The Old Man told me the Fourth used to say that, and he used the spiral as his personal symbol. And apparently it's kind of connected to my family name, Uzumaki, but that damn coot won't say anything else. But anyway, the Fourth, he was…well, I guess he still is my hero; that's why I took his symbol."

"Heeh…a spiral, hmm?"

They walked in silence for a while, as if trying to make any sense of it. As they entered the supermarket, Yuria remembered she had yet to thank him for her new awesome clothes.

All of a sudden she felt shy and self-conscious again.

"Ah…umm…Naruto…f-for the clothes, tha—"

"Did I give you the shopping list or do I still have it with me?"

Shooting odd looks at the boy while he dug out things from his pockets, Yuria realized he was doing it on purpose.

"No thanks are needed," this was his message.

She snorted. If he wanted to act cool and humble, so be it.

Still…

"Aha! Gotcha!" Naruto triumphantly revealed the piece of paper he was looking for. "Let's get started, Yu—"

Even the softest peck on the cheek was enough to make him skip a beat.

Pulling her lips away, Yuria gifted her mate with a beautiful smile.

"Yu-Yu-Yuri—"

"So!" The girl exclaimed, dispelling the mysterious mood with her loud voice. "Can I get one of those metal carts?" She inquired, pointing at the row of supermarket carts. "They're awesome."

Realizing that he had been beaten in his own game, Naruto relaxed and grinned at his precious friend.

"And they help you reach tall places!"

"Asshole."

Naruto did not bother with a response. Watching the sway of her hips as she walked ahead towards the shopping carts, Naruto decided the expense was worth it.

"We'll have to do something for her tails, though…" he mumbled before hurrying to catch up.

* * *

**Scene 41**

It started with the book Naruto mentioned the day before, the one that used to belong to the Fourth Hokage.

"Everything is a spiral," the Fourth had written on the cover page.

She did not spend much time on the text. Yuria was not much of a reader. It had some really cool pictures, though. Looking at those she got an idea of what the original owner of the book had meant. Naruto was nine years old when he got the book, so it made sense to Yuria that he did not notice.

Spirals.

Galaxies. Hurricanes. Snail shells. Sunflowers. A mountain ram's horns.

She did not know about "everything," but there were certainly a lot of spirals around.

She took it as a curious and rather fun fact, but that was it. She quickly put the book aside and left the apartment to train.

She had gone to the Hokage Monument that afternoon, for another attempt at finding the "Pulse of the Mountain." She had learned of this from Kotonoha, who had explained to her about "The Pulse": the supernatural connection between a youkai and his "element." To find the Pulse was to understand the element. To understand the Pulse was to reach into the element. To reach into the Pulse was to manipulate the element.

Hence, if she wanted to learn the techniques of Mountain Kitsune, she first had to find the "Pulse of the Mountain."

Why did nobody explain these things to her before? She lived in a friggin' mountain! She had wasted entire decades of uselessness!

Kotonoha had explained that, though. Apparently, Higashi Mountain was special in some mysterious way that facilitated and strengthened the use of Spirit techniques. It was the reason the Great Ghost Clan of Higashiyama had settled near the top. In other words, her mountain was the one mountain unsuitable for Mountain technique training.

So, for now, she had to settle for the Hokage "Mountain." Unfortunately, she did not really know what to do, so most of the afternoon was spent fighting boredom by doing a basic exercising routine…of three hours.

Still, there's only so many push-ups a person can do before she is defeated by sheer boredom.

Lying face up on the crown of the Shodai Hokage's head, Yuria's thoughts wandered until the book returned to the forefront.

"Spiral, huh…"

She raised her right arm, and one of her black tails wrapped itself around it, making several turns until the white tip rested on top of her hand.

"There you go, a spiral."

She looked at the furry appendage with a bit of frustration. "Haa, if I could switch my arms for tails like this…no, wait, that would be creepy." She looked at her other, unwrapped arm. "And human hands are awfully practical."

The difference between her arms and her tails, chakra-wise, resided in both the amount and the distribution of the pathways. The human body is stated to have 361 tenketsu. Yuria had about as many in a single of her tails. To a point, each Kitsune tail could be considered a separate chakra system of its own. In contrast, the rest of a Kitsune's anthropomorphic body was severely lacking. It did not have even half the number of tenketsu a human body has, and the pathways are awfully thick. They are not meant for chakra control and manipulation; they are meant to transport chakra to the tails. It was difficult, then, for her body's pathways to send chakra to her muscular-skeletal tissue, which was the very principle of reinforcement. It was even harder to make chakra flow past those inner structures if she wanted to, for example, toughen up her skin…

Yuria blinked. Wait…

She gave a deep, thorough look at her arms one more time. One was completely normal; the other had a beautiful black tail wrapped around it.

Spiral.

Could it be…?

The legend of Higashiyama Yuria began with a children's book.

* * *

_**Yuria Side – End**_

**END OF CHAPTER 15**


	30. The Day of Naruto, Part One

**Author's Note:**As I wrote in my Profile page, the complete version of chapter 15 has been deleted. That was only a little service for the lazy people; chapter 15 was always intended to stay in seven thematic sections. Now, I hope you enjoy the new chapter.

* * *

_**Naruto Genkyouien**_

_**- **__**ナルト**__**- **__**幻**__**脅**__**威宴**_

**Chapter Sixteen: The Day of Naruto (Part One)  
**

* * *

The Land of Fire is blessed with flat geography and temperate weather. Still, there was a mildly cold breeze striking the woman's body that morning.

Standing to the side of the main road, she watched the distant peaks of human construction that shyly poked out of the sea of verdant forest.

Konohagakure no Sato.

She had to admit, in all her years, she had never found it in herself to visit a shinobi village before. She guessed she never found a purpose in doing such a thing.

Now she definitely had one. It was one hell of a purpose.

For the first time in history, with no visible reason, the Great Clan of Higashiyama had taken most of its precious lilies outside the safety of their Shrine Realm. The Silver Lily's actions made no sense at first glance. What was so important about Konoha for her to go personally, taking most of her lilies with her? And where was Yuri's most precious and dangerous weapon, Higashiyama Sayuri?

It made no sense, which obviously meant they lacked information. The undeniable fact was that this was a most unusual event.

It was suspicious, but she would not have moved against Higashiyama if she had not gotten the go from her most magnanimous benefactor. However, her sponsor's sudden interest in Higashiyama Mayuri of all people was awfully strange…

This was her chance. The chance at what Higashiyama Yuri denied her so long ago. The two nuri-botoke she had sent to fulfill her sponsor's condition never returned. That was not precisely unexpected, though, and as long as Yuri could not link them to her, it was fine.

The sound of a door opening told her there was activity within the carriage behind her.

"Good morning, Yuuki-kun."

A young teen stepped out of the elegant wooden carriage, his azure eyes still drowsy and his short black hair messy right after waking up. Holding back a yawn in front of his mother, Yuuki stretched his sore muscles at the same time two silver fox tails popped out from his lower back.

"Good morning, mother. Are we almost there?"

The woman returned the greeting with a smile before looking back at the glimpses of human construction in the far distance. "You can already see Konoha from here. But it is not wise to go there just yet. I sent my kudagitsune to look around."

Yuuki listened even as he performed a basic stretching routine. He was really sore, but what could he say? It was a rough night.

"Won't she notice?"

"Most likely, but it's better than walking in there completely blind." The tall woman pulled aside a lock of her long white hair. "You did some rough work on those two last night."

Yuuki grimaced. "Sorry. Did I bother you?"

The woman shrugged. "I had planned to drive the carriage throughout the night since the beginning, so not really. But we still need them in fighting condition, just in case."

"Understood…well, it's not like I can take my mind off somebody else right now…"

The woman stifled a chuckle. "Really…"

He was a little too libidinous, that boy. Other than that, he was a good child, capable of both utmost tenderness and heartless ruthlessness. Her parents expected him to be an excellent player of the political game in due time.

Yuuki stood next to his mother. He, too, set his eyes in the few buildings taller than the forestry and the gigantic outer wall of the shinobi village.

"I really can't wait to meet her again…"

"Patience, boy. You'll have your mate soon enough."

While she would normally keep her children away from Yuri's detestable spawn, she could not deny that her youngest son's desired mate was too useful an asset. She was worth saving from the destruction of her insolent clan.

Violence amongst Kitsune was not a common occurrence, but it was not particularly rare either. This time, however, it was not the standard scuffle. This was a war between clans.

The hidden wars of youkai were about to envelop Konoha in their ominous mantle.

Uzumaki Naruto was about to step into a new world.

"…Higashiyama Yurimi, huh…"

* * *

The six-tailed Princess Lily, Higashiyama Himeyuri, did not usually wake up very early. Having been left in charge of the shrine in her mother's absence, she had to change her usual schedule, to the point that she had to change her morning tea for coffee to jumpstart her body before sunrise.

That day, her morning coffee was startled by Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries."

Not the symphonic version, of course, but the hummed version, courtesy of Higashiyama Yurie.

With most of the clan absent, Himeyuri seized the chance to offer her youngest daughter a measure of freedom, now that there was little chance of anybody getting hurt. Why the girl was wearing a white patch on her left eye was beyond the Princess Lily.

Then again, Yurie was mysterious in as many ways as she was insane. Every single time she walked into the Hidden Lily's room, Himeyuri found an entirely new assortment of objects she was completely sure nobody had given her. How in Inari's name Yurie got hold of some of her "toys" was probably the biggest mystery of Higashiyama.

Himeyuri kept an eye on her daughter, looking for the slightest trace of danger. Yurie was walking over to the torii gate that acted as the main entrance to the shrine. The six-tail raised an eyebrow when her daughter revealed a measuring tape and began to make use of it.

"What is she up to…?" Himeyuri mumbled to herself.

Her measurements done, a smiling Yurie hurried back to her room, still humming Wagner's piece. It was at this moment that a kudagitsune flew through the barrier that separates the shrine from the rest of the world. Extending a hand, Himeyuri commanded the creature to glide gently until it landed on her open palm like a bird. Opening its small mouth, the spirit fox literally regurgitated a tiny scroll, which became fully tangible the moment it left its body. The kudagitsune flew away, its mission fulfilled.

She would not call them bad news, but they were definitely troubling. Such terrible timing…

A yawn caught the eldest of Yuri's daughters' attention. It was Himeyuri's eldest, the beautiful and voluptuous Chiyuri. As usual, her enormous bust threatened to spill out of her kitty pajamas, obviously a size too small for her.

While Yurine was a woman cursed with the mind of a child, Chiyuri was simply childish. From her choice of hairdo and clothes to her incurable ditziness, she was a woman who seemingly wished to live as a child forever.

That probably explained why she had yet to bear children of her own.

"Morning, mama."

Himeyuri embraced herself for impact. Soon enough, she was trapped in one of her daughter's mighty hugs.

"Morning, Chiyuri," the Princess Lily uttered in a rather bored tone. Curiously, Chiyuri seemed to flinch away at her tone. Glancing at her daughter, Himeyuri realized she was not backing away from her voice, but her coffee.

"Chiyuri, I'll need you to go down to the village for me."

The daughter blinked. "How come?"

"We have an unexpected visitor."

Chiyuri sat next to her mother. Four tails mingled with six. "What kind of guest?"

This was the difference between Chiyuri and Yurine; the former could be serious when she had to.

"The kind of guest we cannot ignore."

"Hmm…" Chiyuri scratched her right boob. "Then, shouldn't mama take care of such an important guest?"

Himeyuri shook her head. "Not if she happens to be your best friend."

Chiyuri's eyes immediately brightened. It was truly a most welcome surprise. However…

"Why would she come…now of all times…?"

"I don't know, and it worries me. I'll leave it to you, Chiyuri."

"Yes, I'll get ready right a…"

The half-Forest could not finish her sentence. Himeyuri could not blame her. She, too, would have been rendered speechless.

It was a cannon.

The kind of artillery you would expect from a coastal fortress to defend itself against pirate incursions.

Yurie was pushing a cannon. And humming "Ride of the Valkyries."

With patience, discipline and a good dose of reinforcement, the three-tails Himeyuri called daughter pushed the big, heavy piece of weaponry all the way to the torii. After that, she began to look at her notes, moving the barrel a few inches between every check.

"Umm…Yurie, dear?" The mother called.

"Haaaai!" The half-Ghost half-Wind's tails wiggled when she excitedly responded.

"May…may I ask what you are doing?"

"Ask where she got that cannon from!" Chiyuri hissed, but her mother ignored her.

"Welcome party!" The three-tails responded. "I'm gonna surprise everyone when they come back! Tee-hee!"

"Oh, that cannot be right," Himeyuri mumbled. She then turned to her saner daughter. "Go meet Byakuren-sama. I'll take care of this."

Chiyuri sweatdropped. She did not envy her mother's position, really. "Ye-yes, mama."

* * *

A sandstorm raged in the southeastern corner of Wind Country. It was a virgin region of the vast desert, left mostly untouched as it lay far from the imaginary line that connects Konoha with Sunagakure. Within this harsh lard, swallowed by sand and ravaged by fierce winds, there is a wonder of nature.

Rising triumphant over the harsh elements, a formation of thirty-six hoodoos stands like an army of titans. They are pillars of wonder, undefeated by erosion. Riddled with small holes and passages like gigantic corals, these colossal constructions of Mother Nature chant an eerie chorus whenever a sandstorm strikes them. It is for this reason that their inhabitants chose them as their refuge, and named them _**Utau Oka**_. The Singing Hills.

These people expanded upon the existing passages and created a thorough network of caverns and routes in the heart of all thirty-six rock formations, and even underneath, creating a extensive web of tunnels connecting them. Furthermore, strong wooden and stone bridges connected the upper heights of the hoodoos, further facilitating travel between them. The Singing Hills became a fortress hidden beneath the rock; a hidden sanctuary of austerity where its inhabitants could enjoy a secluded, simple life.

While most of these people wisely choose to seclude themselves within their rooms in the event of a sandstorm, despite the warding barrier that protects the shrine from the forces of nature, there was a particular person among them who would rather admire them.

This young girl would stand at the peak of any of the hoodoos and stare with neutral eyes at the furious storm and the searing sand for hours on end. She felt secure in the fact that the sandstorm would never reach her, impeded by an invisible circular boundary approximately half a mile in radius and centered on the middle of the agglomeration of hoodoos.

This young girl, like most Kitsune, was undeniably beautiful. She was particularly blessed with good genes. Even if the sand would not rage within her shrine, there was still a strong wind circulating around and making her thistle-colored twin-tails dance. Two white-tipped tails circled around her shapely form in an instinctive protective gesture.

Standing there, on the top of that rock formation, this girl would lose herself in her thoughts. She would watch, she would think, and, sometimes, she would sing. Like now.

"_**With trembling lips and conflicting emotions, let me sing a verse for the sake of our future…**_"

Closing her eyes, she allowed her chakra to swirl and dance, selfishly grabbing onto tendrils of probability. She had no control over the technique once unleashed. She could only wait for the results, whatever they turned out to be.

Images, scents and thoughts began to fill her mind, which struggled to organize them in a logical manner. Divination was always a difficult art for youkai, especially if you're actually good at it.

She would have loved to claim this was the result of hard work and dedication, but it was not. This was a bizarre, troublesome power she was born with.

The fox-girl only opened her eyes again when the infusion of mental inputs ceased. In the world outside her mind, nothing had changed. That was good.

Her lavender clothes fluttered when she turned to step back inside the comfort of the cavern complex. While the color was not the most normal, the girl's flowing clothes were definitely the most suitable for the environment she lived in.

At the end of the stairway that took her within the rock, a tall and incredibly beautiful woman waited for her. It was an unexpected, but not unwelcome, surprise.

"…Mother," the girl greeted her parent with a tiny smile.

Blonde, tall and voluptuous, such an alluring and imposing form clad in a clear white kimono could only belong to **Shionzaki Utahime**. Called "Goddess of Song" and "Singer of Creation", this Eight-Tailed Kitsune is the leader, the Songmistress, of the Great Sound Clan of Shionzaki.

"I hope I did not bother your meditation, Aika-chan," Utahime greeted her youngest child, who shook her head immediately.

"Not at all. I was done singing."

The Songmistress' pupils grew for a moment. While most Shionzaki reveled in singing and listening to other's songs, Aika had always been rather secretive in that regard. It was odd behavior, but not particularly reproachable.

"I believe we'll have good weather in two or three hours," Aika declared with an honest smile as her steps drew her closer to her mother. "Maybe we can even move the lectures outside."

"That would be wonderful."

Utahime was a Sound Kitsune. The mightiest of them. To her, listening beyond the mere words and decomposing individual inflexions, frequencies and tone variations was second nature.

To lie to the Songmistress was a task only the most confident or the most foolish would dare to undertake.

Aika was not lying, but there was definitely something she was not saying. This was something Utahime constantly felt when conversing with her youngest, but the feeling was particularly strong this time.

It somehow hurt, to know her own daughter could not trust her with her sorrows.

"Is there a problem, Aika-chan?"

The two-tails stopped just before stepping past her mother.

"…Konohagakure no sato."

"Hmm?" Utahime gave no other cue. None were needed.

"…our songs will be needed…in Konoha."

Aika walked past her mother and deeper into the rock. But her mother's next words would make her stop one last time.

"Is that a 'hunch', Aika-chan?"

Aika would have giggled, but that would have broken the magic and mystique of the moment. It was a game which had become part of their daily lives; a secret game between mother and daughter. Aika would be forever grateful to her mother for playing along.

"…yes, mother. It's just a 'hunch'."

Standing back to back as they were, they could see the smile on the other's face.

"…thank you, Aika-chan."

"No, thank you, Mother. Have a nice day."

"A nice day to you too, dear."

Utahime loved and felt pride for all her sons and daughters, and Aika was no exception. She would protect her with everything she had an more; her gentle, tender Chanter of Elegies.

Utahime truly loved Aika-chan, her lovely little Time Kitsune.

* * *

It was the morning of the last day before the finals.

Konoha was a military settlement first and foremost. Its economy could allow itself a slow start in the mornings. The city itself was like a slumbering behemoth, dull and slow to rise.

There were exceptions, of course. The population of shinobi was (supposedly) ready for action no matter the time. Most experienced ninja preferred to start their workday early and get a chance at choosing their mission. The hospital was of course open 24/7. So was the Interrogation and Torture Department, but people preferred not to think about that.

In the quiet suburbs, most allowed themselves an extra thirty minutes or a full hour of sleep after sunrise. This used to be the case for Uzumaki Naruto until very recently.

During this last month, Naruto has acquired a healthy habit of waking up early, especially on the last week. This can be attributed to a particularly harsh mistress who does not forgive lateness.

In the last moments of complete serenity before the beginning of conscious activity, we find a couple of boy and foxgirl.

"Mmm…mmrmrgrble…Fwalcon…punch…"

It was a battle of bed-hoggers Naruto always lost. Yuria was small, which somehow apparently excused her to spread her frame on the bed as much as humanly (well, Kitsune-ly) possible. Naruto's consolation prize was his claim of the sheets, but this was a pyrrhic victory, as Yuria would respond by releasing her tails, claiming even more space.

In the end, with most of Yuria's body sprawled on top of him, you could even say Naruto did not need the sheets on the first place.

It was uncomfortable, yes, but Naruto would not complain about a cold sleep ever again. Besides, it's hard to complain when you wake up every day with a faceful of eighty-something centimeters of bust.

That morning, like most mornings, Naruto's return from the realm of the asleep was slow and blurry.

It was nice, however, to be welcomed into the new day by such a beautiful (if a little wicked) smiling face.

"Huh…mo'ning, 'riyo…"

…wait.

"Morning, stud."

Uzumaki Naruto woke up that morning with a tongue shoved down his throat.

* * *

Anybody who looked at the little Higashiyama Sayuri would have found it hard to believe that she was fighting. They would have found it hard to believe she was doing anything but sitting on the ground, staring at something very interesting in the empty air in front of her. Nine fluffy blond tails sedately swayed from side to side.

There was no way in hell she could be fighting. Not even a friendly spar.

Three copies of her adult counterpart suddenly emerged in identical bursts of flame, having flickered into melee range from a considerable distance away.

The three clones were destroyed instantly by flames that were not theirs.

Sayuri blinked and continued her observations of empty air.

"Mugyuu…" She muttered absentmindedly.

Some distance away, the older Sayuri watched the sealed young Kitsune. She had replaced the usual look of Sayuri's prison with the alpine scenery they favored.

She was glad it would be her last day in there, though. Her younger self's attempts at yodeling had become maddening, especially when entire chunks of mountain began to explode for no apparent reason.

The older Sayuri could not spar with the youngest in the normal manner, as she too would be trapped by the seal the moment she walked into the cage space. The solution was to send Shadow Clones.

"So _**Shunshin**_ doesn't work anymore," she mused. Because her Shunshin was a Fire Shunshin, her younger self apparently could somehow feel it. It would not work any longer as a surprise tactic.

Behind her, three more clones stepped forward for the next attempt.

"We'll have to go with normal Shunshin then." The mature nine-tails chided before the clones could complain. "I know, I know, it doesn't have fire. That sucks. Just bear with it."

Rolling their eyes with boredom, the three shadow clones flickered away in the standard burst of white smoke. Less than a second later, they met their end in a burst of flames.

Adult Sayuri smiled approvingly. "So it's not just fire awareness. She's got fast reactions…or she's just trigger-happy."

Maybe they meant the same thing.

"Ah!" The little Sayuri suddenly exclaimed, standing up excitedly. "Sayuri's got it!"

Her adult counterpart took a defensive stance. She was thinking of a plan this whole time!

With a speed that would have left Naruto feeling awfully insecure, Sayuri released her chakra, repressed it into bubbles gathered it into nine larger spheres, compressed the spheres and wrapped her tails around them.

"_**Mugyuu Sign! Many Pwetty Beams One after the Other!**_"

"She was thinking of a name!" Sayuri cried in frustration. "And it sucks!"

One of the first things the little Sayuri learned under her future self's wing was that she did not need to eat her compressed chakra cores before firing them, as long as she improved her chakra control a little bit. Now the teacher was beginning to regret imparting that particular lesson. Sayuri had apparently learned that sometimes it was better to sacrifice awesome destructive power for the blessings of rapid fire.

"Waaaai! Pew-pew-pew! Fire, fire! Waaaaai!"

Wiggle, wiggle.

"Somehow I'm wondering if teaching her how to actually fight was a wise choice after all…"

* * *

"Puagh!" Yuriyo was exaggeratedly noisy when separating her face from Naruto's. "Thanks for the meal."

A twitching, panting and very aroused Naruto (Holy cow can that foxgirl kiss) needed a few moments to catch his breath and gather the broken pieces of his intellect before responding to that.

"Wha-hmph!"

Yuriyo ceased any and all attempts at speech with a second kiss.

Now, Naruto might not be the most perceptive of people. He might not be the best at reading people, but after enough exposure to an individual, even he could get an idea of what makes that other person tick. While Kitsune were outright weird in many, many ways, in other ways they were much more straightforward than humans. The boundaries of their personalities were much more "strictly defined", we could say.

Where I am going here is that, by this point in the story, our protagonist already has an instinctive idea of the most appropriate reaction to specific Kitsune-related events.

For this particular event (namely, being kissed) with this particular actress (Yuriyo), the solution was painfully obvious. It did not make it any less embarrassing, though.

Roughly grabbing the hairs on the back of her head (Is that a bonnet she's wearing?), Naruto pressed her face against his and kissed back.

If he didn't, she would not forgive him. Of that he was sure.

The two-tails moaned her approval even as her tongue marked its territory within Naruto's mouth cavity. While Setsuna in her passion was aggressive and reckless and Yurimi was aggressive and thorough, Yuriyo was aggressive and skillful. She did not go around with her tongue licking at random or trying to reach anywhere and everywhere. It was as if she had a mental map of Naruto's mouth and a set of instructions on which part of her tongue should tease each part of his mouth for maximum pleasure.

As insane as it may sound, that's how Naruto felt it.

Even as Naruto also moved his tongue and tried to claim control of the moment, Yuriyo's gracefully danced alongside and around it, not interrupting her "schedule" even as she played along with his directionless attacks. Like this, she gave Naruto a semblance of control and offered a fake image of deference.

It was truly the kiss of someone who has studied kissing as an art form.

Her tongue still peeked out of her mouth as they separated, allowing the two to glimpse at the shiny trail of drool still connecting them. With the swiftness of a swords master, Yuriyo cut the string with the tip of her tongue, saluting the boy with a saucy wink after the deed was done.

"Good boy," she teased. "If anything, you've got the spirit." A pause to think. "Now, on a scale from 0 to 100, zero being an undead tentacle monster and a hundred being yours truly, I'll give you a…fifty-eight…no, fifty-three." She nodded as if satisfied with her assessment. "I'm demanding, so you've got a ways to go."

"Uhh…"

Yuriyo smirked at the sight of the gobble-smacked Naruto. "Yeah, I do that to people."

Her eyes shifted to the third figure on the bed. Yuria's sleeping face rested mere inches away from Naruto.

"This is kinda kinky, making out right in front of your mate. And by the way, you were about to shout; that's why I kissed you again."

"Uhh…uhh…huh." Naruto apparently came back to his senses. "Thank you. I think."

"You're welcome."

Yuriyo allowed her body to fall on Naruto's, being careful not to come into contact with the sleeping three-tails. Shifting her body weight to her right side, her head fell to the left of Naruto's.

The boy shuddered when a sneaky tongue traced the outer rim of his left ear. Yuriyo giggled.

"This is so amusing. Kitsune don't give these kinds of reactions. It's cute."

"So you've kissed lots of Kitsune."

"Five is not a lot. You're my first human, though. Be proud."

"Yippee."

Yuriyo did not respond to the boy's obvious sarcasm.

"Let me stay like this for a while. It's comfortable."

The odd tone in the foxgirl's words gave Naruto no room to complain. He also lost the capacity to speak when she began to suck his earlobe.

"Uh-uhh, s-so…why are you…why did ya…?"

"Why did I pounce on you first thing in the morning?"

Yuriyo was quick to put Naruto's earlobe back in her mouth after those words.

"Uhh…yeah."

"Well…" Lick. "We've become friends, so…" Slurp. "I thought about enjoying some friendly fun with my new cool friend."

"Umm, somehow I don't think this is…"

"We're leaving soon, you know."

Naruto blinked. This conversation had taken an odd direction. "Ye-yeah, I guess."

"Well there you go. I'm making fun memories."

"Fu-fun…"

"Yep. Fun."

While the half-Void teased his left ear and coated it with her saliva, Naruto decided he had no counter-argument. How could he deny Yuriyo her (perverted) definition of fun?

"…you know what?" His hands fell on the small of her back. "Whatever. If it makes you happy…"

Raising her head to look down at him, Yuriyo grinned. "Thank you."

She kissed him a third time; this time not allowing her lips to linger for too long.

"You know, you can move your hands even lower if you want," the foxgirl teased. Faced with the perspective of grabbing Yuriyo's ass, Naruto could only shake his head wildly.

"Sorry," he squeaked. "I think I had enough fun memories for today."

Yuriyo grinned. "Ooh, smooth, my dear. But you're terribly mistaken."

Naruto found himself submerged in a sudden wave of allure. Suddenly Yuriyo looked several times sexier. Was this some sort of Enchantment?

"You see, my friend…today's fun memories are just starting…" She accentuated her words by driving the tip of her tongue across the curve of her upper lip.

So erotic, so inviting…how was a man to resist such temptation?

"Really? That sounds fun. Tell me more about it."

Oh, right. Just like that.

Human and half-Void turned their heads to the third person on the bed.

"Morning, 'riyo."

Yuriyo's smile was undeniably strained. "…morning, Yuria."

"Morning, **mate**."

Naruto discovered the kind of primal fear well known by husbands everywhere. "…morning, Yuria…umm, dear."

"Very smooth, honey," Yuriyo mused.

"Now, before I turn you into toothpaste, Yuriyo, I really need to ask," Yuria continued, moving her head to face her niece. "What's with the clothes?"

This was Naruto's cue to pay attention to the half-Void's attire. He had seen this in a magazine somewhere…

"…maid?"

With a seriously open back, if the feel of skin under his fingers did not lie.

Raising her body, Yuriyo allowed the other two to admire her sexy cosplay. Leaving shoulders, neck and a hell of a lot of leg bare, the maid dress covered the important areas with frilly elegance and enticing embroidery in black and white. And she was, indeed, wearing a bonnet.

"Oh, I think it's lovely. And check it out!"

Naruto almost squeaked like a trapped mouse when the two-tails lifted her micro-skirt.

"I'm wearing underwear today!"

Black lace. With a garter.

"You still haven't answered my question, Yuriyo."

"Oh, come on," the words were dismissed. "You already know the answer."

After a pause of two seconds or so, the proverbial light bulb flickered to life in Yuria's head. "Huh. I do."

"You do?" A puzzled Naruto inquired.

"I do. Damn." Sighing in defeat, Yuria stretched her body before making herself comfortable on Naruto's right side once more. "Now get the hell out before I destroy you."

"Sure thing."

Naruto was still very confused. Was it over like that? Yuriyo was not a stain on the wall yet?

"Don't be late for breakfast, you two."

Three seconds later, it was only the couple in the room once more.

"…what the hell just happened?"

"An example of my magnanimity and capacity for forgiveness."

"Ha-haa…" Naruto gave up with that. Yuria was not angry, so it was okay.

"So…" Yuria sounded hesitant. "…are her kisses as great as she claims they are?"

"Ugh." Talk about a dangerous question. "Uhh…I…I'm sure you're really good at kissing too, Yuria."

"…damn, you're not really good at this, are ya?"

"…sorry."

Yuria said nothing more, and Naruto found himself immersed in an uncomfortable silence.

"Uhh…Yuria? I…kinda have to—"

"Five minutes." With eyes closed and her body pressed against his, Yuria made her statement. "…just five more minutes."

"…okay."

"Thank you."

However, while Yuria would get to enjoy five minutes of peace and relaxation, Naruto would not be so blessed.

**Onii-chan! Wakey-wakey?**

Naruto blinked. _Now there's a voice I haven't heard in a while._

**Ah! It's onii-chan! Waaaaai! Oniiiii-chan!**

_Good morning, Sayuri._

**Onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chaaaaaaaaaaaaa-AN!**

…_good morning, Sayuri._

The second time did not sound as kind.

**Nee, nee, onii-chan!**

…_what?_

**Sayuri's angwy!**

Naruto raised an eyebrow. _You don't sound angry to me._

**Bu-but! Sayuri's angwy! Becoz' Sayuri didn't get any scweentime in the pwevious chwapter!**

…_you got a point there. You didn't show up very much, did ya?_

Mayuri needed some character development.

**Mugyuu…Mayuri must burn.**

Yeah, yeah, maybe later.

**Sewiously! Somebody must burn for dis!**

_Why the hell?_

My thoughts exactly.

**Maybe the authoh!**

_Please don't. That would be a terrible end for this story._

What onii-chan said.

**Mugyuu…the-then! The weaders at TFF!**

They don't like Mayuri; I'd have expected Sayuri to love them.

_Nah, nah, the author's needs some food for his pathetic ego._

Oi.

**Mugyuu…awwight. But, Sayuri will make up for last chapter!**

Considering that the last chapter had almost 100000 words, I'd say it's a good time to hit the panic button.

Ah, check it out. She's taking air. Why she needs to breathe inside the seal is beyond any fanfiction author.

And here it comes…

**Onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-AN!**

It's the legendary "ten onii-chans in one second."

**Onii-chan, onii-chan, Sayuri will spend the whole day with onii-chan! Nee, onii-chan? Oniiiiiiiii-chan!**

And in this day, Higashiyama Sayuri will strive for a new record: number of times the word "onii-chan" appears in any form of written media.

"Yuria."

"Hmm?"

"If I kill myself before this chapter's over, don't be surprised."

Yuria opened a single eye to glance at Naruto's pained expression.

"…I'll cry on your grave, dear."

"…thank you, you're a real friend."

"Mate."

"Whatever."

**Onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan—**

* * *

—**onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-GAH!**

Yeah, the scene break was pretty much pointless.

When a rather twitchy-looking Naruto opened his bedroom's door, he came face to face (well, sorta) with Higashiyama Mayuri. She was holding a drawing notebook.

"_It ends. Do not worry."_

**Pwe-emptwive stwike!**

It didn't work.

**Mugii!**

Yuria spontaneously combusted.

"The hell!?"

Even Kyuubi no Kitsune need to release some stress from time to time.

Naruto's tired eyes stared at Mayuri's written words. In the end, he just let his left hand fall on the crown of the Time Kitsune's head to stroke it a bit.

"That…really doesn't make me feel any better. Thanks for the gesture, though."

Mayuri shuddered. She really wished she could enjoy his touch –anybody's touch–, but, really…

She was thankful for his gratitude, though.

"It did stop…" Naruto smiled at the small two-tails. "You're pretty good."

Mayuri shook her head. She had not done anything, after all.

**Ah! Meeeeeh! Sayuri doesn't care! Sayuri will just stay with onii-chan! Wight, onii-chan? Onii-chaaaaaaan! Onii-chan!**

"Somebody kill me."

"Can't help you," a still combusting Yuria muttered.

In the dining room, the couple was met by two slutty maids…and Yurina.

"Ah, onii-sama! G-Good morning!"

Naruto, however, was busy staring at the second foxgirl in the skimpy maid costume. He had gotten so used to the girls hiding their tails and looking completely human that he was suddenly hopelessly drawn towards the alluring sway of two bushy silver tails.

Very calmly, as if performing a carefully rehearsed act, the foxgirl finished setting the chopsticks on each place before turning to greet the man of the house.

"…good morning, Master. I hope you enjoyed a pleasant sleep."

**Waaaaaai! It's Yurimi-chan! Onii-chan, it's Yurimi-chan! Ha-llo! Yurimi-chan!**

"It's like she came back louder than ever…" Naruto moaned to himself, regaining his composure quickly enough to respond to Yurimi's greeting.

"Ah, umm…hello."

The quality of the response was a whole other can of worms, though.

"I hope Master finds my choice of wardrobe today pleasing to his eyes."

"I picked it!" Yuriyo exclaimed excitedly.

"Where did you even find it?" Yuria wondered, and the half-Void grinned.

"Kotonoha found some really interesting shops in this place! I take back anything bad I might or might not have said about Konoha behind Naruto's back! This place is awesome!"

"You were spouting crap about my village behind my back!"

"Did you even pay attention? I said 'might or might not'! Sheesh!"

Of course, Naruto was not as stupid as to believe her.

"Ah, whatever. I don't want to know about whatever perverted shops you've been to. I'm kind of in a hurry right now, so let's just eat."

**Waaaaai! Food! Food is aweshum, onii-chan! Nee, nee, onii-chan? Is it wamen? Onii-chan? Onii-chan, I want wamen! Oniii-iiii-iii-chan!**

"Food. Quick. Or poison. Either is fine."

"My, my, Naruto-sama." Kotonoha stepped out of the kitchen, bringing the rice to the table. "It seems you are not in the best of moods this morning."

"It's nothing," the boy grumbled, ready to carry this cross with quiet acceptance.

Of course, Sayuri was quick to voice her opinion of that morning's breakfast.

**Waaaah! So good! Onii-chan, it's good! Nee, nee, onii-chan, onii-chan also thinks it's good, ne? Weally weally tasty, onii-chan! Hehe…Sayuri's ea-ting taaaaasty food with onii-chan!**

"Good to know at least someone's enjoying the meal…" Naruto muttered between bites.

**My-my deepest apologies, onii-chan, but I…I really can't keep her…me…umm, quiet.**

Naruto held back a sigh. _You know, you're nice and all, but suddenly having TWO voices in my head is not really making things better._

**Gah! Mugyuu…**

**Wahaha! Mugyuu!**

_Gosh, this is hard, _Naruto admitted. _So, how's the training going?_

**Twaining! Sayuri's stwong! Sayuri can burn ANYTHING, onii-chan! ANYTHING!**

Mayuri made a strange gesture with her left hand, protecting herself from massive comedy fire.

**Mugii!**

Kotonoha spontaneously combusted.

"…ara."

"Ugh…" Naruto sweatdropped as the rest of the people in the apartment wordlessly stared at the incinerated four-tails. "Sayuri, please stop that."

**Maa…her attitude aside, she has really improved, onii-chan. It's really amazing how well she…I…how well she takes to Katon jutsu. I have never really paid much attention, but now that I see it from a third-person perspective…it's really amazing, isn't it?**

_Maybe a little too amazing if you ask me… _Naruto commented. In front of him, Kotonoha was having some trouble dispelling the flames.

"But now that I notice…" Naruto turned to the young half-Time Kitsune. "Mayuri-chan, where's your mother?"

Of course, Mayuri's only response was an impassive glance at the blond before resuming her meal.

"Yurisa-sama left Mayuri under our care for now," Kotonoha, who was STILL on fire, answered. "It seems Yurisa-sama and Yurine-sama have matters to attend to this morning."

"Huh," Naruto mumbled. What 'matters' someone like Yurine could possibly have to attend to was beyond him.

"So!" Yuriyo, as exuberant as ever, claimed everyone's attention with her loud voice. "Tomorrow's the big day, boy! Ready to kick ass?"

Naruto chuckled. "Um! It's gonna be awesome! I even have a plan and stuff! I never had one of those."

"Hmm!" Yuria nodded eagerly. "As your mate, I expect nothing but the utmost kickassery."

"You betcha!"

Kotonoha watched the couple exchange smiles with a content heart. She knew it was impossible for Naruto not to feel nervous and uncertain about the incoming fight. It was not only the event that would decide his promotion, but he was to fight the so-called prodigy of the Hyuuga. Still, he put aside those feelings and projected an aura of enthusiasm, for his own sake and the sake of those who believe in him.

He was truly a fascinating human.

"So…I have to meet Setsuna-sensei," Naruto announced. "It's the last day, so she'll probably be especially harsh."

He looked down to hide his blush. _But who knows what she'll do after…yesterday…_

"Ufufu…" Kotonoha giggled. "That certainly sounds like Setsuna."

Naruto sweatdropped. "Uhh…Kotonoha…doesn't it hurt?" He asked, referring to the flames that covered her body.

"A little, yes." The four-tails honestly answered before taking a mouthful of rice.

"Really…" Naruto decided not to bother anymore with that topic. "So, what are your plans for today, everyone?"

The utterly diabolic smirk Yuriyo responded with instantly made him regret that question.

* * *

It was early in the morning. Konoha finally awakened, and it woke up with a start.

It was a big day, after all, and there were many things to be done.

And so, as the people of Konohagakure made to the streets and workplaces, Higashiyama Yuriko and her twin sister and lover, Higashiyama Yurika, roamed the streets of the large shinobi village with no obvious destination in mind. Their mother was still not very happy with their little stunt about a week before (then again, she was rarely happy with anything they did), but at least now they were allowed to leave the camping grounds again.

Of course, they knew they had an escort of kudagitsune ready to report to their mother. It did not really make much of a difference.

"But, really…" Yuriko muttered, watching the awakening village with strange eyes. "This is not like my idea of a ninja village at all."

"I know what you mean," Her sister agreed while nodding. "Where's the gloomy, secretive feeling? This is…it's just like any other town; it just so happens it has ninjas."

"I feel so disappointed."

"Haa…"

The twins sighed as one.

"My, so gloomy so early in the morning. You girls need to cheer up!"

A third form squeezed her body in between the twins, grabbing their shoulders to push them together.

"Ah, it's you," Yuriko muttered.

"How's that for a greeting…" Mitarashi Anko sweatdropped. "Haven't seen you girls around."

Yuriko, walking on Anko's right side, shrugged and dismissed the comment. "So? How can we help you?"

"You girls still have to give me the dango you stole."

"Can't help you there. No money."

"Tch. You girls are no fun."

"You have a point there; I'm bored as fuck." Yurika finally opened her mouth.

The twins exchanged glances when they noticed the way Anko's eyes shifted from one to the other.

"What is it?" Yuriko eventually asked.

"…how am I supposed to tell you who's who? You girls are completely identical, even your clothes!"

Yuriko rolled her eyes. "Have you bothered to consider the possibility of that precisely being the point?"

Anko blinked. "Oh…ooooh…sneaky."

Yuriko sweatdropped. "What kind of ninjas are you people…?"

Yurika added her opinion. "My image of ninjas has been destroyed forever."

Anko laughed heartily at this. "Ahahaha, yeah, we're weird ninjas."

"You're not supposed to admit it so merrily!"

Anko laughed some more.

It was expected that such an odd trio would attract more than a few looks. The twins wore identical sleeveless buttoned navy blue shirts and black tight miniskirts with white sandals. They had also tied their black hair in identical ponytails. As they only used a single button of the shirts to barely cover their chests, Anko for once was not the female revealing the most skin in a scene.

"So…" Yuriko continued. "…is this you ninjas' idea of keeping vigilance on us two?"

"Well…" Anko grinned shamelessly. "…if we try to be stealthy and sneaky and stuff your mother might not like it, so we have to do it like this, acting like the amiable hosts we are!"

The twins actually smiled at this. Anko gained points for honesty.

"Yeah, not pissing Mother off is very important," Yurika agreed. "So that means the others are also getting acquainted with some friendly Konoha ninjas right now?"

"Nah, they're either out of the village or hanging out with the Kyuubi boy."

The identical sisters' eyes widened in recognition.

"Ah, right, right, the boy, Naruto," Yuriko mouthed out. "Yeah, I guess it makes sense. Yurimi has that weird crush of hers, and there's also Yuria-nee-chan now…and it's the first male Yurina has talked to, so she'll at least be a little curious. Yuriyo would just tag along for the hell of it, and Yurine-nee-san will follow her daughters. Who knows what's in Mayuri's head, though."

"So you're saying they're actually interested in the brat rather than in the nine-tails?" Anko inquired.

"Ah, well, it would be really cool if we could get Sayuri-imouto-sama out of the seal and everything, but that won't be happening any time soon, so right now we're just relaxing and sticking around for tomorrow's fight show and I was supposed to keep Sayuri-sama a secret, was I?"

"Hmm…" Yurika tilted her head. "I'm not really sure, but probably, yes."

Within a spirit pagoda somewhere in Konoha's outskirts, Higashiyama Yuri suddenly felt a very strong urge to facepalm.

* * *

Uchiha Madara, aka Tobi, was in very good mood that morning. And it was, of course, because of his delightfully loli grandmother.

The previous day, she had returned to their temporary hideout with the widest of grins on her face. She was positively glowing! She was even humming a song as she washed her body and enjoyed the meal he had cooked for her!

Since there could only be one reason behind Setsuna's curious behavior, Tobi did not hesitate to inquire just what Uzumaki Naruto had done to make her so blissful. That's when he found out that Setsuna had not even noticed she had been in such a great mood for hours in his presence.

After blasting him with a bazillion volts of lightning, Setsuna banged her head on the wall. Repeatedly.

She had a bad mood for the rest of that day, and it persisted to the morning of the next. However, when she left to her last day of training the Uzumaki boy, she looked almost…nervous.

For that reason, Tobi followed her that morning. No matter what happened, he had the certainly that it would at least be amusing.

It was not surprising that Setsuna did not notice she was being followed. Not only was she distracted by her thoughts, Tobi happened to be a very skilled shinobi. If there were a rank beyond S-rank, he would definitely belong to it, together with luminaries such as Senju Hashirama and Namikaze Minato.

Tobi could be awfully stealthy if he wanted to.

Hidden within the foliage, he watched his ancestor roam talk to herself.

"Ugh…ca-calm down, Kiyoura Setsuna!" She hissed. "You have to control yourself. You can't get angry now…you can't get angry…if you get angry, you'll attack the brat. If you attack the brat, he will fight back, and then…and then…"

The small half-Kitsune moaned when her face took an awful shade of red, having been reminded of the previous day's legendary make-out session. She could not let that happen again!

"Go-God…I can't be so pathetic! I'm…I'm Kiyoura Setsuna! I…I…just because I haven't had…haven't had a man…for so long…uuuuu-agh!"

Tobi's single visible eye was a reflection of his pity. "Please be strong, grandma."

"To-Today's the last day, so…" Setsuna still mumbled. "We…we can take it easy, yes. Kitsune Fire…yes, we can try that. It's simple to explain, it will keep him busy, and there will be no physical contact involved. Yes, Kitsune Fire is good. And then I can forget about that idiotic brat—"

"Setsuna-sensei!"

"KYAAAAAAH!"

Naruto had to duck to get out of the way of a lightning spear. Tobi chuckled within his hiding place.

"You're so cute, grandma."

"BO-BOYA!" A steaming red four-tails squeaked. "Do-don't surprise me like-gah!"

She was on fire.

**Sayuri will pwotect onii-chan! Mugii!**

A certain half-Void Kitsune towered over Naruto's fallen form, offering him a hand. "Those were some awesome reflexes just now, honeybuns. But, if that's the way she welcomes you every day, it makes complete sense-ah!"

Naruto stiffened when a subtle 'snap!' sound declared the unexpected loosening of Yuriyo's lace underwear.

"Oh my." That was Yuriyo, actually.

Naruto's eyes followed the panties' trip down Yuriyo's legs until they hit the ground. Then, they hesitatingly made the trip back up to gaze at the not-so-hidden treasure beneath the skimpy maid skirt.

"Iyaaan, ecchi…" Yuriyo muttered.

"DON'T SAY IT IN MONOTONE!" Naruto's reaction.

It made little sense, but Naruto still covered his eyes while Yuriyo reached for the loose garment and put it back on.

"Somehow, I should have known this would happen," Yuriyo mumbled rather darkly.

Some steps behind, Mayuri rolled her eyes.

"Wha…wha…what is this—I don't even—"

Setsuna's words got caught in her throat. Naruto could only offer an apologetic face.

"Uh…yeah. So-sorry."

Naruto had an escort that morning. A sizeable escort of Higashiyama lilies, plus Kotonoha. Yuria shone with her absence, having left the apartment to train on her own.

She had departed with a huge smirk on her small face.

"_I think I got it, buddy!"_

"_What?"_

"_Reinforcement! A new form of Reinforcement!"_

"_Really? How come?"_

"_It's the spiral, Naruto! The spiral!"_

"Hello there, sensei," Yuriyo greeted the other half-Void with a wink. "We're hanging out with Naruto today, so bear with us for a while, ne?"

Yurina, Yurimi and Yurisa bowed respectfully. Yurine followed suit when she saw her half-Celestial daughter and her sisters.

"We're really sorry for the trouble," Mayuri's mother admitted.

Naruto had a guilty look as he scratched the back of his head. "Uhh…they're leaving in a day or two, so they said they wanted to spend more time with me and stuff…you…you're not angry, are you—"

"_**Izanami**_."

Naruto sighed when he found himself in the all too familiar spire-laden landscape.

"Not again," he whined.

* * *

The small village of Higashi rests on the gentle slopes of the mountain with the same name. It is a small, lovely village of fishermen, lumberjacks and farmers, about half a day from the main road that connects Fire, Lightning and Snow Country.

Higashi Village's secret is that its population consists entirely of Kitsune, half-Kitsune and humans with Kitsune blood in their ancestry. It was founded by the male members of the Higashiyama Clan, after all.

As stated before, males are not allowed within Higashiyama Shrine, save for special reasons such as inter-clan meetings and arranged mating sessions. Male foxes born from a Higashiyama female are kept in the shrine for a year or two before being released into the wild. If they make it to their hundredth year and their second tail, they get to choose between making a path of their own in the big wide world out there, or joining their fellows in the peaceful settlement their predecessors built centuries before.

Of course, in its early days, Higashi Village had a seriously problem with its male/female ratio. That is not an issue anymore. Families of half-Kitsune and humans with fox blood, attracted by the idea of a small town where humans and Kitsune cohabited peacefully, eventually made it to the mountain. Higashiyama males traveled the world and brought women to the village, using methods both commendable and deplorable. There was some carefully planned inbreeding involved at one point.

The result is that Higashi Village is no longer a village of Higashiyama. It's a village of humans and foxes, ruled by humans and foxes working together in harmony. While the Matriarch of Higashiyama holds no authority over the village, she is still respected as their protector, as per an agreement made by the village council with a young Higashiyama Yuri, a few years after she became the Matriarch.

In the garden of this village's only teahouse, a powerful six-tailed Kitsune is placidly enjoying the morning sun.

"Byakuren-sama, your tea."

Two dark brown eyes sparkled in delight. Straight black hair as long as she was tall swayed when the Kitsune turned to face the servant.

"Thank you very much, Hinagiku-chan. It is truly a lovely place, this garden. Your aunt has done a marvelous job taking care of it."

"Your words honor me. I am sure obaa-san will be just as pleased."

"Hmm…"

Turning her back to the cherry-haired attendant, Kinoshita Byakuren took a sip of the warm cherry tea she favored the most.

"Hmm…wonderful."

"Thank you very much, Byakuren-sama."

"Hmm-hmm, yes."

"Byaku-rin-rin!"

The six-tails laughed perkily at the odd call. Her voice changed dramatically when she turned again to face the newcomer.

"Chiyu-rin-rin!"

"Kyaah!"

"Kyaah!"

Katsura Hinagiku sweatdropped. Really, it was like watching two shallow teenage human girls.

Higashiyama Chiyuri did not waste time and trapped Byakuren in a fierce hug. The black-haired Kitsune returned the hug as best as she could with her thin, frail body. Then Chiyuri, still embracing her friend, began to spin around while pressing Byakuren's face against her voluptuous bosom. Byakuren laughed joyfully even as her legs flailed around dangerously. Once they stopped spinning, they kissed the other's cheeks once, twice, and a third time.

Such was the two's odd greeting ritual.

"It's so great to see you here, Byaku-rin-rin!"

The black-haired fox-woman in the cherry kimono giggled at that. "Thank you, Chiyu-rin-rin. I was looking forward to seeing you again. I'm glad you came to greet me."

"Um! Of course I had to come!"

"I'm glad, really," Byakuren insisted. Her hand reached for one of Chiyuri's humongous side-tails of golden hair, and the just as humongous ribbon that held it. "Your hair is so wonderful, as usual."

"Ah, no, not at all~" It was Chiyuri's turn to reach for Byakuren's black hair. "Byaku-rin-rin's hair is always so lustrous and pretty~"

The two laughed at the other's praise, before hugging for a second time, far more gently and tenderly.

These are Higashiyama Chiyuri and her best friend, the Mistress of Cherry Blossoms; the ruler of the Great Forest Clan of Kinoshita, **Kinoshita Byakuren**.

* * *

"Ugh…my ass has been thoroughly kicked." Naruto blurted out between pants. His body laid spread-eagled on the hard ground after a long session of beatings.

"Hmph," Setsuna snorted most haughtily. "No matter how much you may have progressed in the past month, you are still leagues away from matching Kiyoura Setsuna, foolish child."

"I never…aimed that high…at least…not yet…"

"Not yet? Well aren't we hopeful…"

"Guh!" Naruto grunted when the small sensei sat on his chest.

"So you do believe you actually have what it takes to reach my level, boya?"

"Is this somehow going to lead to you kissing me again?"

Cue blush. "Wha-wha-wha—don't get cocky, brat!"

"Hagwhaaagh!" This strange onomatopoeia means Naruto is taking point blank bursts of electrical current.

Crossing her arms in front of her chest, Setsuna showed no signs of intending to move off Naruto's body.

"Well, we can say your Taijutsu has improved from 'depressing' to 'passable'."

"Gee, thanks."

From the likes of Setsuna, it was a compliment.

"You also finished the Tail Technique, and we also got a new jutsu, _**Banshou Tanho**_. How about Weapon of the Soul?"

"Ah, well…" Naruto scratched the left side of his head. "I'd rather not use it against Neji, ya know…it will work out…somehow."

Setsuna frowned. There it was.

It was Naruto's turn to blush bright red when Setsuna leaned forward until their faces almost met.

"I did not train a loser, Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto skipped a beat. "…wha…?"

Setsuna's expression was dead serious. This was as important as the many days of training they had spent together. No matter how optimistic, good-natured and enthusiastic Naruto might be, he would need the motivation to face the Hyuuga genius without hesitation.

"I trained you to win. I can run laps around Hyuuga Neji, boya. You trained against that speed. You took hits at that speed. You blocked hits at that speed."

"Just like, three times or something. You hit me thousands of times," Naruto pouted.

"But you did it, Naruto!" Setsuna hissed menacingly. "You did it! You trained against a youkai with powers most shinobi can only dream of having!"

"Aren't you humble?"

"Silence!"

"Yes, ma'am."

Regardless of their intimate position, for once, there was not the slightest hint of eroticism amidst the two.

"You know how to fight Hyuuga Neji. Don't you, Naruto?"

"…yes."

"You know your fists and your legs are stronger than his. Don't you, Naruto?"

"Yes."

"You know you can match his speed. Don't you, Naruto?"

"…"

He did not know. Even after a month of training, he did not know. He never noticed when the talented Hyuuga struck Hinata's opening points. None of the Genin saw. If Neji went all out on him, would he be able to keep up?

"Don't you, Naruto!" Setsuna's fierce voice startled the boy out of his weakening thoughts.

"…I…I don't…"

"**You can**!"

His pupils widened, taken aback by the intensity of those words. His cheeks reddened, dominated by the sight of Setsuna's rare smile.

"I know this as your sensei. You can, Naruto. You can match and overcome his Jyuuken."

Pressing her forehead against his, Setsuna finished her pep talk.

"You are one of Kiyoura Setsuna's students. A student of Kiyoura Setsuna is not allowed to lose! Understood?"

They stared at each other for a long moment. Her eyes were challenging. His eyes shifted as he assimilated her words.

Eventually, Naruto recovered his bearings. And with them, his smile.

"…yes, sensei!"

The fox-woman nodded. "Good. Now, go and rest. You must be at your very best tomorrow morning."

Finally getting off the boy's body, Setsuna allowed him to stand up. It was convenient to step out of _**Izanami **_in a posture close to the one with which they entered.

"Ne, sensei."

"Hmm?"

"…will you…will you be there tomorrow?"

Setsuna chuckled. "To watch one of my students beat the stuffing out of the so-called genius of the accursed Hyuuga?"

In a strange gesture from the woman, she patted Naruto's back encouragingly.

"Wouldn't miss that for the world."

* * *

Kurosaki Sayoko was worried. Very worried.

A cold wind from the far north brought with it an ill omen of tragedies to come.

She was coming.

**Kuromiya Fubuki**.

And, if she was coming, the other one would follow suit.

For the first time in history, three nine-tailed Kitsune would meet in the same place. The stage would be the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

They were not ready. Konoha, Naruto, Sayuri, Mayuri, Yuri.

"They are not ready."

Walking over to a tree, Sayoko gently placed a hand on its trunk. The plant was promptly consumed by darkness and swallowed by Oblivion. Feeling the warmth of the sun behind her and to her right, she moved so that her shadow would be projected in front of her and where the tree once stood.

The Void is the absence of concept. It is the negation of existence. Hence, the Void can only consume and obliterate. It is the perfect weapon of annihilation. To use the Void to achieve anything but complete obliteration is the staple of extreme weakness (like the Nara clan's shadow-based techniques) or absolute mastery.

Kurosaki Sayoko was born a child of the Void. It is a power that she never wanted, and a power that does not fit her. Why was the ultimate destructive power given to someone like her?

How many lives had she taken with this power? How many souls had she pushed into the primordial emptiness of the Void to be annihilated? Even one was one too many. Even the young girl she had dearly loved and once called her daughter…

Sayoko sighed. It was pointless to dwell in such ancient memories.

Tentacles of dark matter surged out of her shadow, twisting, merging and coalescing into a replica of the tree Sayoko had just eradicated from existence.

Preparations had to be made.

If…no, when those two arrived to Konoha, she would have to face them.

She did not like fighting. She was lazy by nature. But she would fight if she had to.

For the sake of Higashiyama Yuri, whom she loved more than anything else in this world.

Satisfied with her craft, Sayoko resumed her walk. She wanted to finish before sundown.

* * *

Later that morning, Naruto found himself back in his apartment with apparently nothing to do.

Setsuna had dismissed him right after they stepped out of _**Izanami**_, claiming that she was done training him and ordering him to rest until the Finals. Yuriyo was disappointed she didn't get to see any training, but Naruto eased her by reminding her that the fight tomorrow would be more interesting like this. She was actually getting rather hyped up about the tournament.

Yurina had taken her mother, saying she wanted to look for some things in the market. Yurine also claimed she was going to do something "very special", whatever that meant. Mayuri had wandered off at some point, and Yurisa was now busy looking for her. Kotonoha was preparing food so they could eat outdoors later. Yurimi was cleaning around the apartment and Yuriyo was loafing around and being generally annoying.

With nothing to do, Naruto showed a surprising memory and decided to finally do something he had promised Sayuri a very long time ago.

And this is how Sayuri was introduced to Shounen Manga. Which reminded Naruto that he really had to give the magazines back to Kiba at some point.

**Waaaah! Go, stwaw hat!**

While Sayuri enjoyed the early adventures of a certain straw hat pirate, Naruto thought about his incoming fight. More specifically, he thought about his Tail Technique. So far, he knew he could make it grow larger, like Yuria's Extension technique. He could also grab things with the chakra tails by increasing the density of chakra he released. Finally, he could use them to create Kitsune Fire…two out of every five attempts.

Kitsune Fire was interesting in the sense that a Kitsune did not need a Fire affinity to be able to use it. It probably had to do with the fact that it generally sucked as fire.

Kitsune Fire was real fire's wimpy cousin: it took ages to burn anything with it. As Setsuna put it, it was better used as a distraction or a means to frighten the ignorant, not as an offensive weapon.

Fortunately, Kitsune Fire could be strengthened to a level comparable to normal fire, with a method Naruto particularly favored: shoving lots and lots of chakra.

While normally adding more chakra would simply create more fire, Setsuna had shown him it could instead be channeled into making Kitsune Fire hotter and more reactive.

The question remained, however, of how to use it effectively in combat. Shooting Kitsune fireballs was no different from throwing kunai, and Naruto knew well just how effective that normally was.

He decided to put it aside for the moment and turn his attention to the little nine tails. It was the best choice if he did not want her to go back into hyper-annoying mode.

"So? What do you think?"

**Aweshum! **Sayuri exclaimed happily. **Manga is aweshum! Stwaw Hat is aweshum! But it needs moar fire! And EXPWOSIONS!**

"Huh…I think it has plenty of those…"

**ONII-CHAN!**

Naruto stiffened at the intensity of Sayuri's voice. Did she actually sound angry just now?

**Mugyuu…onii-chan! You neveh have enough fire and expwosions! NEVEH!**

Sayuri has a poster of Michael Bay in her bedroom at the Higashiyama Shrine.

"Huh…I see."

**Um! **Inside her cage, the little Sayuri nodded in approval. **But, but! It's aweshum! Stwaw Hat is stwetchy-stwetchy! Sayuri can only stwetch her tails! But Sayuri's tails can only go slappity-slap!**

It took Naruto a moment to figure out what Sayuri meant. With the Extension technique, Kitsune can make their tails grow in length. With standard Reinforcement, they can harden their tails somewhat to use them as a bludgeoning weapon. However, a Kitsune's tails are better compared to a whip or a lasso than to a mace or a hammer…unless you're Yuria, that is.

But those are Kitsune's fluffy and pretty tails. Naruto's tails are made of chakra.

"Then…maybe…maybe, that would actually work! Yes!"

Naruto's eyes gleamed with excitement and expectation.

"And once again, manga proves the answer to life's big questions," Naruto declared admiringly. "Thank you, Straw Hat. I promise to one day become as awesome as you."

Big words from such a little man.

**Waaaaai! Onii-chan!**

Wiggle, wiggle.

* * *

"And poor Kozue-chan was itching for three days straight. She couldn't wear clothes; the fabric rubbing her skin was killing her!"

Chiyuri laughed boisterously, greatly eclipsing Byakuren's demure giggle, more suitable for a Clan Leader. The greatest of the Forest Kitsune raised her cup of tea to her lips and retrieved the last few drops. Like the perfect and elegant servant she was, Hinagiku promptly appeared to refill her mistress' cup. Byakuren offered a smile to her follower and student.

"Hinagiku-chan, I'm sure you could help your aunt with some of her chores, don't you think?"

It was not a very subtle hint. Chiyuri paid no heed and enjoyed the taste of her cherry tea.

The pink-haired servant bowed courteously. "Indeed, Byakuren-sama. Please do not hesitate to summon me should my presence be required."

"Of course."

Byakuren's eyes followed Hinagiku's back as she departed and even after the younger foxgirl disappeared behind a corner. Half a minute or so later, the clan leader's eyes turned to the garden in front of her.

"It is truly a beautiful village."

"Hmm," Chiyuri uttered.

"I cannot wait to meet Yuri-sama. I would like to commend her for supporting such a wonderful place."

There it was.

Holding back a sigh, Chiyuri put her cup aside.

"…to what do we owe the honor of your visit, Byaku-rin-rin?"

"Maa, maa, such a quiet tone does not suit you." A sip of tea. Two seconds, then swallow. "I love the energetic and cheerful Chiyu-rin-rin the most."

"And I love the honest and outspoken Byaku-rin-rin the most."

The breeze carried the tension in the garden and made it circulate, suffusing their surroundings with a strange air.

Byakuren, too, put her cup of tea aside.

"Chiyuri, I love you dearly, and I am truly overjoyed to have you meet me this morning. However, isn't it about time for your grandmother to receive me?"

Chiyuri's face showed no change in expression, even if Byakuren's words were sharp as blades.

"As the Leader of the Great Forest Clan of Kinoshita, ally of Higashiyama for generations, I find such a delay rather…discourteous of your part."

Chiyuri could not hide a grimace this time. "My…my apologies, Byaku-rin—"

"Byakuren-sama."

The buxom Higashiyama winced. "…Byakuren-sama. Yuri-sama…Yuri-sama happens to be away."

"…is that so." Byakuren grabbed her cup again. "Will she be back today?"

"They are expected to return either tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."

Byakuren stiffened a chuckle as she took a sip of her warm drink. "…'they'?"

Chiyuri winced again. "…yes. She took most of the clan with her. Only Mother and I remain in the shrine at the moment."

Yurie is a non-entity.

"Hmm…have you informed Yuri-sama of my presence?"

"I…" The four-tails hesitated. "…I am sure Mother has already sent a kudagitsune."

Himeyuri had, indeed, but there was no way Chiyuri could know this.

There was a short silent, in which Byakuren devoted herself to enjoying her tea. A rather uneasy Chiyuri fidgeted with her humongous twintails.

Finally, the Forest Leader sighed and shook her head.

"Haa…Chiyu-rin-rin. My lovely, adorable, gentle Chiyu-rin-rin…you are not good at this at all, are you?"

Chiyuri sighed dejectedly. "My utmost apologies."

Byakuren's demure smile had never disappeared. Neither of two had ever turned her head to look at the other's profile.

"It is not me to whom you should apologize, my dear friend."

"I cannot blame you for revealing Yuri-sama's absence. Considering the circumstances, it was your only option. However, you also revealed that most of the clan is absent with her."

"Ugh…"

"More importantly, you reveal than your mother, a six-tails, and you, are four-tails, are the only people left to defend the shrine."

"Ugh…"

"Even more importantly," Byakuren paused. "You just revealed that Higashiyama Sayuri is not in the shrine."

Chiyuri's heart skipped a beat, and not in a good way. Higashiyama Sayuri is supposed to have spent the last thirteen years in the Higashiyama Shrine. This is the truth accepted in the world of Kitsune.

"Chiyuri, my dear, you know Kinoshita is not a very strong Clan."

The blonde fox-woman blinked. What was it with the sudden tangent?

"I, a six-tails, am the oldest Kitsune of Kinoshita. The only reason we are a Great Clan is because there are no other Forest families large enough to be called 'clans'. After Nagashirakawa, we are labeled the weakest of the Great Clans."

"Do you understand the position I am in, Chiyu-rin-rin? I am in a position where I cannot afford to be lax, to be kind…to be merciful."

"As the leader of Kinoshita, I must work to ensure the wellbeing and survival of those who accepted me as their leader and now follow me. For their sake, I must seize any chance to make my Clan stronger to the eyes of the Council of Twelve. To the eyes of Kuromiya and Shinkirou. For the sake of my clan, my family, my blood, I will take whatever chance I get, small as it may be."

Chiyuri's blood felt cold in her veins. Just what was her best friend getting at?

"What stops me, then, from killing you and your mother, and take over Higashiyama Shrine?"

"You can't step through the barrier," Chiyuri answered immediately, using a very low tone. Byakuren giggled.

"Did you forget? When you formally welcomed me in the name of your clan, just before we sat down for tea, I gained right of passage. Besides, as a Clan Leader, if I can get your mother, who is older than me, out of the barrier, then I can request usurpation rights directly from Inari-sama."

Chiyuri was stunned. This woman…Kinoshita Byakuren…her best friend!

Her face turned slowly; her eyes unable to hide her shock and sorrow.

Byakuren mirrored the motion, returning Chiyuri's eyes with her unchanging smile and a lidded gaze which poorly concealed a glint that was not there before.

They looked at each other for an instant.

Fellow Forest-Kitsune. Nature lovers. Shameless gossips. Best friends.

Their bodies flickered out of existence at the same time, just before their seats at the garden's edge were swallowed by thick roots that surged out of the grass underneath.

The most chakra-sensitive amongst the population of Higashi Village were taken by surprise by a sudden peak of chakra synthesis coming from the Katsura residence.

"_**Yuureihana!**_" Chiyuri's voice came out between choked sobs.

"_**Sange**_." Byakuren sounded almost bored.

"_**Kuroyuribana!**_"

"…_**Senbonzakura**_."

Flowers bloomed, nourished by tears and blood.

* * *

Yurina had returned to inform the group at Naruto's place that lunch was almost ready. Yurimi invited her beloved Master to join them for a meal, and Naruto has never been one to reject free food.

They made for quite the sight, of course. Naruto and his escort of beautiful girls. And it seemed there was something for everyone: a tall, voluptuous, kimono-clad beauty with a perennial smile carrying a bag and a hatchet; a cute twin-tailed, Lolita-faced blonde girl wearing an extremely short skirt; a silver haired, cold-eyed "quiet beauty" and a raven-haired vixen who exuded sexy and mischief out of her pores.

The fact the latter two were still wearing those slutty maid outfits only added to the overall surrealism of the whole thing.

And this is how they are found by a certain foursome of friends. They were still several houses away from Naruto's group, however, so their presence had not yet been noticed by Naruto and the youkai.

"Oh my God," Kiba muttered.

"There are many things you could be saying 'oh my God' about," Ino added. "Which one do you have in mind?"

"Somehow I can tell I really don't want to know…" Nara Shikamaru complained in a tired tone. Why did things like this happen around him? Why?

"He's walking with them without a care in the world!" Kiba exclaimed. Does that sentence even make any sense? "It's like—he's so—how can he—such a—"

"What a pimp."

The other three just stared at Shino.

"A-Ano…onii-sama…"

"Hmm?" He walked with his hands on the back of his head. A single eyelid opened to allow the pupil to seek out the twin-tailed lily who had just spoken.

Naruto, truly without a care in the world.

"Ano…eh…ee-to…I…after…after lunch…umm…"

"Just spit it out, damn it," Yuriyo mumbled a bit too bitterly.

"…ah, ca-can I bother you for an hour or so, onii-sama?" Yurina finished in a squeak. "I-It's…Yurina…Yurina wants to do something for onii-sama…to help onii-sama…before his fight…"

Naruto's eyes brightened at that. A gift, with an obvious immediate benefit? Count him in.

"Awesome."

Yurina's smile was a mirror of her relief.

"Incredible…" Shino muttered, lost in awe. "He might as well be wearing a bathrobe and swaying a glass of whisky, the way he said that."

"Now that's just stupid," Shikamaru voiced his opinion; a rare event.

"Ara." This was Kotonoha's way to attract her group's attention to group of humans, which she had of course noticed ages ago.

"Oh, it's sunshades!" Yuriyo shot a smile at the taller Genin. "…and the dog."

**Ah!**

_No burning the dog! Neither dog!_

**Mugyuu…**

Naruto was considerate towards both Kiba and Akamaru.

Shino immediately fell on his knees. "I bow before your magnificence!"

They made an odd sight indeed: Naruto, the hatchet-carrying beauty, the twin-tailed cutie, the slutty _kuudere_, the slutty…um, Yuriyo, and now Aburame Shino swaying his upper body in abject worship of the Jinchuuriki.

"Uhh…somebody stop him," Naruto requested in a flat voice. "Please."

Ino complied by pulling her friend up by his hair.

"Ow. Ow. It hurts. Pain. Let me go."

"Be serious for once!" Ino hissed. Strange words aimed at Aburame Shino.

You might be wondering why these four Genin spend so much time together.

We already know Yamanaka Ino and Aburame Shino are best friends, odd as it may seem. Well, maybe not so odd anymore.

Hinata is not receiving visitors over at the Hyuuga grounds, so Kiba has no other option but to stick around his other teammate. The alternative is staying at home, which is a terrible idea for many, many reasons.

Team Ten is supposed to meet for lunch in half an hour or so, hence why Shikamaru is with Ino.

Now you might be wondering about Akimichi Chouji.

He is, of course, already at the meeting place, hoping against hope for an early chance at free food courtesy of Sarutobi Asuma.

"Yuriyo-san, as usual, you know how to attract attention."

"Well, of cours—"

And that's when Konoha chose to shake.

* * *

With an unusually serious expression on his face, Hatake Kakashi faced the scene before him.

"Sasuke! Are you okay?" More than asking, the Jounin demanded to know.

"Hnn," a rather tired tone echoed behind him.

Kakashi nodded to himself. It made sense to be worried.

The whole place was a mess now.

They had been training; working on Sasuke's new technique like they had done for the past few days, when the whole placed was wracked by a tremendous earthquake. The spires of rock they had used as training platforms began to fall apart one after the other, some even tilting until they hit their neighbors in some sort of titanic domino effect.

However, Konoha and its outskirts were not an earthquake-prone area. If that were the case, these pillars of rock would have become rubble ages ago.

Kakashi suspected jutsu. Doton jutsu; an extremely powerful one, too. Whether the source was human, youkai or god was a wholly different issue.

At moment, though, Kakashi saw nothing but a mountain of rubble. There was no tension in the air; that awkward feeling that warns the experienced ninja that something is amiss and trouble is upon him. As far as he could tell, it was only he and Sasuke in that desolated place.

"We're going back."

"The finals are tomorrow," Sasuke immediately complained.

"Don't be immature," the sensei immediately chided. "I must report this to Hokage-sama, those tremors definitely made it to Konoha. And before you ask, I'm not leaving you alone here and coming back later. Whoever did this might still be around."

Sasuke did not like it, but nodded in acceptance. He might not show it, but he, too, was impressed by the magnitude of the destruction unleashed by this most unexpected tectonic activity.

Like this, teacher and student departed. Had they bothered to stick around a minute or two more, they would have met the source of this activity, once she emerged from the pile of rubble she herself created.

"Puagh! I'm alive!" A certain Higashiyama exclaimed triumphantly as she emerged from the mountain of rock fragments. "Sun, how good it is to see you again!"

Yuria shook her head like a dog, shooting off small shards of rubble from her hair.

"I really didn't pick the best place for that test, did I?" The strongest lily muttered as she rubbed the side of her neck. "But I didn't really think it would turn out like—HOLY SHIT WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED HERE?"

The three-tails gaped at the devastation. All rock spires in a two-hundred meter radius had collapsed. Those beyond that mark were either down or severely weakened.

"This is…this is…" Her facial muscles twitched incoherently, swaying between a smirk and a rictus of horror. "…did I do this?"

She looked down at the instrument of destruction. Her right arm.

Her purplish-red, swollen, bizarre-looking right arm.

"You don't look very pretty right now," Yuria stated. "And now that I just notice…"

She took air.

"FUCK DAMN IT, IT HURTS!"

She took air again.

"…OW! Hiss…" Inhale… "…OW!"

She tried rubbing it, but that only made things worse. Her colored skin was apparently very sensitive at the moment. Even the minute flow of displaced air around her arm hurt like a thousand needles.

"Okay…okay…good to know, good to know: using this technique hurts like fucking hell afterwards. Good to know."

She guessed it made sense. Chakra was not meant to be used that way.

"And I probably used a little too much chakra…I'm kinda dizzy~"

Considering her monstrous capacity, one can only imagine just how much chakra she used.

Dizzy as she was, she soon fell on her back on a bed of rock shards.

"Ow."

Hurt and tired as she was, Higashiyama Yuria still had the strength to smile at the sky.

"It worked. It really…it fucking worked."

She was swearing a lot this morning.

She chuckled. She wanted to laugh, but her voice was not up to it, it seemed.

"I am Higashiyama Yuria…my might is as vast…as the sky…no matter where you are…no matter where you stand…no matter how far you reach…I will be there…looking down on you…that is…my…"

The Budding Lily went to sleep wearing a smile.

* * *

It was short and mild, with a few vibrating windows at most, but enough to unsettle the people of Konoha, so soon after the yet-unexplained and rather bizarre partial destruction of the Hokage Monument.

**Sayuri didn't do it.**

_So quick! _Naruto lashed at the foxgirl. Then again, this was the Kitsune supposed to create earthquakes and tsunamis with a swipe of her tails.

"That was odd," Kiba mused. "But it was not like the last time…"

"You mean no random laser beam of doom?" Ino mused.

"…yeah."

Naruto noticed a few pointed glances amongst the foxgirls. He was quick to shake his head to dispel all suspicions upon Sayuri.

"We seem to be having quite a few unusual occurrences lately, Yuriyo-san."

The half-Void raised an eyebrow at the sudden emphasis on the honorific. "I agree, and I gotta say I'm rather disturbed. Random earthquakes and trashed monuments were definitely not in the travel guide."

"There is a travel guide?"

Yurina sweadropped. "No, there isn't, Ino-san. Onee-sama is just being—ah."

Snap.

"Ah."

Many pairs of eyes followed the lacy piece of female underwear that slid down Yuriyo's legs for the second time that day.

"See? This is why I don't wear panties."

"No, it isn't," Yurina was quick to counter.

Yuriyo turned to our protagonist. "Naruto, dear, would you mind?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow as his mind filled with trepidation. "…mind what, exactly?"

"Pulling them back up, of course," Yuriyo responded as if she were asking for the salt at the dining table.

Kiba quickly pinched his nostrils closed, while Ino and Shikamaru went strangely pale. Shino shuddered a little.

"You can do that yourself!" Naruto presented the obvious retort, which Yuriyo returned with a face as if she had just been told something outrageous.

"Wha—you're kidding me? You're gonna make me bend forwards? You want me to give these people a free show?"

"That's only if you turn around on the first place! And you can just bend your knees!"

"…are you gay?"

"IT'S COMMON SENSE!"

Even Uzumaki Naruto has it.

Yuriyo rolled her eyes. "Common sense is overrated."

Several pairs of human eyes bulged when, instead of pulling the undergarment back up, Yuriyo raised one leg after the other to fully discard the piece. Picking up the lacy underwear, she placed it on Naruto's left hand.

"There you go. Happy birthday. Think of me when you're jacking off, okay?"

"Onee-chan…" A blushing Yurina muttered as she facepalmed. Even Kotonoha was a bit flushed by this point.

"It's not my birthday," Naruto stated.

"It was in the first draft."

"Huh?"

Yuriyo gently pat Naruto's left cheek with her right hand. "Nothing, dear."

Naruto raised Yuriyo's panties to eye level. "And what am I supposed to do with these?"

Yuriyo chuckled. "You've never shown the fact you're still a brat as much as you did just now," she declared. "Wear them over your face, use them as a slingshot, I don't care anymore…ooh, now it feels kinda cold down there."

Something red trickled past the gaps between Kiba's fingers.

Shino wiped some sand off his knees and bowed one last time. "Very well, if you may excuse me, I am now in dire need of lumber. Lots of lumber."

Everyone turned their attention to the bug tamer after such an odd sentence.

"I know I shouldn't, but I'll ask anyway…why, Shino? Oh God, why would you need lumber?" Kiba very dramatically spoke after uncovering his tortured nostrils.

"To build a shrine, of course."

"…of course." Kiba repeated in a flat tone.

Shino only took five steps before stopping. He turned back to face the group.

"Uzumaki-sama, as a matter of fact…will you be attending tonight's festival?"

Naruto blinked. "…festival?"

Ino facepalmed. "Idiot."

"What?" The blonde boy immediately complained. "Excuse me for not knowing!"

"Naruto-sama," Kotonoha intervened. "With the number of visitors that arrive to Konoha for tomorrow's big event, today is an excellent opportunity for many merchants and even ordinary families to make extra income. The village organizes a festival as a means for traders to offer their wares on an extended schedule and for the sake of improving Konoha's image. Do you understand?"

"I…think so." Naruto nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense. Hmm, a festival, huh…yeah, I think we have them every once in a while…"

The slightly pained expression that crossed Naruto's face for a moment was the only indication the lilies would get concerning Naruto's money issues.

"Well," A smile reached his lips one more time. "I guess you would like me to show you around, huh?"

"You said it," Yuriyo crossed her arms and nodded. "We're just not leaving you alone today! It's the Uzumaki-Higashiyama Holiday Extravaganza!"

"I'm not on holiday," Naruto deadpanned, and then turned back to Shino. "Well, you heard her. Why did you ask, anyway?"

Shino nodded. "I have been assigned with a…certain duty, during this festival. I would like to ask for your assistance. You're the only person I could ask for this mission."

"How about your teammate?" Kiba retorted rather bitterly.

Shino stared at his companion for a long, silent moment…and then turned back to Naruto.

"You're the only person I could ask for this mission."

"Bastard," Kiba spat.

"Mission?" Naruto was intrigued. "Like, shinobi mission?"

"It is a relatively simple matter, so it would be treated as a simple D-rank," Shino explained. "However, it is of the utmost importance for the festival's success and, by extension, to the image of Konoha."

"Just what are you up to…?" Ino muttered, taking her best friend's words with a grain of salt. Thinking the question was addressed to him, Shikamaru shrugged.

"Beats me, but it sounds like a hassle."

"Well, if it's that important, then you can count on me! Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage!" Naruto declared, pointing at his chest with his right thumb for emphasis. Shino nodded, his sunglasses glinting under the sunlight.

"It will be an honor to work by your side, Uzumaki-sama. Then, if you may excuse me, that shrine will not build itself."

The entire group watched the boy depart, most of them wondering just what Naruto had gotten himself into.

"…ah."

Naruto (and everybody else) turned to the one who had not yet spoken in this scene. Then they looked down, at the piece of underwear resting between her feet.

"…Master."

Yurimi's tone could not be more suggestive in spite of its flatness. Naruto returned the foxgirl's glance with a cold, hard stare.

"Lingerie can only snap coincidentally so many times a day, Yurimi."

Master and Slave stared at each other for several seconds…until the Slave lost and looked aside dejectedly.

"…tch. Foiled again."

The bodyguard moved to console her ward, offering encouraging pats on the two-tails back. "Better luck next time, Yurimi-sama."

"Your words annoy me for reasons I do not fully comprehend."

* * *

From her current position, Chiyuri had both a complete view of the large garden and she could look down at the ever-calm Byakuren. This did not mean she had any sort of positional advantage. The very opposite in fact. She could look down on her other fox-woman because her feet had been forcefully lifted off the ground.

It was a technique Chiyuri, too, could use, so she was well acquainted with its effects: _**Hanasakajiji**_, the Grandfather Cherry Blossom. The large tree had trapped the lower half of her body in its trunk and her arms in its lowest branches. The moment she tried to use chakra, it would be drained by the tree for it to grow bigger and more beautiful.

Five or so meters in front of Chiyuri, Byakuren idly watched her trapped form while surrounded by a swarm of a million beautiful cherry petals. It was Byakuren's most known and most dangerous technique: _**Sange Senbonzakura**_. It was because Chiyuri had been so focused on the deadly petal swarm that she was so easily captured by the Grandfather Cherry Blossom.

Some distance to her right, eight man-sized black petals rapidly withered. That was her technique, _**Kuroyuribana**_, or at least what was left of it.

It was her complete loss.

Then again, it was to be expected. Such was the difference between a four tails and the leader of a Great Clan.

The flying petals, obeying their mistress' wordless commands, shaped themselves into an elegant pink stairway which allowed Byakuren to calmly step up to Chiyuri's eye level.

The battle had been short, but Byakuren still had her servants to thank for the complete lack of external interferences. It was likely that Hinagiku and her other two escorts had convinced whatever curious villager who got too close that Chiyuri and her guest were having a "light spar." As a hybrid Forest/Mountain, it would be easy for her to fix what little damage was inflicted to the Katsuras' lovely garden.

"It's your loss, Chiyuri."

The buxom four-tails chuckled lightly. "Sorry I couldn't entertain you any longer, Byaku-rin-rin."

The Clan Leader raised an eyebrow. "You're still calling me that?"

"Byaku-rin-rin is Byaku-rin-rin. Can we end this game now and get to the point?"

The swarm of petals rushed closer to the helpless fox-woman when Byakuren's expression hardened. "I could kill you right now."

"You could have killed me at least a dozen times before," Chiyuri retorted as she pouted. "I know the difference between us; this is not the first time we fight each other, really." She looked away in mild exasperation, winced and then turned her pupils back to Byakuren. "You could have killed me already, but you haven't. You held back with _**Sange Senbonzakura**_ and used this jutsu to capture me. And now you're making conversation. Just what are you trying to prove?"

"I proved that you're a careless idiot, and now you'll pay with your life. Then I'll get your mother to walk out of the barrier, kill her and take over Higashiyama. I said this before."

"Taking over Higashiyama would not be of any benefit to you or your clan," Chiyuri argued. Confronted by the other's silence, she continued. "Higashiyama Shrine offers no positional strategic advantage to you. In fact, stepping into Lightning Country may be seen as a threat or a challenge by both Amagumo and Kuromiya. After watching what you just did to your closest ally amongst the Great Clans, Amagumo Issen will definitely reconsider your alliance. Kuromiya Fubuki will just crush you. And even if they don't move, would you be willing to take on Yumemigahara, Asagiri, and all the other Ghost clans eager to claim the Shrine?"

Chiyuri's pout gave her a childish appearance which starkly contrasted with the wisdom of her words.

"Muu…I'm not that stupid, Byaku-rin-rin."

Byakuren's eyes narrowed. "How can such an insightful Kitsune make such glaring mistakes, then?"

Chiyuri shuddered. There was no hidden agenda; no obscure plan in the harshness of that voice. These were the Forest mistress' honest feelings.

"Byaku-rin-rin…just…wha—kyah!"

The Grandfather Cherry Blossom exploded in a beautiful shower of pink petals. Chiyuri fell to the ground with a thud. Her eyes found the hem of Byakuren's cherry kimono, and from there the eyes that looked down upon the Blossoming Lily.

"Why…? Why must you worry me so, Chiyu-rin-rin?"

A moment later, the two were on their knees. Byakuren's forehead fell on Chiyuri's left shoulder. She looked awfully tired.

"I fear…I fear for your Clan, Chiyuri. I don't…I don't understand what's happening…"

"…"

What could Chiyuri say about that?

Regardless, it seemed silence was good. Byakuren chuckled.

"…at least you still know when to keep your mouth shut."

"I'm sorry…" Chiyuri whined. "I…I can't…" Reveal the secrets of her clan, not even to an allied clan's leader. Not even to her best friend.

"Don't show me weakness now, Chiyuri. If you do that I swear to Inari-sama I'll kill you myself before Kuromiya does."

A best friend's mercy.

Chiyuri gently patted the back of the six-tails's head. "Let's sit down, Byaku-rin-rin. It seems there is much we must discuss."

"There is, indeed, but…I'm a little tired right now. It seems you made me jump around a little bit more than I should."

"Is that so?" Chiyuri smiled widely. "Maybe my chance to defeat the leader of the Great Clan of Kinoshita has finally come!"

"I can still squash you like a bug."

"Mukkyuu…"

"What in the Gods' names was that?"

* * *

Like any and all previous meals with the Higashiyama lilies, this one was an outdoors picnic. This time, however, they were not alone. Apparently, they were not the only ones who thought of enjoying lunch by the water's edge. The bridge where Naruto usually met with his team every morning could be seen some distance away.

Naruto knew this place was a popular spot during spring's Flower Viewing Festival, as the rows of blossoming cherry trees aligned on both sides of the stream gave the place a truly otherworldly feel. He wondered what drove so many people to have lunch outdoors on that particular non-spring day. He guessed it was the festival mood or something.

It was obvious, however, that Higashiyama made the largest group, and also the only one so clearly dominated by females. Naruto knew he was getting his share of stares, but he did his best to put them in the back of his mind. It was not that hard. These lilies definitely knew how to keep a person's attention busy.

"Gods, that was great," He said, rubbing his stuffed tummy. "Thank you for the meal, Yurine-chan!"

"Kyun!" The Higashiyama cook smiled gladly, her infantile expression filled with joy. To see her cooking being enjoyed and receive such praise was one of Yurine's greater pleasures.

After those words, Naruto's expression took an odd shift. Yurimi watched him look down at his now empty-bowl.

"…Master…is worried."

"Ah?" His eyes met the foxgirl's carmine jewels. "Ah, it's just…Yuria…"

Higashiyama Yuria is not one to miss a meal.

"Ooh, so the boy cares for his mate after all," Yuriyo was quick to seize the opportunity. To her surprise, Naruto did not react in the expected embarrassed manner.

"Of course I care, are you an idiot?" He actually sounded a bit miffed at the question itself.

Some distance away, the younger lilies and their human friend were watched by the Matriarch, her best friend Sayoko and her servant Kotonoha.

"…what an odd boy," Yuri mused. "Did he really forgive Yuria so easily?"

"I don't think he was ever angry at Yuria for claiming him," Kotonoha responded. "If anything, he was bothered for what she did to Yurimi."

"Is that so? So he has feelings for Yurimi?"

"I don't think he fully understands, being so young and inexperienced, but, yes, I would say he does. Ah, thank you very much, Sayoko-sama."

The Void Kitsune pulled away after refilling the swordswoman's cup of warm tea. Yuri's eyes were still on the blonde ninja. Yurimi, having also finished her meal, had latched both her arms to his left and rested her head on his shoulder. Naruto quickly gifted her with a grin before turning back to whatever discussion he had with Yuriyo. The boy could not see it then, but his action elicited a tiny, tender smile from the Lily Seed.

"…that must be hard for Yuria. It will take her a while to dismiss the claiming."

"Ah, well, it will not be because of Naruto's reluctance to make love to Yuria-sama. It will be because of his reluctance to make love, period. He cares for Yuria-sama, but he's still a child in these matters."

"…'cares', you say…"

"Naruto-sama will gladly give his affection to whoever is willing to accept it. He is open and trusting, yet…" The four-tails giggled. "He's still childish, easy to upset and easy to embarrass. It's truly a miracle of the gods he's turned out like this, considering the life he's had." Her eyes turned from the Matriarch to the boy, who at the moment was busy blushing and blurting out words at the Night Lily.

"…truly a wonderful miracle of the gods…"

They, Yuri and Sayoko, wondered. They wondered if Kotonoha was even aware of the expression on her beautiful face as she said those words.

"…I see. So that's your answer."

Kotonoha blinked and turned to the Matriarch again.

"Excuse me?"

Yuri offered the other woman a rather condescending smile.

"I said it before, didn't I?"

Her expression suddenly took a serious tone, and Kotonoha, too, hardened her facial muscles. This was no longer Higashiyama Yuri speaking. This was the Matriarch; the Silver Lily of the Netherworld.

"Katsura Kotonoha, as of this moment I relieve you of your duties as Yurimi's bodyguard, teacher and attendant. Should your services as vassal of Higashiyama be required again, you shall be duly notified. Until then…have fun, I guess?"

Yuri's expression softened again. At some point (she guessed raising her voice like that had to do with it); the rest of the group had stopped their separate conversation to listen in. Naruto and Yurimi themselves seemed the most surprised by the sudden declaration.

"Yuri-sama…" After a few moments of hesitation, Kotonoha nodded. "I understand. Thank you very much."

Yuri too nodded. "Think carefully of what you want to do now. Whatever it is, Higashiyama will stand with you. You have my gratitude."

Kotonoha promptly bowed. "Your words honor me, Yuri-sama. Katsura Kotonoha's blade will be yours until the end of her days."

"I count on that." The Matriarch turned to her second youngest. "Yurimi, from now on I will handle your training myself. There is much I must teach you…and so little time."

The other lilies were astounded. The Silver Lily had just all but declared Yurimi the next Matriarch.

Sayoko, however, only had eyes for her best friend. Just what did Yuri…?

Even then, however, Yurimi's expression did not change, and the lilies knew Yuri's decision was definitely the best.

"I understand," the short-haired lily responded with a respectful bow. "I will make you proud, Mother."

"You already do, Yurimi."

Yurimi's lips twitched at that. She still kept her composure, though, and this filled her mother with pride.

Turning to her right, she acknowledged Naruto's smile with warm eyes. There was no need for her to smile, when her wonderful Master could do so for the two of them…even if he did not fully understood what was going on.

When the Matriarch stood on her feet, her great stature towering over her seated audience, the eyes of many amongst the other families also turned to her. After admiring her form of a moment, however, they quickly dismissed her. Yuri nodded at this. It would not do for unnecessary ears to listen to this. That's why she had gone as far as to use an Enchantment to keep people from paying attention to them.

Sometimes being so beautiful is also a burden.

"I speak as Higashiyama Yuri, Third Matriarch of Higashiyama. My precious daughter, Yurimi. As of this moment, the Crest of the Silver Lily belongs to you."

The entire group (sans Naruto and Mayuri) gasped. Yuri was taking this to the very end!

"Mo-Mother…" The widened eyes of one Higashiyama Yurimi spoke of the magnitude of the now former Matriarch's words. "This…I…now…"

Her thoughts were mirrored by Sayoko, Kotonoha, Mayuri, Yurisa and Yurine's daughters. It was one thing to acknowledge Yurimi as the successor and train her for the day she assumed the role. But, to appoint her right away? What was Yuri thinking?

"I'm tired of being the Matriarch, as simple as that." Yuri shrugged. "So this is my last selfish act. From this point onwards, I'm just your tutor…and your weapon."

Sayoko stared at the tall woman with an alarmed expression.

"I am not so cruel as to throw you into the pit of wolves just like this, of course, so rest assured on that regard. I need you to be a symbol, Yurimi: of youth, of change. Times are changing; even I, blind as I am to so many things, can tell things are changing in this world."

She looked down to offer a smile to her best friend, but even this failed to dispel the crushing feeling of alarm that filled Sayoko's heart.

"So, Yurimi, accept this…it's your destiny."

"Huh…" Naruto was obviously confused. The adult Sayuri's mumbling in his head did not help matters much.

**That woman…to think she'd pull off something like this…aha…ahaha…ahahahaha, marvelous! Marvelous, Higashiyama Yuri! You are truly a woman to be feared!**

**Mugyuu?**

"What the hell…what did she do?" Naruto muttered.

**She turned the Kitsune World upside down, that's what she did!**

"Mother…" With that word, the young foxgirl's expression hardened. She, too, stood before her family.

"I speak as Higashiyama Yurimi, daughter of Yuri. As of this moment, I relinquish the Crest of the Butterfly. As of this moment, I claim the Crest of the Silver Lily. As of this moment, I am Higashiyama Yurimi, Fourth Matriarch of Higashiyama!"

Naruto blinked. He then blinked again. Then a few more times.

"Huh…" He cleared his throat. "What the hell?"

**It's just as she said, onii-chan. Yurimi has just received the title of Matriarch from her mother.**

**Waaaah, aweshum! Yurimi's aweshum! New matwiach!**

"Present yourselves to your new Matriarch, lilies." It was a mother's command, not a leader's.

They didn't follow the usual age-based order. At least, not entirely.

"Hawawa…uh-um…Yurine…Yurine's here, Yurimi-ch-Yurimi-sama! My Crest…umm…the Cherry Blossom! Right!" The five-tails kneeled before her new Matriarch; her daughters on tow. "I…I…please take good care of us from today onwards! We're at your service! Um...hawawa…"

"I thank you, Yurine-onee-san. Please bless us with more wonderful meals like today's from now on."

The buxom mother of two smiled radiantly at her younger sister. "Um! With pleasure!"

Yurimi then turned to the daughters, as different as night and day.

"Um…co-congratulations on your appointment, Yurimi…sama," Yurina began. "Higashiyama Yurina, who bears the Crest of the Sun, is not worthy, but please look after me from today onwards."

"It's not good to be too humble, Yurina. You are a radiant lily of Higashiyama; be proud of yourself and make your Matriarch proud."

"Ye-yes!"

Naruto watched the scene with admiration. Yurimi was truly like her mother. Such poise, such power behind her words…despite being the youngest, she was respected by her family and quickly acknowledged as their new leader. It was unbelievable. It was everything he had dreamed of becoming: a proud, powerful leader respected and acknowledged by all.

It was even more impressive considering she was still wearing that overly revealing maid costume.

Like that, he was struck by the dire ghost of doubt. _This girl…why would such a great girl like Yurimi…want…me?_

"So, new Matriarch." Higashiyama Yuriyo scratched her left cheek. "I wasn't expecting this to happen until a century or two later…huh. Weird, how things happen? You do realize you're just giving grandma free rein to loaf around like she always—OW!"

Yuri quickly hid the silver tail she had released to smack the Night Lily's head. "Just because I gave my title away doesn't mean you can disrespect me like that, girl."

"Ow…okay, okay, jeez…so…you know the drill. Higashiyama Yuriyo, Crest of the Moon…oh! Maybe you'll let me have the Crest of the Dildo like I suggested back then—OW!"

It was Yurimi herself who hit the half-Void this time. "Most certainly not."

"Tch, what's the point of the change, then? Whatever! My tails are yours to command, please take care of me, yada-yada-yada, period."

Yurimi sighed. "Higashiyama Yuriyo…I would think of punishing you for such insolence, if I didn't have the suspicion you would enjoy it."

"It was just that one time! Yuria's tails know all the right spots!"

"…right. In any case…Mother would have put an end to your…exuberance, if it was truly a problem. I will look forward to your performance during and after your training."

"Sure thing."

It was then Yurisa and her daughter's turn. Of course, those lilies who were absent would fulfill this formality as soon as possible.

"I am Higashiyama Yurisa, bearer of the Crest of the Lake. This is my daughter, Mayuri, who bears the Crest of the Hourglass. We present ourselves before the Fourth Matriarch, Yurimi-sama. Our loyalty is yours. Our tails are yours. Our love is yours. Please bless us with your guidance from today onwards."

Yurimi nodded. "I acknowledge and accept your feelings, Higashiyama Yurisa. Are those your words as well, Higashiyama Mayuri?"

The two quietest of the Higashiyama lilies stared at each other for a long moment of silence. Eventually, Mayuri's response came in the form of a slight nod, which Yurimi then mirrored.

"Very well. I will count on your support from now on."

Then, the new Matriarch's eyes met those of her former guardian. Kotonoha left the Matriarch's left side and walked over to her former ward. She was stopped, however, before she could kneel.

She was blessed with a rare smile from the two-tails. It was full of affection, admiration and respect towards the woman who looked after her for 152 years.

"You will never kneel before me, Mother of my heart."

Kotonoha trembled at those words. Yuri nodded in approval. She never claimed to have been a good mother to her children.

"Yurimi…sama…" The four-tail former bodyguard's lips trembled as tears formed in her eyes. "I…I'm not worthy of such words!"

Her unworthiness did not stop her from embracing the thin girl like she had never done in all her years of fostering, and the two cried quietly in each other's arms.

"Hawaa…" Yurine moaned, in the verge of tears herself. Yurisa, too, had already shed one or two, nervously seeking her daughter's hand, which Mayuri promptly offered.

Naruto did not want to admit it, but his vision was a little blurry, too.

_A mother, huh…_

**Onii-chan…**

"I'm proud of you, my princess," Kotonoha spoke to Yurimi's ear. "I'm so proud."

"Thank you."

After reluctantly letting go of each other, Kotonoha drew out her hatchet.

"I take back my words. My blade belongs to you now, Yurimi-sama, like it has always been; like it will be until the day I breathe my last."

Yurimi wiped off the last of her tears. "I will pray that you never have to draw your blade for my sake, Kotonoha. Should it come to that, however, may your blade then strike swift and true upon the enemies of Higashiyama."

"For as long as I serve you, this blade will never break."

Yurimi nodded. When her eyes found Sayoko, she was surprised to get a shake of her head in response.

"My utmost apologies, Yurimi-chan…" The lilies frowned at the honorific. "You have my respect, my acknowledgement and my friendship, but I, Kurosaki Sayoko, will never bow before you."

Her lazy eyes carried an unusual glint.

"My allegiance is to Higashiyama Yuri and Higashiyama Yuri only."

The (former) Silver Lily could not hide a suspiciously deep blush. "Sa-Sayoko…san…"

Yurimi only nodded. "Very well. In respect of what you have done for our clan…"

"Which is exactly wha—OW!"

"Riyo-nee-chan!"

"…and in respect of your feelings for my beloved Mother, I welcome you, friend, into our Shrine. You may reside within, as you have done since long before I was born. Please look after my Mother."

Sayoko inclined her head, albeit slightly. "I thank you for your hospitality, Yurimi-chan. As for the latter, you need not ask."

"Alright," Yuri intervened, her voice a few notes higher than the usual. "I guess that's it for now—"

"Wait a darn minute."

All eyes turned to the voice. Approaching them from the stream–literally, as she was water-walking–, Higashiyama Yuria made herself shown.

"I leave for a while and this happens? Sheesh. Could you have prepared something more…I don't know, formal? I mean, just look at what you're wearing!"

Stepping out of the water, she entered within the irregular circle the lilies created. "Hey, mate."

**Waaai! Yuria-nee-chan!**

Naruto was looking at the bandages that covered one of her limbs. "Yuria, your arm…"

"Ah, yeah, overdid it a little with my training. No biggie."

Naruto's eyes were inevitably drawn towards Yuria's chest, the source of the bandages that currently covered a different part of her body.

He gulped.

"Stop undressing me with your eyes, Naruto," Yuria quickly chided.

"Sorry—I mean, I DID NOT!"

Yuria's response was a strangely warm and quiet chuckle.

After that short exchange, Yuria walked over to her younger sister until their chests touched. Yurimi barely managed to hide the bitterness in her eyes when large chest met flat chest. It was not enough, apparently, because Yuria's eyes sparkled when she smirked.

"So, you did it," Yuria began. "You took the title from me."

"I took it from no one. Mother kindly gave it to me," Yurimi responded to the challenge with her flat but firm tone.

"Heh…" Yuria made a nostalgic (?) face and scratched the back of her head. "Really…I guess it was meant to happen sooner or later." She smiled; a close-eyed, Naruto-ish smile. "Congratulations, Yurimi."

The entire clan smiled. This was it.

Struck by such an unexpected attack, Yurimi could not hide her stupefaction. "Uh…huh?"

"I said 'congratulations, Yurimi'. You have to work hard for the sake of your clan, okay?"

"Ah…" Yurimi was blushing by this point. "Umm, ri-right, of course. Thank you."

Yuri was frowning, though. _'Your' clan? Yuria, what…?_

"However!" Yuria suddenly barked, and suddenly she seemed much taller than the new Matriarch. Such was the hardened determination on her face. "I may acknowledge you as the new Matriarch, but I refuse to bow or kneel before you! Never!"

Kotonoha also frowned. "Yuria-sama, please don't be unreasonable—"

"No!" Yuria insisted. "I won't accept it! I won't accept a weaker Kitsune as my superior!"

"Weaker!" Yuriyo struck. "When was the last time Yurimi lost against you? I'll tell you when: never!"

Yuria's eyes narrowed, and her smirk became almost feline. "…I know what I said."

Naruto blinked. That attitude…that confidence…

"…you did it, didn't ya? The new reinforcement."

Yuria found herself blushing. "Whaa...just a week and you know me so well? It's kinda embarrassing, ahahaha~" She scratched the back of her head.

Kotonoha switched looks between Yuria and Naruto before speaking again. "I-I do not fully understand, but I don't think that because of a single jutsu—"

"It's got nothing to do with the jutsu," Yuria countered. Her eyes never left Yurimi. "I am the youkai who will stand above all others. I will not bow before a Matriarch, any Matriarch. Not anymore."

"Yuria-sama, please separate dreams from realit—"

"So, Yurimi!" Yuria ignored Kotonoha's latest sentence. "Here you have it: a lily who won't obey you. What'cha gonna do?"

"Yuria, what are you thinking…?" The silver-haired lily muttered in a very quiet tone. Only Yuria heard it, and in response she gave Yurimi a wink before whispering back.

"Don't worry. Don't worry about me anymore."

Their eyes met, and Yurimi saw it. The fire in Yuria's carnelian eyes was a terrible yet beautiful fire. The fire Yurimi had always seen and envied had somehow become something even greater. In that moment, Yurimi could see past Yuria's boisterous façade and read her true feelings.

Yurimi had never, would never, feel so defeated in her entire life.

_I don't want to lose you._

Yuria's eyes widened, but relaxed just as quickly.

_So you even know telepathy already. I guess mom knows what she's doing._

_Yuria…_

_You won't lose me, silly. I'll still be around…as least for as long as he is around._

The two girls' thoughts drifted to a very special human boy for a moment.

_Take care of him. I love him._

_Ugh…_ Yuria scratched her chin. _It's more like he's taking care of me; it's embarrassing. He's a child…he's an idiot, but…I guess I'm even more of an idiot. I don't deserve to be called an adult Kitsune._

_Take care of him, Yuria. I can't. I'm not strong._

_You just have to love him the way you do. He wants nothing more._

_I know. Please take care of my Master._

_You betcha._

They watched each other in silence for a moment. The others (sans Naruto) already suspected telepathy was taking place. Yuri already had a good idea of what was about to happen.

"So soon…"

The warmth of Sayoko's hands enveloped her right hand, and Yuri held back tears.

_I just wish I could have done more for her, Sayoko-san._

Yurimi hesitated. Yuria, too, seemed a bit uncomfortable.

_Yuria, I…I always…I… _Gathering her courage, Yurimi continued. _I've always admired you. I wanted to be like you._

Yuria's eyes grew wide. Those words…she had dreamed of hearing such words!

She turned her tears into shy laughter before they could betray her.

_Ah…really, really…this is so embarrassing…I…I kinda…I kinda wanted to be like more like you…just a little._

Two mental voices giggled like they never would in the outside world.

_I love you, Yuria. I wish you happiness._

_I love you too, sister. I am happy. More than you can imagine. I wish you success, Fourth Matriarch._

Yurimi slapped her older sister.

Naruto, Yurina and Yurine promptly gasped.

"Yurimi, what—" The young boy attempted to intervene.

"As you wish, then, insolent sister," Yurimi interrupted. "If you won't bow before me, then there is no place for you in this clan!"

"What the—Yurimi!" Naruto quickly jumped to his feet. "You can't do tha—"

Two hands fell hard on his shoulders: Yuri and Kotonoha.

"Be silent, Uzumaki Naruto. This is the Kitsune Way."

"I'm very sorry, Naruto-sama. P-Please bear with this."

"But—" Naruto could not finish.

Yuri was crying. Grasping Yuria's intentions as the most base level, Yuri could not hold back.

_You're really a failure of a Kitsune, Yuria, my daughter…but…but…what a proud failure you are!_

Looking at the two young lilies she had brought into this world, she had never been prouder to be born Higashiyama Yuri.

"As of this day, I relinquish you of your name! Of your family! Of your clan! You are no longer Higashiyama!"

Yurine bawled loudly and her half-Celestial daughter quickly embraced her, even as she shed tears of her own. Yurisa looked away and shut her eyes. Even Mayuri was stunned. Nowhere in her visions such a thing…!

"Wha…what the…?" Yuriyo was speechless. "Why…what…?"

"That is my word as Fourth Matriarch, Higashiyama Yurimi! It is done!"

_Thank you, Yurimi._

Yurimi gritted her teeth to not betray her acting.

Yuria sighed. "Haa…well, that's that." She turned to her mate. "I think these girls will keep you busy for a while longer, so I'll see you around. I think I'll look for Gai-sensei or something."

The three-tails walked from the scene as if nothing had happened, with hands buried in her pants' pockets.

Of course, only her backside was visible, so nobody could see her crying.

"Wha-Yuria, wait! You can't just—!" Naruto called out, but he was interrupted by a weight on his chest.

It was Yurimi. She had crashed into him, burying her face in his chest and wrapping her arms around his waist.

Before the eyes of her family and the boy she loved, the Fourth Matriarch of Higashiyama, Yurimi, cried her soul out, lamenting the loss of her favorite and most beloved sister.

At the beginning of the legend of Yuria, the girl first sacrificed everything: her honor, her material possessions, her self-esteem, her status, her home, her family.

In return, she got a human boy.

* * *

**CHAPTER 16 - To be continued...  
**


	31. The Day of Naruto, Part Two

_**Naruto Genkyouien**_

_**- **__**ナルト**__**- **__**幻**__**脅**__**威宴**_

**Chapter Sixteen: The Day of Naruto (Part Two)  
**

* * *

"So…let me get this kwee-ar…" An utterly drunk Mitarashi Anko began. "The mighty Kyuubi is a widdle, little bwat, and she came to Konoha 'coz…she was chasin' her tails."

"Yup," An utterly drunk Higashiyama Yuriko replied. Her twin sister had already passed out on the floor. So there was one thing in which they were not identical, after all. "Chasin' her tails."

"…" Anko took a large chug of whatever liquor it was they were drinking. She only knew it was transparent. "…man, that blows."

"No shittin' kidding me."

"No, sheeroosly!" Let's assume she meant 'seriously'. "Think abot it. We have this awesome heroic tale of the Fourth's sacrifice and all…man, that guy was HAWT!"

"Really." Yuriko was more interested in drinking more…whatever the hell they were drinking, than in men. "So…was he a good fuck?"

"Wha-no!" Anko's head swayed rather than shook. "The guy was married."

"…and your point is?"

"I was a loli. And you're a slut."

Minato's family name was Namikaze, not Uchiha.

"Nah, I don't swing that way."

"…ho-eeeh?" Anko made a strange and rather funny face. "What way?"

"Well…uhh…huh. Dunno. What were we talkin' about?"

"Haa…" Anko offered the fox-woman another bottle. "Maybe dish will help ya."

"Shu-eh, why not? Bottoms up!"

Anko watched in dazed admiration as the Kitsune finished about half the thing in a single go.

"Puagh! Gah! I'm gonna die!"

"…that was the shit, bitch," Anko muttered. "You're fuckin' crazy."

"Naaah, just Kitsune. So…wha'ere we talkin'bout?"

"Uhh…Kyuubi."

There was no point to the drinking, of course. Is there ever?

"Right. Sayuri. So she's in the brat."

"Yeah…" Anko took another large gulp of liquor. "So this brat, uhh…Ruto. Yeah."

"Sounds like a name out of a videogame."

"Tough shit. So, this Ruto…he's got a crap life, ya know…'cosh he's got the Kyuubi, evwyone thinks he's gonna start killin' and rapin' at some point, ya know?"

"Huh."

"I say shtoopid! Shtoopids, the whole lo'of'em!"

"Jeez…suck the brat's cock already."

"Gah-ugh…" Anko's blush was concealed by the effect of the alcohol. "You suck his cock!"

"Ew! No way! I only suck cunt, ya know!"

"Huh? You gay?"

"Yeah!"

The two females laughed very loudly.

"Oh man, I'm pissed drunk with a lesbo! That's fuckin' awesome!"

Why exactly, I don't know.

"Ahahaha, you're shtoopid!"

The two seized their bottles and chugged to their hearts' content.

"Puagh!" Human and foxgirl exclaimed together, and then laughed together.

Alcohol puts all differences aside.

"Hey!" Anko suddenly exclaimed. "So you were weally hittin' on me back then at the dango shop!"

"Well duh!"

They laughed again.

"Ah, but that was Yurika, actually," Yuriko pointed out.

"Weally? Ah, so you two…you are!"

"As straight as your pubes!"

More laughter.

"Cheers, ninja bitch!"

"Cheers, my queer and furry friend!"

It was an interesting party taking place in Mitarashi Anko's apartment.

* * *

"Let's go back to the apartment, Master."

Taking Yurimi's hand, Naruto stood back up. The family picnic was over, and the lilies were dismissed until evening.

"Actually, Yurimi-sama…"

The girl stiffened. Had her mother just called her 'Yurimi-sama'?

This 'Matriarch' thing would take a while getting used to.

"…I understand." She turned to her beloved. "Master, it seems there are important matters I must discuss with my Mother. I will ask you to leave without me." She turned to a tall Kitsune. "Kotonoha, would you mind escorting Master?"

"It's a pleasure, Yurimi-sama."

"Very well. Master…"

Naruto was surprised to see the girl looked almost…hesitant. "Yurimi?"

Steadying her thoughts, Yurimi leaned forward and kissed Naruto's right cheek.

"Please excuse this lowly slave for her insolence."

Naruto blushed bright red. When would he stop doing that, really?

"Ah…a-anytime."

"Anytime?" Yurmi's eyes sparkled with excitement, and Naruto realized he was about to jump into a bottomless pit.

"No! I-I meant…any time…I say it's okay!"

"…I see." Yurimi could not hide her disappointment, but this quickly ended when Naruto returned her kiss and went a step ahead.

The silver-haired lily's lips trembled when they could no longer feel the touch of his. Some distance away, Yuriyo made a "whoaaa!" sound and both Yurina and Mayuri blushed beet red.

**Muu…Sayuri wants to chuu-chuu…**

No, she does not want to be a train.

"I…" Naruto's million-watt smile. "I thought it was okay."

"Master…" Yurimi willed the butterflies in her stomach to settle the hell down. Then she smiled back. "Um, anytime."

Naruto did not know what he had with Yuria. He did not know what he had with Yurimi, either, but he at least knew that it was important to him, that it felt good to kiss her and that they had already gone way past the 'just friends' barrier.

"So…later, my Master."

"…um. See ya."

With those words, Naruto turned to the departing group, while Yurimi walked in the opposite direction with her mother and Kurosaki Sayoko.

"Hey…" Yuriyo suddenly spoke. "If Yurimi is the new Matriarch and Naruto is her Master, does that mean Naruto is the true Lord of Higashi—OW!"

Nobody saw Yuri's tail striking. "Perish those ridiculous thoughts, Higashiyama Yuriyo!"

"Okay, okay, I was joking! Sheesh!" Those were the last words exchanged by the two groups.

"Haa…" Naruto sweatdropped. Kotonoha promptly noticed the sudden change in the boy's expression.

"Naruto-sama?"

"Nah, it's nothing…"

"It's obviously not 'nothing'." Yuriyo remarked. Naruto sighed. He guessed he was too obvious.

"I just don't get how you can deal with it so quickly. I mean, she's your family!"

"I'm sure it will eventually make sense to you, Naruto-sama, or you can always ask Yuria when you see her," Kotonoha tried to sound conciliating.

"Speaks the guy with no family at all," Yuriyo didn't.

"Riyo-nee-chan!"

"Ha-Hawawa…Yu-Yuriyo-chan, that's not very nice…"

"I'm just saying~" The half-Void shrugged, dismissing Naruto's nasty look. "That the guy with no family to speak of cannot really say anything about how other families do things."

The group stayed silent for a while, unsure of how to respond to that.

**Onii-chan is Sayuri's onii-chan! Sayuri is onii-chan's imouto! So, so, onii-chan and Sayuri are family!**

How do you beat such flawless logic?

_Haha, thank you._

**Um! Family! Becoz' onii-chan, onii-chan, is gonna be Sayuri's mate!**

_One sentence too many…_

**And we'll call the fihst baby 'Fire'! And the second one 'Expwosion'!**

_Okay, stop._

"…I…I guess that makes sense, but…" Naruto pushed Sayuri's crazy talk to the far corners of his mind. "It just…doesn't feel right, you know…to throw away your family like that."

"Who said anything about 'throwing away'?" Yuriyo shrugged again. "It's not like much has changed, and it's not like we won't see each other again. Really, think about it: as long as she's your mate and Yurimi has the hots for you, we'll be pretty much stuck with you."

"Yippee…"

"Cut the sarcasm."

"Ano, onee-chan…you forgot the matter with Sayuri-sama…"

**Sayuri's hear!**

"I'm pretty sure I didn't."

Somehow undoing the seal has become a secondary issue.

**Mugyuu…**

Don't listen to the narrator!

"And this doesn't change the fact that Yuria was born within this family. She's still Yuri's daughter, Yurimi's sister and my aunt," Yuriyo continued. "In the end, 'Higashiyama' is just a word, a title. I'm pretty sure that's what Yuria thinks, and why she doesn't care about losing it. It's just a political thing. From now on, Yuria will not be associated with the clan anymore; her actions are no longer the actions of the clan. So, if she goes and does something reckless and stupid like, let's say, attacking a Kyuubi, no one can get mad at us for…"

Yuriyo's eyes widened as she came to the obvious realization.

"…she's serious. She's fucking serious." Her lower jaw trembled. An unexplainable cold took over her body. "That idiot!"

"That reckless…moronic…delusional…idiot! Dumbass! Retard!"

**Weckless! Mowonic! Dewushonal!**

_Stop that!_

Yuriyo's words did not match her expression. Even as her body trembled in fear and she called Yuria names, her cheeks were flushed, her lips were shaped in a bright smile and her eyes shone in a way the lilies did not see very often in the Succubus Lily.

Somehow, suddenly, Yurina got a very good idea why her sister always made fun of Yuria. It made her smile.

"What…Yuriyo?"

"Ah, nothing, nothing…I just realized how much of a moron Higashiyama…nah, I guess it's just 'Yuria' now…" Her eyes suddenly took a far more familiar gleam. "Or is it 'Uzumaki' now?"

"Wha-gah! Yuriyo!"

"Anyway…" Kotonoha stopped the comedy before it could continue. "I believe it's about time we begin with this afternoon's schedule?"

"Schedule?" Naruto perked up. "There's a schedule? Nobody told me about any schedule. What schedule?"

Yuriyo's devilish grin told him he would quickly regret asking that.

* * *

It was like this.

The Higashiyama Lilies had agreed to help Naruto enjoy his last day before the finals, as a way to show him their gratitude for his help and his company these past days. Small time periods were allocated to each of the fox-ladies who agreed to participate and, in the end, the entire clan would attend the festival together with Naruto. We could call them 'ultra-short dates', as each lily would get Naruto (and Sayuri) all to herself during the assigned time.

The first one on the list was Higashiyama Yurina, hence the short exchange with Naruto earlier before lunch. The location for the 'date' was…Naruto's apartment.

Her mother wanted to participate too, but, since she would already do her part by sending Naruto to heaven with food, she did not get any special Naruto time. That did not stop Yurine from doing something else.

While Yurina rummaged through a paper bag she had left in the apartment before they left for lunch, Naruto looked at the gift he had received from her mother.

It was a card. It looked like something done by a kindergartener. Yurine had taken a blank piece of paper, folded it in halves and made a card with it. The 'cover' had ugly depictions of him, Yurine and her daughters. There was a rather irregular yellow sun on the upper right corner with light beams that looked more like lightning bolts. They were standing on what he assumed was grass, surrounded by flowers in impossible colors that reached up to his waist.

He opened the 'card' and read the two words written in huge multicolored crayon letters.

"Good 'duck'."

Yurine had freaked out when he read the card for the first time, in her presence.

"Hawa! Goo-Good duck? It really says 'Good duck'? Ha-Hawawaan, Yurine screwed up…hawa!"

He couldn't hold back. He hugged her, so that nobody would see him cry. Yurine was surprised for a moment, but quickly adapted and eagerly returned the hug. Yurina, too, had buried her face in her sister's shoulder, and even Yuriyo looked surprisingly solemn for a while.

"Yurina-chan."

"Hmm? Ha-hai, onii-sama?" The twin-tailed blonde responded without taking her eyes off the bag.

"…you…don't know how Yurine-chan…why she became like that, right?"

Yurina shook her head. "I have an idea…just an idea."

She said no more.

"Ah, okay…I…I think I'm ready."

Naruto was lost.

When Yurina turned to face him, she was already blushing. Her red pupils drifted all over Naruto's body, which somehow further fueled her embarrassment.

"Ah…ano…o-o-onii…sama…"

"Hmm? So, what are we gonna do?"

"Eep!" Apparently it was not the best choice of words. "Ah, ano…eeh…pu-p-p-plea…please…"

"Please…?" Naruto prompted the girl, who was already so red Naruto was amazed the rest of her body was still working.

"Pleasegetnaked!"

"…huh?"

* * *

At their temporary camping grounds, the new Matriarch and her fifteen-tailed escort (Yuri plus Sayoko) were welcomed by clapping.

Seated on the roof of the Spirit Pagoda (version 2.0), the adult Higashiyama Sayuri clapped at a slow pace. Her face showed almost perverse amusement.

"Fantastic. Simply fantastic, mother. Once again, you show me just how much I could have learned from you."

"I am glad my actions meet with your approval, Sayuri-sama," Yuri courteously responded, but she remained a little wary. This woman; this…Sayuri from a different timeline, was still a completely unpredictable variable.

"I take it this aggressiveness…no, this…straight-forwardness was your means to stay in power when you were but a three-tails," Sayuri continued. "I had heard the tales and the rumors, but now I think I have a good idea of just how ruthless you can be, Higashiyama Yuri."

"Oh my," Yuri demurely covered her mouth with her right hand. Still, it poorly concealed her vulpine smile. "I wonder what sort of tales your world has woven around this humble me."

Sayuri snorted. "Modesty doesn't suit you, woman. But I wonder…are you really ready to die, mother?"

Yurimi frowned, and Sayoko's pupils widened as her suspicions were confirmed so bluntly.

"I would rather not die yet, Sayuri-sama; I do want to enjoy my retirement for a while. If it comes to that, however…"

Sayuri's provoking smirk disappeared. "Do not underestimate Fubuki and Kougon, woman. Their power is great enough to make all your plots fall apart."

Yuri nodded. "I am aware of this, but a mere Kitsune like me can only do what she can. If I fail, I expect Sayoko-san to protect the future of my Clan, if only for the sake of fulfilling my last wish."

"Yuri-sama!" The Void Kitsune immediately rebuked. "I…I couldn't…"

"Ha!" Sayuri laughed almost mockingly. "Kurosaki Sayoko! Between the lives of your daughters and yours, I wonder who she would choose!"

There was only pain in the lazy woman's current expression. "Sa-Sayuri-sama!"

"I apologize for my ignorance, but, if it is acceptable, may Sayuri-sama explain the meaning of her words…?" Yurimi finally joined the conversation.

Sayuri chuckled. "Think about it, Yurimi. You were just appointed as the new Matriarch, but, to the rest of the Kitsune World, the Matriarch of Higashiyama is Yuri. Put some thought into what that implies."

"Well, well, whatever." Sayuri made a dismissing gesture with her right hand. "Who am I to speak of the matters of this timeline, anyway?"

"There is little point in making such comments after the deed is done, Sayuri-sama," Yuri responded.

"The time when you could scold me is long behind me, mother," Sayuri bluntly retorted. "Anyway. The fact you are so preoccupied about the future of your Clan brings me to the real reason I'm here."

Disappearing in a burst of flames, the nine-tails re-emerged in front of the trio, making a rather exaggerated bow before the youngest of them.

"My sincere congratulations for your appointment as Matriarch, Yurimi. It is truly what you were meant to be, since the day you were born. You will excuse me for not offering my allegiance, though."

"I am not as delusional as to expect such a thing," Yurimi was quick to answer. "Your feelings are of course appreciated."

"Good." Sayuri nodded, more to herself than to the three lesser Kitsune. "As a symbol of my appreciation, allow me to present you with a gift. A gift from Higashiyama Sayuri to the new Silver Lily, Higashiyama Yurimi."

Yurimi blinked. "My…my utmost thanks, but such a thing is not really—"

"Ah, ah, ah!" Sayuri made a warning gesture with her left hand. "First lesson, Yurimi-chan: when Kyuubi speaks, just nod your head and smile."

The three Kitsune did their very best to conceal their thoughts in that moment.

Of course, how could they have assumed anything else?

This Higashiyama Sayuri was just as dangerous as Fubuki or Kougon.

Yurimi opened her mouth to apologize but, noticing the glint in the nine-tails' carmine eyes, she quickly sealed her mouth shut.

"…good. Now, you might want to sit down for this. Just a suggestion."

Kyuubi don't suggest.

While the three Kitsune sat on the grass, the former Matriarch decided to speak.

"May I ask what precisely—"

"Don't ask for permission if you're just going to ask right away."

Yuri did not say another word.

Sayuri turned her back to the group and walked a few steps away, looking around as if addressing a large audience.

"What greater gift, I ask, than the gift of knowledge?"

Not expecting an answer, the blonde Kitsune continued.

"That's why I'll gift you with a story. A story and a secret—no, it's not really a secret…a mystery," Sayuri nodded to herself. "A mystery."

"The answer to this mystery even I ignore, but the answer is not really important. It's the mystery itself which truly matters. A fascinating mystery with the power to change the Kitsune—no! The youkai world, forever!"

The nine-tails grinned, as if proud of her ability at drawing her listeners' attention. Then again, those three would have listened anyway, for the sole reason of Sayuri being Kyuubi.

"Let me tell you, then, a story, and a mystery, concerning one Uzumaki Naruto."

Yurimi shook on her seated position, and the other two leaned their torsos slightly forward.

"The mystery…" Yurimi muttered.

"…of Uzumaki Naruto?" And her mother finished.

Sayuri smirked.

Hook, line and sinker.

* * *

About an hour later, Sayuri (the little one) was in heaven.

**Munyaa…**

Naruto was in heaven, too.

"Munyaa…"

Apparently, heaven involves significant amounts of "munyaa", whatever that is.

"I-I'm glad onii-sama is feeling good. Yurina…Yurina enjoyed it a lot, too."

"Hmm…" The blissful Naruto muttered sleepily. "Then it's all good…"

Who would have thought being stepped on could be so frickin' relaxing?

**Munyaa…**

Yeah, you already said that.

Masters of the Kalari tradition possess commendable knowledge of the body. They can use their knowledge to heal just like they can use it to inflict harm.

Yurina is not a Master. Not even several decades of practice had taken her to that level. She is, however, one hell of a masseuse.

**Oniiii-chaaaaaan…Sayuri's melting~**

It figures that it would take something other than fire to accomplish that.

Naruto suddenly frowned. "Wait, why did you speak in past tense just now?"

"Umm…" After pulling her left heel off Naruto's back muscles, she bent her knees to lower herself closer to him. "…we…we're done, onii-sama."

Just like that, Naruto was caught by the merciless hand of inevitability and dragged out of heaven and back into the cold, harsh reality.

"Mugyuu…"

"I-I'm terribly sorry…"

**Muu…**

The boy sighed before pushing himself off the towels he had been lying on. Yurina's blush, which had gradually receded during the first half hour of work, quickly re-conquered its rightful place on her cheeks.

"Haa…it's okay, I guess." It was regrettable, but Naruto accepted that all good things must come to an end. "Thank you, Yurina-chan. That was really great. I feel so much lighter!"

"Eep!" The blonde foxgirl squeaked when Naruto began to make some stretching exercises. "Ah-aaa-uhh…a-a-anytime…umm…onii-sama…I think onii-sama's body really needed it."

"Yeah, yeah, ahaha…" Naruto scratched the back of his head. "After Setsuna-sensei's training, I guess I did need that…"

Silence filled Naruto's apartment living/dining room. He was, after all, standing in front of Yurina and engaging in idle conversation while in his birthday suit.

Yurina's pupils were not very subtle about where the girl was looking at.

"…huh," the boy muttered. "I guess I should get dre—wait."

Yurina stiffened in the face of Naruto's inquisitive stare.

"You only massaged my chest and my back. Why the hell did I have to get naked?"

"Meep!" Yurina was the metaphorical deer in headlights. "Ah, we-well…it's…umm…a-a-an important Kalari tradition?"

Naruto simply raised an eyebrow.

"Hawa! A-Ano…" Yurina's nervousness reached the next stage: finger-twiddling. "Uh-um…haa…hawa! Mo-Mom!"

"Hawawawa…"

Naruto looked behind him.

Courtesy of Yuri's Ghost Walker Technique, the former Matriarch and two other lilies had appeared in the room bypassing the ordinary entrance. Higashiyama Yurine was trapped; her white kimono shirt was being strongly grasped by her mother's right hand.

Yuri's left hand held Yurimi's right. The seven-tails was staring at Naruto like a housewife checking the vegetables at the supermarket.

Yurimi's expression will not be described, for safety reasons. It will only be stated that Naruto discovered a primal terror the likes of nothing he had ever experienced before. Not even the projection of Mayuri's visions in his head could have prepared him for the frightening and unfathomable power of Yurimi's Stare™.

"You're here," Yuri made an obvious statement. "And dressed for the occasion. Perfect."

Before Naruto could think of uttering some monosyllable, a large silver tail popped out of Yuri's back and captured him swiftly and effectively.

"Wha-whoa!" Then he uttered his monosyllables.

**Mugya!**

With no further ado, Yuri began to walk while dragging Yurine and carrying Naruto. Yurimi silently followed by her side.

With the same roughness with which she captured Naruto and Yurine before him, she opened the door to the boy ninja's room and threw her two captives so that they would fall on the boy's new yet-already battered bed. Yurimi wordlessly walked inside the room.

Naruto was about to complain, but the Stare™ stunned him into silence, allowing Yuri to close the door, leaving him alone with two of her daughters.

"Uzumaki Naruto!" The tallest and oldest of the lilies spoke from beyond the door.

"Wha-what the hell, Yuri-obaa-san?"

The seven-tails twitched, making a mental note to re-educate the boy on the proper way to address her.

"I will stand in front of this door for as long as necessary," she declared. "You will not exit this room until those two girls are pregnant. Understood?"

"WHAT THE HELL!?"

"HAWA!" That was Yurine.

"Hawa?" That was Yurina. "O-Onii-sama's going to become Otou-sama?"

"LIKE HELL I WILL!"

"Yurimi-sama!" Mother called for daughter.

"I live to serve the clan!"

"Don't suddenly start showing emotions!" Naruto cried. "AND DON'T TAKE OFF YOUR CLOTHES!"

Yuri and Yurina were distracted by a knock on the front door.

"He-Hello? We're here to pick Naruto-san…ara, Mother, is there something—whoa!"

Naruto was struggling to keep Yurimi's clothes on Yurimi when the door was again opened. For a pointless, utterly stupid second he actually thought this madness was over.

Common sense literally struck him on the face. And by common sense, I meant the flying form of Higashiyama Mayuri.

The half-Time Kitsune rolled away in time to allow her mother to land on Naruto's prone form.

"I would be very grateful if you could also impregnate these two, but I will understand if Mayuri-chan is not developed enough. Well then."

The door was closed again.

"YOU'RE INSANE!" Naruto yelled from the floor of his bedroom. "And get off me already!"

"Ah, I'm terribly sorry, Naruto-san…"

Just outside the room, Yuri nodded in satisfaction.

"Everything will be alright now."

"A-Ano…"

"Now, now, Yurina-chan…" The taller Kitsune gently stroke the half-Celestial's hair. "They are busy making babies now. If the boy survives Yurimi-sama, you'll get your chance."

"Bu-but…" Yurina was not sure how to say this. "I-I don't think Mom is in heat right now…"

Neither are Yurimi, Mayuri or Yurisa, for that matter.

"…huh." An odd sound emitted by the former Matriarch. "I knew I was forgetting something."

Kitsune have mating cycles.

The front door was banged fully open (as compared to just open as it was a moment before), allowing a rather…irate (and still naked) Uzumaki Naruto to step in.

"You…" He growled at the much taller woman. "You crazy…crazy…crazy…"

He ran out of epithets.

Yuri deigned herself to give the boy a slight bow of her head. "My apologies, Uzumaki Naruto-kun. It seems I did not really plan this properly."

Or at all.

"But, if it's not too much asking, may I know how you escaped the locked room?"

"…I have a balcony," the boy growled.

"…oh. Foiled by a balcony. That's a new low for me; I better not let my political enemies find out about this, ufufufu~"

"Grrr-whoa!"

Naruto's angry growling was interrupted by the feeling and the weight of an undeveloped chest on his back. He was pretty sure it was not Mayuri.

"Master…"

Lesser men would have fallen on their knees after that moan.

"Yu-Yurimi, stop it…"

"That's enough, Yurimi-sama," Yuri also dismissed the girl's intentions. "You don't have yet the proper physiological conditions for guaranteed impregnation."

"The what for the what?"

The older lily sweatdropped. "Yu-Yurimi-sama…please remember the whole point of doing this…"

"Hmm? Oh." The honest girl came to her senses. "Right, right, of course…I guess we do have to wait after all…"

"Don't look so disappointed when you say that!"

Naruto was truly embracing his role as the tsukkomi.

**Muu…**

…_what?_

…**Sayuri wanted to see matin'.**

The boy could only facepalm.

"…huh?"

His right hand was surprisingly soft.

Just like cotton.

"HAWA!" Yurine shrieked at the sight of the object held by the boy's hand.

Naruto, too, stared at the piece of clear white undergarments for a long, silent moment of reflection.

"…okay, when did this happen?"

"Master, such a technician…"

"Not. Helping."

**Tech-nii-shan! Tech-nii-chan!**

"Really. Not. Helping."

And that was a multilingual pun. Stop it.

* * *

"It is not a secret to anyone that Fubuki-sama and Kougon-sama are not very fond of Higashiyama Sayuri-sama."

After a period of rest, a rather frugal lunch and a new serving of cherry tea, Kinoshita Byakuren and Higashiyama Chiyuri resumed their discussion.

"Not only is she a blatant anomaly in the Celestial-Void power balance; she humiliated them both in front of Inari-sama."

Chiyuri sweatdropped. "It was just a poker game…"

"Kitsune Poker Night is serious business," Byakuren responded with a straight face.

"Of course, they were the first to complain when Inari gave Sayuri-sama the nine tails. They were not the only ones. I remember Kujira-sama and Hayate-sama were quite miffed as well."

Byakuren was referring to **Ginsuisha Kujira** and **Asakaze Hayate**, leaders of the Great Ocean and Wind Clans, respectively.

"Inari quickly reminded us that promises are just as important to him as they are to us Kitsune. That also includes promises done while under the effects of alcohol, of course. He also pointed out that he was doing us a favor."

Noticing Chiyuri's confusion, Byakuren clarified.

"Inari-sama convinced Sayuri-sama to relinquish everything else she had earned that night in exchange for the nine tails."

Of course, Sayuri had beaten everyone on the gambling table, not just Inari.

"With Sayuri's earnings, your grandmother would have had an enormous amount of control over the other clans."

"Sayuri-sama couldn't have possibly earned that much—"

"We bet a lot more than money that night, Chiyuri." A pause. "We were really, really drunk."

"I…see." Not really, but Chiyuri did not want to make her friend uncomfortable.

"In any case, Fubuki and Kougon had to bite their tongues and allow a third Kyuubi to be born. They could not stop Inari from elevating Sayuri-sama to the highest status, but they could certainly eliminate her afterwards. However…"

"They could not reach her."

Byakuren nodded and took a sip of her tea. "Higashiyama Shrine is an unbelievable fortress for Spirit Kitsune. Only Shinkirou's 'Saint's Chariot' surpasses it in that regard, but then again, that thing is just impossible."

"It's not impossible; I was there once."

"I know; I've been there too. It was just a saying." Byakuren sounded a bit exasperated. "Anyway, there was no way for either Fubuki-sama or Kougon-sama to eliminate Sayuri-sama without making a ruckus the entire world would notice."

"Then I receive news of Higashiyama Yuri and her lilies visiting Konohagakure—don't give me that stupid look; of course I knew since the very beginning." Byakuren sharply glanced at her friend. "I **am** the leader of a Great Clan; I have eyes and ears everywhere. And she hasn't really tried to conceal their presence there…other than the location of their temporary quarters, that is."

"Uuuu…"

"Of course, the problem here is that, if I caught news of your mother's little trip, it is obvious Kuromiya and Shinkirou have too."

Byakuren's expression acquired a serious overtone after she took one more sip of her tea. Her eyes were not on Chiyuri, but on the spacious garden before them.

"In the past thirteen years, Higashiyama Yuri has left her shrine exactly four times."

"Eleven and a half years ago she visited the Kaenko Clan."

"Nine years ago she spent two days in Kongouzan's subterranean city."

"Four years and seven months ago she graced me and my clan with her presence for a most fruitful five days."

"Finally, about fifteen months ago, she visited the Worldsingers at their 'Singing Hills'. If I'm not mistaken, you joined her that time."

Chiyuri nodded, almost scared of the extent of Byakuren's knowledge. Then again, she guessed Yuri knew just as much about the other leader's movements.

"I remember a few Clan Leaders were a bit worried about that particular meeting, especially because we didn't have the slightest idea what Yuri-sama and Utahime-sama intended to discuss. We still don't know, in fact."

"Anyway," she continued."My point is that Yuri only left the safety of her shrine for diplomatic visits to other Great Clans…and the occasional visit to this village, of course. You can imagine then, that this sudden visit to a human village–a ninja village, even– has raised more than a few eyebrows."

"Then I got news of an even more unusual event: Konohagakure's unique landmark, the Hokage Monument, was partially destroyed by a mysterious and as-of-yet unidentified jutsu."

Chiyuri frowned. What was that about?

"While this even by itself would be little more than a curiosity, the description and effects of this mysterious jutsu reminded me of certain…events of a similar nature reported to have occurred in the vicinity of this mountain."

"Geh."

Chiyuri stiffened. It couldn't be. But there was no other explanation.

She facepalmed.

"Pwetty Beam…"

"Excuse me?"

The half-Ghost half-Forest shook her head. "Nothing…"

Byakuren glanced at her friend out of the corner of her right eye for a few moments before moving on.

"The issue here, Chiyuri, is that you confirmed to me that Sayuri-sama is not in the shrine. Therefore, I can only presume Higashiyama Sayuri is in Konohagakure. Is there a hole in my logic somewhere, Chiyuri?"

The Forest leader did not expect an answer, but the way the four-tails leaned forward with a slump and a big sigh told her more than enough.

"While the other clans do not have the information I have received from you, it is safe to think they are also making this assumption. This would explain, for example, the fact that Kuromiya Fubuki-sama has left her citadel."

"She has…!" Chiyuri did not hesitate to show her alarm.

Byakuren nodded. "I think we can assume she's on her way to Konoha…or maybe she's already there, I don't know. How long could it possibly take her to cover that distance? Her, the mightiest of Void Kitsune?"

"What about Kougon-sama?"

The six-tails shook her head. "I have nothing on him. You know he rarely leaves his room, and when he does most of the time not even his own clan notices until he actually makes his absence known."

Byakuren released a long sighed. Somehow this conversation made her feel awfully tired.

"I'm afraid, Chiyu-rin-rin."

The change in the way she was addressed told Chiyuri that it was not longer the Clan Leader speaking.

"I fear that Fubuki-sama's patience has reached its limit. I fear that she won't allow herself to miss this chance. As much as I want to deny it, I know that Fubuki intends to kill Higashiyama Sayuri-sama."

"Yuri-sama won't allow that to happen," Chiyuri whispered with a trembling voice.

"Yuri-sama will die if she stands on Fubuki-sama's way," Byakuren's words were harsh and to the point. "Maybe even if she doesn't."

Chiyuri's wide eyes turned to drill holes on Byakuren's profile. "What do you—?"

"Yumemigahara Himawari visited the Halls of Oblivion two weeks ago. She and Fubuki-sama met at length, discussing matters unknown, but easily discernible."

"No!" Chiyuri's single word came out as a gasp.

Byakuren trembled. "I'm afraid Fubuki-sama's objective is the complete extermination of the Higashiyama Clan."

The Forest leader grabbed Chiyuri's hands. As she turned to face her directly, Chiyuri could see the tears forming on the older fox-woman's eyes.

"…I don't want to lose you, Chiyu-rin-rin. I love you."

Chiyuri was also crying, but squeezed her best friend's hands reassuringly.

"I love you too, Byaku-rin-rin, and you will not lose me." Her eyes took a surprisingly determinate expression. "We must meet Mother immediately, and we must let Yuri-sama know of this immediately. If it's Fubuki-sama, then we still might have a chance."

Byakuren blinked as she stood up, following Chiyuri. "A chance…?"

"Kurosaki Sayoko-sama."

"Sayo…yes…yes!" Byakuren nodded with newfound energy. "The Sleeping Terror! If anyone can stop Fubuki, it is definitely her!"

"Su-such an ominous title…"

For such a useless person…

"But, Chiyu-rin-rin," Byakuren was in serious mode again. "While I definitely want to meet your mother, the latter plan might be a little bit more complicated to pull off at the moment."

"Wha-what do you mean?"

The Kinoshita leader frowned. "Fubuki-sama did not openly announce she was going to Konoha, but her followers easily reached that conclusion as well. The moment she left, they also began to move, to make sure Higashiyama Yuri does not receive prior warning of Fubuki-sama's intentions."

Chiyuri took a step back, letting go of Byakuren's hands. "You mean…"

"They're watching all the other clans, especially Higashiyama's closest allies, Amagumo and Kinoshita. I am very sure I was followed here." She looked at the vast sky above them. "They'll probably intercept all kudagitsune leaving the mountain."

"N-No way…" Chiyuri's spirit faltered; it was Byakuren's turn to offer a ray of hope.

"I think Kuromiya's people will keep their distance from this town, but it would still be smart to ask the villagers to report any suspicious activity to the shrine as subtly as they can. Now let's go meet your mother. We'll have to wait a while before we can send a warning to Yuri-sama."

"Eh?" Chiyuri's body shook startled, her ample breasts shuddering enticingly. "How…how are we…?"

"Don't worry about that, don't worry." The Forest leader allowed herself a small smile in such a dire situation. "I'm cashing in on an old favor to a certain good friend."

* * *

"Seriously, what the hell's wrong with that woman? That was…that was…ugh!"

Higashiyama Yurisa was not doing a good job of soothing down Naruto's ire.

"A-Ahaha…I…I'm sure Mother had her reasons…"

"Crazy reasons."

"Haa…"

Mayuri quietly walked next to her mother. Her flushed cheeks made a stark contrast with her milky white skin. It had taken some digging around the worldlines to find out just why Yuri and Yurimi had pulled off such a stunt. The consequences of her research are there for all to see.

"Ah, Mayuri, dear, are you feeling unwell? Your face…"

The little foxgirl hurriedly shook her head in a desperate gesture to appease her protective mother.

That was one piece of info she was not sharing with Naruto. No way in hell. He would find out on his own eventually…Mayuri hoped.

Technically it was the mother-daughter duo's time to hang out with Naruto. However, Yurisa did not really know how to spend this time and Mayuri…well, is Mayuri.

Yurisa guessed they could chat the time away, but somehow that felt kinda lacking. So far the boy had used them to vent his frustrations towards one Higashiyama Yuri.

"I…I'm terribly sorry. I…really don't know what to say…" Yurisa was honest. "I…I was not expecting Mother to do such a thing and…to be honest…I am a little bothered by the whole thing myself."

Naruto stopped and turned to look at the four-tails, which she took as a cue to explain herself.

"We-well…I…I haven't…I haven't had a mate since Mayuri was born and I…I'm not really…up to having a mate…right now. Even if I were up to it…I'd rather choose my own partner, do you understand?"

She suddenly gasped.

"Ah, well! I-I'm sure Naruto-san has plenty of good points, but…umm…I…I'm rather…I don't…"

"Stop."

Yurisa felt a bit uncomfortable as the boy approached her wearing a flat look. She was a little wary when the boy took both her hands into his own.

"…thank you."

"…excuse me?"

"Thank you," the boy repeated. "For being normal."

Mayuri nodded and patted her mother's back.

Higashiyama Yurisa is special because she's so normal.

"Ha-haa…"

**Sayuri's normal too!**

_Like hell you are!_

**Mugyuu…**

Naruto turned to Yurisa's daughter. "Sorry you had to go through that craziness too, Mayuri-chan."

He reached for her hair with his right hand, but stopped himself before touching her, choosing to pull back and offer the little foxgirl a rather strained smile. Mayuri nodded, acknowledging his good intentions.

"Oi, buddy."

Naruto's shoulders jumped, and he quickly turned to meet the smiling face of a former Higashiyama.

"Yuria!"

**Waah! Yuria-nee-chan! Waaaai! Yuria-nee-chan!**

Wiggle, wiggle.

"That's my name." The three-tails put her hands on the back of her head. "So, I couldn't find Gai-sensei. You would think a dude wearing green spandex would be easier to find, really." A pause. "But it's good I find you. You busy?"

"Ah, well…" He turned to the mother-daughter duo, but Yurisa quickly dismissed herself with a gentle smile.

"Please, don't mind us. If it's okay with you, we'll meet again this evening."

Naruto returned the smile. "Thank you, Yurisa-nee-chan, Mayuri-chan."

"Yurisa-nee…" The single mother was a bit startled by the sudden manner of address, but quickly accepted it and returned it with a respectful bow. Mayuri's bow was considerably more informal.

"Very well, Naruto-san. Well met."

**Bye, bye, Yurisa-nee-chan! Mayuri can burn!**

Mayuri rolled her eyes and nullified Sayuri's comedic fire attack, as usual.

**Mugii!**

* * *

Somewhere in the outskirts of Konoha, Hoshigaki Kisame spontaneously combusted.

"Why!?"

Why indeed. But let's go back to Naruto.

* * *

When mother and daughter turned their backs to leave, Naruto turned to his bedmate.

"Okay, good. Let's talk."

Yuria shrugged.

"Okay. Can you take me to the boss of this village? How was it…the Shadow of Hoes?"

"It's the Hokage! And that was a multilingual pun! A terrible one! Don't do that!"

What he said.

"So, when are you gonna tell me why that happened, Yuria?"

"What are you talking about?"

"What do you THINK I'm talking about?" Uzumaki Naruto was not in the mood for crap.

"Hmm…well, let's just say I have big dreams. 'Higashiyama' gets in the way of those dreams."

Naruto sharply stared at Yuria's left side as they walked together. "Yuria!"

"What? Sheesh, anyone would think you were the one who was expelled from his clan."

"Wha—bu-but, Yuria!"

"What?" The girl insisted, now a bit miffed. "You should be happy; now that I'm no longer Higashiyama my claim over you is null and void."

Naruto stopped and blinked. "…eh?"

Yuria, too, stopped, turned to face him and shrugged. "Congratulations! We're not mates anymore…well, not THAT kind of 'mate', I mean. I still think you're cool."

"Oh…huh." Naruto scratched his left cheek. "So, that's it."

"Hoo?" Yuria smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Could it be? The boy, Uzumaki Naruto, has fallen for this wonderful, marvelous, beautiful Yuria-sama?"

"Not anymore," The blonde quickly deadpanned, but the blood in his cheeks was still obvious.

"Tch, you're no fun." Still, she chuckled. "Yeah, that's that. I won't bother you anymore."

Naruto frowned. That sentence; it didn't go well with him. "What do you mean?"

"Well, yeah, I mean, we're not mates anymore." Yuria shrugged again. "There's no reason for me to stay in your place. There's definitely no reason for us to sleep on the same bed anymore, that's for sure." A rather strange chuckle escaped Yuria's lips. "You can now invite Yurimi or Mayuri or whoever the hell you want."

**Sayuri!**

"Wha—Yuria!"

"I know my name's lovely, but you're saying it a little too often," the foxgirl dismissed the boy's alarmed tone. "Are you really taking me to this Hokage guy?"

Naruto held back the urge to pull his hair off. "This isn't over, Yuria."

"I don't even see why this even started."

Naruto sighed tiredly. He didn't feel twelve years old anymore. "Why do you want to see the old man, anyway?"

"You'll find out when we get there."

* * *

The aforementioned old man was in the middle of a meeting. Some hours earlier, Kakashi had arrived to Konoha and reported what he had seen concerning the short earthquake that rocked Konoha that morning. A team of ANBU was dispatched; they would return on the evening without any clues.

At this moment, however, the Sandaime Hokage was reunited with Kakashi, once again, only this time Jiraiya of the Sannin had joined them. Kakashi had just become the target of a stern scolding for ignoring Haruno Sakura for the past month to focus on Sasuke's training for his match with Gaara. The Jounin had found a good instructor for Naruto, so the Third could not really blame him of irresponsibility or negligence from that side. After apologizing to the Third and promising he would apologize to Sakura and make it up to her somehow, the three moved to the next topic in their agenda: the Kitsune presence in Konohagakure for the past eight days or so.

This was of course news to Kakashi, and he was seriously worried to find out the large group of female Kitsune had gotten so close to Uzumaki Naruto. While there was no way to link the foxgirls and fox-women to those events, the partial destruction of the Hokage Monument and the morning's earthquake further raised the alarm level.

Then, there was another thing.

"Take a look at this," Jiraiya spoke as he unfurled the Toad Summoning Scroll on the Hokage's desk. "Look at the last name."

It was 'Namikaze Minato'.

"I had Naruto sign that scroll the day I met him. As you can see, his blood sign is gone."

The other two obviously knew what this meant. The Toad Youkai of Mount Myouboku had rejected Naruto.

"Of course, I already asked the toads why Naruto's name is gone. They said he has made a second 'incompatible' contract."

Sarutobi nodded and Kakahsi narrowed his sole visible eye.

"I can only assume he has made a contract with the Kitsune."

"Is that even possible?" Kakashi wondered.

"Technically, it is," Jiraiya said. "But I haven't heard of Kitsune making contracts with humans…well, not summoning contracts. Kitsune are just not the type."

"Any benefit they could possibly get from such a contract, they probably could get in another, simpler way," Sarutobi further explained.

And then there was Naruto's sudden interest in the Summoning Technique. Sarutobi had taught him "Weapon of the Soul." If the boy could actually use it with the Kitsune…

"Jiraiya, you've been watching them for a while. What do they really want from Naruto?"

Jiraiya's serious expression promptly disappeared.

"Well, I can tell you at least one of them wants to get in his pants."

Kakashi blinked. Sarutobi sighed.

"Jiraiya, be serious."

"Oh, I'm perfectly serious!" The super pervert nodded eagerly. "More than one of the young ones is seriously into the brat. I honestly don't see why, but that's beside the point: the brat's gonna score before those foxgirls leave, I'm sure of it."

"Ho-hoo…" Kakashi mumbled in appreciation. "Seems like I've definitely missed on quite a bit."

Jiraiya shrugged. "Aside of that, I cannot either ascertain or deny that they are after Kyuubi. I can only get close enough to listen to their conversations when the Matriarch or the hatchet woman is not around, and then they're usually just fooling around."

The Third sighed again. "So we still have nothing…"

"I say, if they try to do something to the boy, there's no way we won't notice."

Hey, it worked in the other timeline.

"And what if it's too late by then, Jiraiya?"

Yeah, that happened in the other timeline, too.

And that's when the door was open with a wham.

"Ossu! Old man, what's up?" It was not hard for Naruto to notice the Hokage was not alone. "Oh, party huh? Hey, Kakashi."

The Jounin noted the lack of a "-sensei" suffix at the end. "Hello, Naruto."

"So, if you're back, it means Sasuke's back too, huh? Cool. Wouldn't want him to miss the fun."

Or show up three hours late.

"Hmm?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "I expected you to be still angry about leaving you with Ebisu-sensei."

"Of course I'm still angry, you big jerk!" Naruto lashed at the taller ninja. "I just don't care anymore." With that, he turned to the other tall man in the room. "Ero-sennin."

"Naruto."

**Fugly toad guy!**

Whoosh.

"…I had absolutely no involvement in…that," Naruto quickly announced, pointing at Jiraiya's combusting form.

Kakashi and the Third were startled, but the flames disappeared after Jiraiya made a hand seal.

"Huh. Weird," the Toad Sage uttered. "Didn't even hurt."

That's comedy fire for you.

"Smooth, Naruto, very smooth," a second person entered the room, closing the door behind her. "Whoa."

Yuria was taken aback by the amount of people in the room.

"Oi, Naruto, you didn't tell me the Hokage was three people."

"Are you an idiot?"

"Wha-oi!" Yuria lashed at the blond. "What do you expect me to assume, then?"

"I don't know, maybe the guy on the seat with the big 'Fire' kanji on his hat?" Naruto retorted, pointing at the hat in question. Yuria looked in that direction.

"Huh…huh. Yeah, now that you mentioned it…wait. Really?" Yuria then pointed at the Third, while looking at Naruto. "That's the strongest in the village? Really?"

"Yeah."

"But he looks like he'll fall apart if I touch him!"

"I know!" Naruto agreed with a grin. "I've said it a dozen times!"

"What the hell?"

"I KNOW!" Naruto repeated, apparently glad to find someone who agreed with him.

The three adults in the room watched the exchange between the orange-clad boy and the orange-clad girl.

"…it's Naruto," Jiraiya concluded.

"It's another Naruto," Sarutobi added.

"A girl Naruto has descended upon us," Kakashi finalized.

"Gods help us," Sarutobi mumbled, before calling for the comedic duo's attention. "Umm, Naruto?"

"Wait a moment," Naruto dismissed the old man. "We're talking about you being a decrepit old coot."

"Don't say it to my face!" The Third paused after that sentence. "Don't say it at all!"

"Hai, hai," Naruto agreed rather easily. "So, Yuria here wants to talk with you, old man. Now, before she says anything, I have to make sure you understand: whatever she says, I was not behind it, it's not my fault, so don't blame me for this."

"Hey!" Yuria whined. "You're supposed to support me here!"

"I don't even know what you're up to!"

"It's called 'unconditional friendship'!"

"What kind of moron do you take me for?"

"Ah, mou!" Yuria huffed before dismissing the boy and walking to the very center of the room to face the Hokage. She actually looked a bit nervous. "Umm…hey. Uh, I mean, hello, um…Hokage. Uh, sama."

Massive sweatdropping ensued.

"Uh, yeah. I…I'm Higa—uhh, no. I'm Yuria, and I…wait. I should take out the tails for this."

An instant later, three astoundingly long white-tipped black tails emerged from the girl's back. While Jiraiya's and the Third's hands twitched for a moment, only Kakashi drew a single kunai.

"Wha-whoa! No, I'm not—"

"Don't mind him, Yuria."

"Whoa!" Yuria exclaimed a second time, even louder. "When did you even get there?"

Naruto was standing right outside the window closer to Kakashi's back. Just in case.

Sarutobi and his student had seen it. Naruto had disappeared from his initial position and immediately reappeared outside the window. That was definitely not _**Shunshin**_.

The boy shrugged and smiled in response to Yuria's question. "You have your new Reinforcement; I have a few new jutsu myself. Anyway, Yuria was saying something. Yuria!"

"Ah, right!" Yuria spoke again to draw the Third's attention. "So, yeah, as you can see, I'm Kitsune. I…umm…I'm, I'm friends with Naruto."

"That's not really gonna get you points with these three."

"Tell me those things beforehand!"

Naruto grinned impishly. "Oops?"

"Jerk," Yuria growled, and then turned back to the Hokage. "Um, so, yeah…I'm here because, well…I…I was kinda…kicked out of my clan, so…umm…what I'm trying to say here…well…"

"Yuria…" Her former mate growled, as his patience dropped past a certain threshold.

"I…I want to be a kunoichi!"

"…say wha—?" That was Naruto.

"Yeah, a kunoichi!" Yuria responded, as if addressing Naruto instead of the Hokage. "You know, get a fancy headband that screams 'I'm a ninja!', do ninja stuff and get money for it. Ever since you humans came up with that 'money' thing, even us youkai have come to depend on it, you see." She made a mock pout. "Damn you humans," she joked.

"Ugh…" Naruto rubbed his forehead. "Why…why do you want to be a ninja, Yuria? I mean, I know ninjas are awesome, but…"

"Come on, you can at least figure this out, Naruto!" Yuria was rather exasperated. "I don't have a clan anymore. I'm a lone wolf…fox. Before I can even think of doing the things I want to do, I have to at least ensure my basic survival. That means I need income. You know, that thing you exchange for goods and services."

"But why a ninja!" Naruto insisted.

"Because I only know how to punch things very hard!" She paused. "And cook. I can do that too, and very well. But mostly the punching people thing."

"Ninjas do more than that! And you said 'things' the first time!"

All of a sudden, Naruto found himself the target of four pairs of accusing eyes. "…what?"

Naruto fails as the voice of reason.

"Anyway!" Yuria focused her stare on the aged Kage. "Like I said! Please let me become a kunoichi!"

The four males in the room stared at the girl, who had finished her sentence with a deep bow. Sarutobi and the other two had not failed to notice Yuria's unusually long tails for her size. They were at least as long as she was tall.

"…girl."

"Ye-yes!" Yuria stood at attention. It was kinda ridiculous, but Sarutobi ignored it.

"…you're from the Higashiyama Clan, are you not?"

"Uh, no! I…" Yuria paused. Anything she said would sound like a lie. This time she had to be honest. "I was. Not anymore."

"Explain yourself."

Yuria let go a mild sigh. "I was expelled from the clan. I no longer carry the name 'Higashiyama'."

"Why?"

"Ugh…" Yuria dropped her head. "For refusing to acknowledge the Matriarch as my superior."

"Hmm…" Sarutobi had to conceal a tiny smile. What an interesting young foxgirl.

"Yuria-kun."

An interesting choice of honorific, suitable from the one called "Professor."

"Yes!"

"If I agreed to make you a kunoichi of Konoha…"

The other males stared at the old Kage in disbelief, while the beginning of a smile took form on Yuria's lips.

"…would you acknowledge **me** as your superior?"

"Geh."

So much for that smile, Yuria-san.

Noticing the foxgirl's trembling shoulders, Sarutobi smiled openly.

"That's your answer."

"Haa…" The three-tails sighed dejectedly. "So much for that idea…"

"You're a proud little one, Yuria-kun," the Third stated with the same kind aged smile. "Not that it's a bad thing, I mean."

"Thaaaat's what I mean!" Naruto joined the discussion again. "Why did you leave the clan in the first place?"

"I was expelled."

"You did that on purpose!" Naruto countered. "I was there when it happened! Even I can tell you did that on purpose! Or you would have been kicked out ages ago!"

Yuria was never very respectful to Yuri, either.

The girl met Naruto's insistent gaze with a dead stare for a few seconds before sighing a third time. "Listen."

"I said it before, didn't I? I intend to become the strongest youkai."

Naruto nodded firmly. "You'll be the youkai that surpasses even Kyuubi. I know."

Yuria could not stop herself from blushing. He said it with such conviction!

"Ah-ah, uhh…yeah."

"Nyari~"

Jiraiya gulped when struck by Yuria's heated glare.

"I said nuthin'."

"Huh. Anyway, to become the strongest youkai, I'll get in lots of trouble with the ones we call 'strongest' right now. So I…well…like this, my troubles are no longer Higashiyama's troubles. If I challenge the strongest, it will be Yuria's challenge, not Higashiyama's challenge."

Naruto nodded. He could understand that.

"…wait. You leave your clan because you don't want them to get in trouble because of your plans, right?"

"Yup."

"But you have no problems with joining Konoha right afterwards?"

"Yup!" She blinked. "I mean, crap!"

"Yuria!"

"Ugh…"

"Well, she's Kitsune alright," Kakashi muttered, and the other two experienced ninja nodded in agreement.

"Wah-wah, Naruto! Let me go!"

"Like hell I'm letting you go after that!" Naruto spat back as he caught his former mate in a headlock. "It's my village we're talking about here—gah! Tails! Tails! Knock it off with the tails!"

"Then let me go dammit! Wedgie!"

"No! Giiiiii!"

**Onii-chan? It huhts?**

The older shinobi winced as one.

Naruto fell on his butt, defeated, and the foxgirl laughed merrily. "Serves you right, wahahaha! You're still a hundred years too early to beat this magnificent Yuria-sama!"

"Ugh, shut up already, you damn freeloader…"

"Gah! Low blow, Naruto! Low blow!" With such a strong reminder of her current dilemma, Yuria too sat on the office's floor, looking rather down. "Mou, so what am I supposed to do now? I'm officially homeless…"

"What are you saying?" Naruto retorted with a seemingly uncaring tone. "You're living with me, aren't ya?"

The adults stared at Naruto.

"Bu~ut!" Yuria whined. "I can't abuse your kindness like that!" Lowering her face, she made the most adorable pout. "You already bought me these clothes…and, um, underwear…and hygiene stuff…and new bindings…and you let me sleep with you…"

The adults stared at Yuria; their pupils wider and wider.

"Mah, mah…" A dismissing gesture from the blonde young boy. "I already got used to it. Sharing the bed."

The adults stared at Naruto.

**Muu…Sayuri wants to sleep with onii-chan…**

"Bu-but! It's embarrassing when you walk in on me when I'm using the toilet!" Covering her cheeks with her hands, Yuria made her best cutesy voice. "Iyaan~! Naruto-kun, ecchi~"

"It only happened once! ONCE!" Naruto huffed and crossed his arms. "I've lived alone for years; you should praise my carefulness!"

"Bu-bu-but…" Yuria ignored the boy's cries. "If it's Naruto-kun…it's okay…kyah!"

"Stop it with the cutesy! It's creepy! Too creepy!"

"Oi…" Yuria growled not very menacingly. "You sayin' I'm not cute? You think I haven't noticed all the times you've ogled my breasts?"

"Those amazingly erotic things of yours have nothing to do with cuteness!"

Kakashi blinked. Twice.

"Jiraiya."

"Yes, sensei?"

"Why does this always happen in my office?"

"Saa…"

The Hokage's Office: a place where all inhibitions disappear.

It took a while, but eventually Naruto and Yuria ran out of one-liners to shoot at each other.

"So, is that everything you came here for, Naruto?" Sarutobi asked.

"Hey!" Yuria pouted. "We haven't solved my problem yet!"

"That's none of our business," Sarutobi, Kakashi and Jiraiya said in unison.

"Damn you humans!"

"You don't really think before you speak, do you…?" Naruto said with a tired voice.

"You're the last person in the world with the right to say that!" Four people responded at once.

Kakashi, Jiraiya nor Sarutobi would have a problem dealing with the average three-tails, which probably explains the rather affable scene.

"Haa…" Naruto shook his head. "But I don't really see why Yuria can't be a ninja. She's frickin' strong, I can vouch for that."

"Weren't you against me being a ninja just a few minutes ago?"

"I never said that," Naruto stated stubbornly. "I just wanted to know why. If it's what you want to do, fine by me. It would be kinda cool, actually."

"Naruto…"

Yuria was beginning to understand just how good a friend Uzumaki Naruto could be.

Just beginning to.

"Naruto…" Sarutobi tried to be both fatherly and stern with his voice and expression. "She just proved to us; we'll never have her loyalty. She just wants a place to live and a source of income."

"And she happens to be Kitsune," Kakashi muttered idly.

"Yes, that too."

"Ugh…it hurts because it's true…" Yuria muttered. "Except for the Kitsune part. That's just discrimination!"

Naruto stared at the foxgirl, hard.

"You really, really, don't think before you speak, do you?"

The other three ninja nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I noticed the moment I opened my mouth. Sorry."

Well, at least she admits it.

"Well…" A sudden flash of inspiration. "How about a nin-fox?"

"A what?" Sarutobi was not sure he had heard right.

"Yeah! I mean, if Kiba's clan have nin-dogs, why can't I have a nin-fox? I can already summon her, so no problem there." He paused. "By the way, I summon foxes now. Screw your toads, Ero-sennin!"

**Waaai! Foxes wule!**

Wiggle, wiggle.

While Jiraiya silently mused what the Fourth Hokage would think of those words, Sarutobi shook his head in quiet amusement.

"Naruto, the Inuzuka dogs do not receive income, do they? If we did that, Yuria-kun would be your responsibility, and I don't think she would like that."

"Most certainly not!" Yuria complained. "It would be the same thing as right now! And I'm not your pet! That's Yurimi's job!"

Kakashi took three steps back. Just what the hell happened in the last week or so?

"Wait, which one is Yurimi again…?" Jiraiya inquired, retrieving a notebook from his pocket.

"One topic at a time, you damn pervert!" Naruto shouted. "Aaaah, my head hurts…"

"There you go," the Third made a finishing statement. "Besides, Yuria-kun is not only a Kitsune, but a nameless one to boot. I cannot begin to imagine the bureaucratic mess to register her in our roster…"

"Why can't you just register her as 'Uzumaki'?" Naruto pondered with a mild shrug, utterly stunning the present.

"Na-Naruto…?" A blushing three-tailed foxgirl whispered.

"Naruto, you can't be possibly thinking…" Kakashi began, but stopped when Naruto shrugged a second time.

"Why not? I mean, if her clan's so important to her and she can still throw away her family name like that, why should I care about sharing mine with her? 'Uzumaki' means nothing to me."

The words struck the Third and his student like the sharpest blade.

"I don't even know if it's really my father's name…" Naruto continued his not-very-subtle attack. "…because you won't tell me, remember?"

"Huh…" Yuria muttered. She had just made the connection. If Naruto was an orphan as she knew he was, just where did the name 'Uzumaki' come from? Was it really a legacy from his progenitors, or a random name given to him by the orphanage or this old guy in front of her?

"A-Anyway…" Sarutobi bluntly ignored the topic. "Naruto, we can't possibly pretend that all of a sudden you have a Kitsune sister."

**Sayuri's onii-chan's imouto!**

"Putting aside the village's feelings about youkai foxes, it's—"

"Who said anything about 'sisters'? Really, that's just stupid."

The other four froze in their positions. He couldn't mean…

"I mean 'wife', old man. Waaa-eee-fu."

**Waaaaaaaaaai-fu!**

Wiggle, wiggle-fu.

If they had been drinking anything, it would have become a mess on the floor…and the desk.

"Gah!" Yuria quickly took a most healthy shade of red all over. "Wa-wha-gaa…what…huh?"

"What she said," Kakashi was more concise.

"Naruto, you can't possibly—"

"I am perfectly serious," The boy interrupted the Hokage. "If I make Yuria my wife, she can then be registered as Uzumaki Yuria, citizen of Konoha. Then she can apply for any job in the village, right?" He grinned. "Or even enter the Academy."

"Wha…gah…ehh…huh~?"

"Once again, what she said," Kakashi spared himself the trouble of voicing his opinion.

"Just how could you think of such a crazy…" Jiraiya shook his head, caught between admiration of the boy's audacity and exasperation at his stupidity.

"Ah, actually…" Suddenly blushing for no apparent reason, Naruto shut his mouth. "Uh, nothing. Anyway, it works, doesn't it?"

Kakashi nodded. "It certainly does. I must say, I'm surprised you came up with such an idea."

"Hmm, hmm," Jiraiya hummed as he nodded.

"Naruto!" The Third was not very happy, though. "You don't even understand the implications of such a thing as marriage!"

"Uhh…" Naruto raised a hand and began to count with his fingers. "We already do everything together: we cook together, we clean the house together, we shop together, we eat together, we train together, we sleep together…I think the one thing left is to bathe together, but I won't be surprised if it happens sometime this week."

"Oooooh!" _This is your son, Minato!_

Naruto lowered his hand and shrugged. "Believe me, after this week I think I have a pretty decent idea how it is to live with Yuria." He chuckled. "It's not half bad."

The girl's cheeks got even redder. "Ah…ahaha…"

"Naruto!" The Third insisted. "You don't have a proper relationship!"

The boy sighed in exasperation and turned to his Kitsune friend.

"Yuria, I love you~" He uttered in a horribly fake and flat voice. "Please marry me~"

Nudge, nudge.

"Uhh…ehh…ah!" She caught the hint. "Darling!"

The couple embraced each other and rolled around on the Hokage's office floor. It would have looked much more romantic on a flowery meadow.

"Ahaha-haha-ha. Yuria-chwaaaan~" Naruto's fake happiness.

"Ahaha-haha-nyaaan~! Darling, suki-suki~" Yuria's fake lover acting.

_On a side note, I love you too, Sayuri._

**Weally? Waaaaaaai! Onii-chan, wuv yuu wots!**

Naruto has become a fast thinker, at least concerning stopping Sayuri from setting people on fire.

The three adults watched the pseudo-couple rolled on the floor while in each other hands and not-so-merrily laughing. Sarutobi was twitching.

"…you don't really expect me to believe that, do you, Naruto…?" The aged Kage muttered tiredly.

"I don't know; they look very much in love to me," Kakashi could not have pretended he believed those words even under Genjutsu.

"Naruto…" The old Hokage was really, really tired by this point. "You know I only want the best for you…"

"Is that why you won't tell me anything about my parents?"

"Ow." Yuria winced. "That was low, Naru—eh, darling!"

"Stop that already," the Third muttered rather darkly.

"Sorry."

"Haa…" He really could have used his pipe right now, the Third. "Naruto, she's a youkai…"

"Okay, now THAT is discrimination," Naruto sharply retorted. "And we both know it's not the first time a human and a youkai get together."

"True that."

Jiraiya looked away from his former teacher's terrible glare. The Professor then looked back at the daring young boy.

"Naruto, you don't love her."

The boy blinked as his expression softened. His eyes shifted to the foxgirl in his arms for only a moment.

"But, I do."

Before any of the three humans and one Kitsune could open their mouths, he explained himself.

"Oh, not in that way! There's no way I could know that, really. I don't know crap about love and stuff. I know that Yuria is my friend. I know that she has a dream. I know I want to help her achieve that dream…because she's just like me."

The others remained solemnly silent. Naruto at least understood that simple of facts: Yuria was just like him.

"She left her family to protect them from her own problems. I won't let her do the same to me." He looked down at the girl he was embracing. "Uzumaki Naruto won't let go of a friend just like that. No way."

In a different timeline, that fundamental fact has become the plot of a shounen manga.

His defiant stare challenged the Hokage.

"Let's make a deal."

He did not hesitate.

"The Chuunin Exam Finals. If I win tomorrow's tournament, you will accept Yuria as my wife."

Kakashi and Jiraiya looked at the village leader. They, too, expected a response.

"…if you win the tournament tomorrow, I'll stamp the documents myself," Sarutobi finally declared.

Yuria gasped. Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"You'll have to do that anyway, you're the frigging Hokage."

"I know, it's not fair! I have to stamp every damn paper in this village!" The Third suddenly whined. "Stupid bureaucracy."

A minute later, a satisfied Naruto pushed a rather-wobbly-looking Yuria out of the office, leaving the three adults alone again.

"Hokage-sama…" Kakashi immediately spoke. "If I may ask, why…?"

"Because I finally understood."

The silence he got in response told the Third they were expecting a few more words.

"That boy…will not become Hokage. I don't think he'll even become a Chuunin, ever."

Sarutobi ignored the other two's confused stares. It was a little bothersome, this strange, ambivalent feeling in his tired heart.

* * *

"Haa…well, that's that," Naruto declared as he stretched his arms under the sunlight. "Now I have another reason to do my best tomorrow."

Yuria quietly walked past him and into the street in front of the Administration Building. Her tails were gone again, of course.

"Sorry about that, Yuria," Naruto chuckled rather restrainedly. "I got us engaged and everything. I don't think it's much of a problem, though—"

"What do you mean 'not much of a problem'?" A suddenly angry Kitsune turned to lash at the boy. The loud outburst drew a few gazes from the surroundings. "What the hell are you thinking? Arranging our ma-ma-mah-marriage…and what about Yurimi? Huh!"

Naruto was a little startled by the angry-then-bashful Kitsune. "I thought Kitsune did not really care about marriage." He paused. "I know Yurimi definitely won't."

"Bu-but! It's embarrassing!" Yuria continued. "I-I'm your…your…fi-fi-fian…ugh!" Her hands reached for her hair and rendered it a mess. "Gaaah! My head is a mess! I need to hit something."

"Please spare me," Naruto quickly protected himself. Then he remembered. "Ah! Right! Let's do that!"

Yuria went beet red. "D-d-d-d-d…do what?"

"Training! Remember? I promised to teach you _**Kage Bunshin**_ once you got the hang of water walking, right?"

"Ah…"

She was relieved, yes, but the blush on her face did not fade. Feeling a strange ticklish sensation all over her body, Yuria lowered her head to hide her face from the boy.

_He…he remembers…he…_

"…idiot."

"Oi." Naruto pouted. "I did nothing to deserve that."

* * *

"In the timeline where I come from, Uzumaki Naruto died at the age of 23 years old," Sayuri had begun.

We shall now go back in time, back to Sayuri, Yurimi, Yuri and Sayoko.

"In the ten years between Yuri's death and Naruto's, he sired three children, all daughters, with three different women."

Yurimi felt something stiffen inside her.

"The mother of Naruto's first daughter was, surprisingly enough, Higashiyama Yurina."

The three in the audience blinked as one.

"They got very close after Yurina and Yuriyo had their big fight and the latter left Konoha to wander the world. Yurimi was terribly affected by the loss of her mother and Kotonoha, and it took her a while to regain her composure and her interest in Naruto-onii-chan. Anyway, Naruto and Yurina had a child, Yurin. Lovely girl, that one."

"Naruto's second daughter was Kizuna-chan, born from Kiyoura Setsuna, Kotonoha's odd friend and Naruto's sensei. That Setsuna…she was pretty shocked by what happened that night…by Kotonoha's death, I mean. Aside from that, I'm still not sure why she stuck around Konoha after that. In any case, at some point Setsuna and onii-chan did the deal and she got pregnant."

"Setsuna and her child left Konoha before onii-chan died. I think she just didn't want to see the end. I saw Setsuna a few more times after onii-chan passed away, but it's really been a long time since the last…she might be dead as far as I know."

"Naruto-onii-chan's last daughter was born from Yurimi here. They named her Koyuri-chan."

"Unfortunately, Naruto-onii-chan did not live long enough to watch them grow and see just how special his children were. However, even since the moment they were born you could see they were different."

"I think I don't have to explain what happens when a human and a Kitsune have children, do I, Yurimi-chan?"

"If the Kitsune is the father, the child is a normal human. If the Kitsune is the mother, the child may be either a human or a half-Kitsune," the girl responded as if reading from a textbook.

"Right. Then you have onii-chan's children."

"Newborn half-Kitsune look like ordinary humans until puberty, when they grow their first tail. They are capable of using decent reinforcement, illusions and enchantments; some can use Kitsune Fire, some can't. The average lifespan of a half-Kitsune is about 120 years. I'm sure you all know this."

Yurimi nodded. The two behind did not, but this was not due to ignorance.

"The first clue on Naruto's children's…special qualities could be seen the moment they were born…with a tail. A cute little tail. Those babies looked absolutely adorable. This was about everything Naruto-onii-chan could see. After he passed away and the girls grew up, that's when we all realized what they truly were."

"They had no trouble learning how to use chakra from an early age. An examination revealed their internal pathways were just as good as any human's, and their tails were just like any Kitsune's. Himeyuri and Yurimi taught them how to craft enchantments and illusions, but they never made it past the basic techniques your average Kitsune first learns. Then we got a shinobi to try teaching them Genjutsu."

"What they couldn't do with their tails they did with their bodies. They took Genjutsu like sponges, and surpassed all but the finest shinobi masters in less than a decade. It makes no sense, given that there's no real difference between human Genjutsu and youkai Illusion other than the chakra involved. It made less sense when the girls later extrapolated Kitsune Illusions from their Genjutsu knowledge."

"Then we tried Ninjutsu. All three had excellent chakra control, so we saw no reason why they wouldn't be able to use it. And indeed, there wasn't. All tests for determining a human's elemental affinity gave no results when tried on Yurin-chan and Koyuri-chan, but that did not stop them from learning Elemental Ninjutsu. Yurin-chan was better at Raiton Jutsu, while Koyuri-chan excelled at Fuuton, but I think this was more personal preference than any actual affinity."

Apparently tired of walking around aimlessly as she spoke, Sayuri speared her tails on the ground behind her and used them to support her weight.

"Around that time, Setsuna and Kizuna showed up at the shrine. Yurin-chan, the oldest, was around…what, thirty-five? I think so. Anyway, those two showed up and gave us a big surprise: Kizuna-chan had Kitsune Special Affinities!"

At the sight of Yuri's and the other two's reaction, Sayuri could not help but smirk. There it was…

"The clan didn't waste time testing Yurin-chan and Koyuri-chan. It took them an entire year, but they learned the Ghost Tail Technique. Can you believe it? It's the most basic Ghost technique you generally learn only after you get the third tail! The third!"

"By the age of fifty, those girls had the arsenal of jutsu of a 250-year-old Kitsune, and they were as strong and skilled as a very well trained three-tails. However, after that point, their progress came to a halt," Sayuri shrugged. "We believed they had reached the limit of their abilities, but how could we feel disappointed? To everyone's eyes, those girls were undoubtedly special. They were Naruto-onii-chan's precious last gift to us."

Sayuri's smirk grew to an almost disturbing width.

"Then Yurin-chan reached her hundredth birthday…and grew a second tail."

Yuri made a face as if an entire pantheon of Gods had appeared in front of her. Sayuri straightened her posture again to better portray her excitement.

"Onii-chan's daughters were fully-fledged Kitsune!" She shook her head. "No! Like Kiyoura Setsuna, they are a hybrid existence with the best traits of both species! A Kitsune's tails, chakra, affinities and longevity plus a human's developed chakra system and growth curve! They even inherited their father's massive chakra capacity!" Her voice settled down a little bit. "Their only problem is their lack of natural shapechanging ability, but that can be fixed by teaching them _**Henge no Jutsu**_."

The nine-tails giggled. "We called them '**Spiral Children**', to honor their father."

"You speak in past tense…" Sayoko muttered.

"Yes, well…Yurin-chan and Koyuri-chan already died…well, they were killed, to be precise. I haven't seen Kizuna-chan in ages; it's been so long I can only assume she's also dead."

"Sa…Sayuri-sama…"

"Yes, mother?"

"I must ask…what were those girls' affinities?"

Sayuri nodded eagerly. "I was waiting for that question!"

"Of course, you must be wondering: Kitsune Specializations are inherited primarily from the father, right? That's why Higashiyama has so many 'halves', and why most lilies have only a minor affinity with Ghost techniques. I guess it's a problem you've had to deal with since the very foundation of the clan."

Yuri nodded. It was the reason Yurimi, Yurine and Yurisa were so important to the clan, being the lilies with strong Ghost affinity their offspring could possibly inherit.

"Onii-chan obviously doesn't have a Kitsune Specialization. He doesn't even carry the gene for that. That's where it gets interesting. To be honest, it's nothing short of miraculous."

"Onii-chan doesn't contribute to this decision at all! Onii-chan's Spiral Children always have the **exact same affinities as their mothers!** Yurin-chan was a Celestial/Ghost, Koyuri-chan a Ghost/Fire and Kizuna-chan a Lightning/Void!"

"Not just that!" Sayuri continued. "The girls even inherited the **magnitude** of their mother's affinities!"

Yuri stiffened, and Sayuri nodded.

"Yes, mother! Higashiyama Koyuri's affinity with Ghost Techniques was as strong as Yurimi's! Natural talent that surpasses the Silver Lily of the Netherworld! Iyaaan~, I wish I could have had onii-chan's baby~" She raised her arms in celebration. "Kakuton Jutsu, banzai!"

The excited Kyuubi let the thoughts simmer in her audience's heads for a few moments.

"Yurimi-sama, dear?"

Very slowly, Yurimi turned her head to look at her mother seated behind and to her left.

"Yes, Mother?"

"We should depart at once…to do 'that thing'."

Yurimi blinked twice before getting it. "…oh. Right." Turning to the nine-tails, the new Matriarch bowed deeply and respectfully. "My utmost apologies, Sayuri-sama; I must ask you to excuse us, for Mother and I must depart at once to do…'that thing'. Yes. It must be done. At once."

"Have a safe trip~" Sayuri was already waving goodbye.

After exchanging nods, Yuri grabbed her daughter by her shoulder and whisked her away with the Ghost Walker Technique.

The last thing Sayoko and Sayuri saw was Yurimi reaching for the zipper in the back of her maid costume.

"Well, aren't they in a hurry?" Sayuri said before bursting into laughter. Sayoko did not comment on that.

"Why did Sayuri-sama tell them such a thing?"

"Like~I~said!" Sayuri exclaimed, extending the end of each word. "It was a gift. That, and I wanted to spice onii-chan's future up a little. He told me once he wouldn't mind having a large family."

In his death bed, she remembered.

"Don't you think he's a little too young…?"

"Oh, it will be a while before he has any offspring," Sayuri dismissed the Void Kitsune's worries. "But, it's really strange, for onii-chan to have that power. If I have to guess, it's a unique and completely random genetic trait. I mean, so far we only know two humans with this 'power': onii-chan and Kiyoura Mai, Setsuna's mother."

"Hmm…" Sayoko lazily looked up at the afternoon sky. "I wonder what kind of child would Naruto-san have with Mayuri-sama, then…?"

"Tch!"

Sayuri angrily spat on the grass, which unexplainably caught fire. The nine-tails extinguished it by slamming her right hand on it.

"Way to screw up my good mood, Sayoko-san."

Lying on the grass, Sayuri covered her eyes with her right hand to avoid the sunlight.

"I don't even want to imagine what kind of abomination would be born from that accursed witch."

* * *

The days were still long, so the sky was still clear when Naruto and Yuria made it back to the apartment.

"That…didn't come out the way we expected it, did it…?" Naruto muttered, referring to his Shadow Clone Technique. Yuria sighed.

"Well…let's say it's better than nothing."

"What would I do without your optimism?"

Yuria chuckled. "Moron."

"Ara, Naruto-sama," the ever-smiling figure of Katsura Kotonoha welcomed him from the dining table where she was seated at. "And Yuria-sama."

"Uhh, you don't need to use the '-sama' anymore, Kotonoha,"

"I do it because I choose to, Yuria-sama."

Yuria's cheeks trembled, but she held back. "Hmm…whatever floats your boat." She turned to Naruto. "I'll get changed, if you don't mind."

"Why should I?"

The three-tails shot the boy a quick smile before turning towards the bedroom door. As usual, Kotonoha waited until the very last moment to say what she had to say.

"Umm, Yuria-sama, there're already people changing there, ufufufufu…"

Yuria opened the door to Naruto's bedroom to find a most interesting scene.

"Hawa!" After a shriek of surprise, a twin-tailed blonde recognized the newcomer and sighed in relief. Yurina was not wearing much of anything at the moment, hence the initial surprise. "Ah, it's Yuria-san…that was scary…waaa—Mom! Cover yourself already, please!"

However, the naked Higashiyama Yurine was more interested in figuring out Naruto's Academy books.

"Hawaa…the log is amazing…but, where does it come from…?"

Yuria turned to the one lily on the bed.

"And what exactly are you doing?"

Higashiyama Yuriyo, poorly covered by an untied kimono, answered on the bed girl's behalf.

"Well, as far as I can see, she's sniffing the pillow as she caresses her genitals."

A disgusted Yuria turned to her niece. "Do you have to put it like that?"

"Hey, you asked!"

Yurimi had a blissful expression on her face.

"Haa…Master's scent…" Then she grimaced. "And Yuria's."

Blissful face.

"And Master's…"

Grimacing face.

"And Yuria's."

"You're becoming more stupidly perverted by the chapter, Yurimi."

"I think it's called 'Flanderization'," Yuriyo commented.

"Nah, I feel it's somehow different." Clapping loudly, Yuria got her younger sister's attention. "Alright, stop that. I won't have you filling the bed with your stench."

"…five more minutes."

"No."

"…fifteen seconds."

"You're the new Matriarch! ACT YOUR ROLE!"

"…tch."

Outside the room, Naruto made an odd face at the conversation he could hear. He turned to Kotonoha.

"I should just pretend I didn't hear anything, right?"

Kotonoha's sweet smile was like a panacea to the boy's troubled mind.

* * *

"Whoa…"

Naruto's appreciation for beauty was far from developed, but even an ignorant child such as he could tell obvious beauty when he saw it.

"Ha-Hawaa…onii-sama, it's kinda…embarrassing…"

Yurina's kimono depicted a clear spring sky, with small, thin clouds here and there. It was a simple design, but the calm colors perfectly matched her golden hair and angelical frame.

"Hoo…so even the little Naruto understands when he's in the presence of PERFECTION!"

Yuriyo, of course, had gone with a short-skirted kimono. Healthy thighs and shapely legs were presented for the world to admire. Her black kimono with red orchids on the back and rear presented the expected and most impressive contrast to her sister's "light" appearance.

"Hehe…Yurine looks pretty~"

The mother of those two had gone for a white kimono. The back revealed cherry branches releasing their pink petals, which flew into the front side of the one-piece.

"I'm glad…Master approves of these…"

Yurimi's kimono was surreal. It was as if she was covered by a sheet of flowing, liquid silver. The metallic fabric was adorned with, predictably, white lilies. A single black and gold butterfly fluttered near the tallest flower.

"…you disappoint me."

"I'll kick your ass, insolent brat."

Yuria had changed to her shrine maiden clothes.

**Muu, Sayuri wants to wear…ah! Sayuri can make cwothes! With fire!**

_How is that even possible?_

It defies all explanation.

"I apologize, Naruto-sama, for wearing my usual clothes…"

Kotonoha always wears a kimono, so there.

"Ah, no…" The boy scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Kotonoha is always very beautiful…"

"Ara, Naruto-sama, you charmer~"

"Alright, stop that," Yuria growled, pulling Naruto's right arm and latching herself there. "Let's get movin', Naruto."

"Wait, what's going on?" Yuriyo raised an eyebrow, pretending surprise even as she smirked. "You're not mates anymore, you two, you don't have to be all—"

"Buzz off, Yuriyo," Yuria warned before walking outside the apartment, dragging Naruto with her and taking the lead on the rest of the group.

"Oi, oi!" The half-Void half-laughed. "That's no way to address a lily of the Great Clan of Higashiyama!"

"Guess how little I care!"

The rest of the walk was a little more normal. They expected to meet Yuri, Sayoko, Yurisa and Mayuri on the festival grounds. Of course, the 'festival grounds' consisted of about half of Konoha, so that was a rather ambiguous term.

"But, these amazing kimonos…did you buy them in the village?"

"Not at all, Master," Yurimi quickly answered. "We all brought them from the shrine. Mother did not specify just what kind of luggage we should bring, so we brought a proper kimono, just in case. This one I am wearing was in fact given to me by Mother just a while ago. Master has already seen my kimono."

Naruto nodded. Of course he remembered that dazzling piece.

"Wait," he turned to Yuriyo. "That's your definition of 'proper'?"

"Hey, it fulfills its purpose!"

"Which is…?"

"Flaunting my gorgeous self, of course!"

"…right." He then looked at his fiancé. "And you?"

Yuria was quick to point at the half-Void. "She burned it."

**Aah! Burn! I want to burn things!**

_You be quiet._

**Mugyuu…**

"I regret nothing," Yuriyo stated solemnly.

"Bitch."

"Naruto-sama doesn't have a yukata, I presume?" Kotonoha not-very-subtly inquired. Naruto shrugged and masked his thoughts with a weak chuckle.

"Nah, I never bothered buying something like that. It's not like I'd get chances to wear it, anyway."

Nobody decided to comment on that.

* * *

She was walking ahead of them, so Naruto could only see her back. However, that gait, that tiny body and that ribbon were unmistakable.

"Mistress Setsuna!" The boy called excitedly.

More than one random passerby perked up at Naruto's curious choice of words.

The Lightning/Void hybrid calmly turned to greet her obedient student. "Ah, boya…and the boob brigade."

Yuriyo chuckled. "Did you hear that? We're the Boob Brigade. That's kinda awesome."

"No, it isn't," Yuria muttered.

"Hello, Setsuna."

The short teacher's eyes glared at the tall swordswoman. "Don't talk to me, Udder Woman. Unless you want me to gut you on the spot."

"Yes, yes."

"Don't patronize me!"

"Waah…" Naruto was honestly impressed, and a little nervous. "This is the first time I see Mistress wearing something else…"

The four-tails perked up. Naruto's pupils trailed up and down Setsuna's small body, admiring the kimono she had chosen for the occasion: pitch black with firebirds flying out of a raging flame at the very bottom.

"Wha-wha-wha—don't look at me like that, insolent pervert!"

"Ah-no!" Naruto was quick to go on the defensive, still unskilled in the ways of the tsundere. "I-I was just, uh…I…I think Mistress looks great!"

"Kaa…ah! I-I don't need a brat telling me something like that!"

"Whatever! It's the truth!"

It needs not be said, but the two were identical blushing wrecks by this point.

"It…it brings out your eyes…um, sensei."

"Ah…pu-pu-putting aside your complete lack of knowledge on how to talk to a lady, the sentiment is appreciated."

Their eyes met, and both master and student quickly looked away.

"Umm…"

"Ahh…"

"Good God, start making out already," Yuriyo muttered as she walked past the two, followed by the rest of the group.

"You make me sick," Yuria struck at her fiancé as she walked.

"Ufufufu, young love is so wonderful, isn't it, Setsuna?"

"Master, if it is what you wish, I can do tsundere play as well."

That would be fun to watch.

Yurina was too embarrassed to voice her thoughts. Her mother, on the other side, was brutally honest.

"Waaah, it also brings out your flat ches—HAWA!"

The five-tails jumped away from Setsuna's searing glare.

* * *

Naruto had noticed for quite some time that he was attracting even more looks than usual. For once, it was not because he had pulled off a nasty prank or simply because he was the "Demon Brat".

This time it was obviously because of his most appealing entourage, which covered a wide range of sizes, shapes and preferences. There was something for everyone in his happy group of Kitsune.

Half a block away, the clearly distinguishable and tall form of Higashiyama Yuri. It seemed his merry group was about to grow. How amusing.

Of course, Sayoko was with her. So were Yurisa and Mayuri. Only Yurisa had chosen to change her clothes to a plain dark blue kimono with a white sash. Naruto somehow regretted not being able to see Mayuri's undescribable "night sky" kimono one more time.

"Good evening, Uzumaki Naruto-sama."

**Mama! He-llo!**

After a second, Naruto smiled approvingly.

_No fire? Good girl!_

**Te-hehe, Sayuri was pwaised by onii-chan…**

Sayuri does have a learning curve.

"And now…" The boy defiantly planted his arms on his hips. "Why should I even talk to you after that stunt from earlier?"

"Ara…" Yuri demurely covered her mouth with her right hand. "Yes, yes, it seems…I got a little too excited earlier. At my age it doesn't happen very often anymore, so I will ask you to please excuse my lack of restraint."

"I cannot feel the faintest hint of honesty in those words…"

"Ufufufufu…" Kotonoha chuckled. "That won't work with Naruto-sama any more, Yuri-sama."

"My, so it seems." Naruto stiffened when the former Matriarch ruffled his blond hair. "Naruto-sama has become quite acquainted with us Kitsune, has he not?"

"That doesn't make feel happy at all…"

"Me too…" Yurimi promptly leaned on the boy's stout back. "Yurimi wants to become acquainted with Master, too…" Rub, rub. "Every nook and cranny…"

"Don't say it in such a disturbing way!" Naruto complained. "And I haven't forgotten you were her accomplice!"

"Mugyuu…"

**Wahahaha, mugyuu!**

"Ha-hawaa…" Yurine moaned. "Umm, Na-Naruto-kyun…there's this scary aura coming out of Mistress-chan…"

"Huh? What do you mean 'aura'—SCARY!"

The orange-clad ninja jerked away from the blackness surrounding Kiyoura Setsuna.

"Uhuhuhu…'acquainted', huh…" The loli's shoulders trembled. "…'Master', huh…"

Naruto frowned. "Why are you acting like you had not heard that before?"

"Ooooh…" Yuriyo winced. "Worst possible answer…"

"Nah, he can do worse," Yuria quickly corrected.

"You should be grateful I don't use lightning in public, boyaaa…"

Naruto frowned again. "Wasn't that the very reason I had to spank you that ti—guhk!"

A tiny hand swiftly closed around Naruto's windpipe.

"My, oh my, what could you possibly be daydreaming about, boyaaa~?"

A series of nondescript sounds were Naruto's only possible response.

"Ufufufu~" Kotonoha chuckled in delight. Watching these two get along so well made her very happy.

"Umm…this is all quite amusing and everything, but I cannot help wondering…"

Everybody turned to Yuria.

"…where the hell are the lesbians?"

Everybody blinked.

* * *

Higashiyama Yuriko woke up feeling surprisingly clear of head. She did have a headache, but it should have been far, far worse considering just how much she remembered drinking.

"Hmm…" Her throat vibrated as she hummed. She could use some water.

She remembered hearing somewhere that Mountain Kitsune are superbly good at holding their liquor. Considering that the average Kitsune was no more resistant to alcohol than the average human (at least not without chakra-assistance), she guessed her father's genes had finally proved to be of some use.

Her pupils found the window. It was already dark. Just for how long did she sleep…?

Her musings were interrupted by a large female figure blocking her vision.

"…Yurika…?"

The twin sister had drunk far less; therefore she was completely lucid after a few hours of rest.

"You…" The twin on top growled. Yuriko could only tilt her head at that.

"Huh?"

"Not faaaaaair!" Yurika moaned rather loudly, making her sister wince. "You're not faaaaair, Yuriko!"

"Wha…?"

Yurika's eyes held back the tears of regret and frustration. "You got all the fun for yourself! I hate you, hate you, hate you, hate you! Bweee—gehk!"

Yurika's raspberry-blowing was brutally interrupted by a scroll hitting the right side of her head.

"Shut uuuuuuup…" A third voice moaned.

It was then that Yuriko noticed the other person on the bed to her left. While she could only see Anko's back, from the amount skin clearly visible, Yuriko could easily guess the kunoichi was naked.

Then she noticed she was also naked.

Her sister's words made a whole lot of sense.

"…oh." The naked Kitsune grinned. "Awesome."

"Awesome my ass—gack!" It was a beer bottle this time.

"Yes, sister, I know better than anyone that your ass is fantastic."

"Shut up already…ugh, somebody kill me…"

Most unfortunately, Anko is not a Mountain Kitsune.

Ignoring the human's moans and groans, the twins looked at each other. One on the bed, the other on the floor to Yuriko's right.

"Muu…" Yurika was glaring.

"Oh, sheesh…" The twin sister rolled her eyes. "You were sleeping."

"You could have woken me up!" Yurika promptly hissed.

"Bu-but, you look so cute when you're sleeping…I didn't want to bother…"

"You didn't think of me at all, did ya?"

"…I was really drunk."

"Yes! You were! Gaaaaah!" The frustrated twin pulled her fine black hair for a second. "Fuck you!"

"Ugh…" Yuriko groaned. "Give me an hour or two…or eight…"

"You have no right to complain!" Yurika loudly declared. "It's MY turn to have fun now, so shut your mouth and spread your—guagh!"

An anaconda.

"SHUT UP ALREADY, YOU DAMN BITCHES!"

Yuriko's wide pupils could only stare at the immense serpent pinning her sister against the wall.

"…yes, ma'am."

* * *

It was truly an impressive sight. People had no choice but to step aside, lest be trampled by the awesome.

Well, not really awesome, just really, really pretty.

From left to right: Yuri, Yurisa, Mayuri, Setsuna, Naruto, Yuria, Yurine, Yuriyo, Yurina, Kotonoha and Yurimi. Together, they made a line that almost blocked the entire street.

On a side note, Sayoko quietly followed them two steps behind Yuri.

"Umm…" Naruto sweatdropped. "It's not like your tails are out or anything, but…don't you think you're a little too…uhh…what's the word I'm looking for, Yurimi?"

"Conspicuous, Master?"

"Uhh…I'll trust you on this one."

"Thank you, Master."

"Well, we can't help being so damn hot," Yuriyo boasted.

"You could use Henge or something."

"Why the hell would I want to do that?"

Naruto sighed. Kitsune were just too random for him. They want to hide their identity but can't stop themselves from flaunting their physical appeal. How does that make sense?

Where the hell did Setsuna go, anyway?

"Ah, if you're looking for the tsun-loli," Yuria noted after Naruto unsubtly began to look around. "She stopped about three stalls ago."

Indeed, the Loli Queen had her eyes fixed on a particular stall out of the dozens and dozens aligned on the streets of Konoha's market area.

On a huge, black cat plushie. Its white-tipped tail was as thick as three of her fingers.

"Nyaa…" The four-tails muttered only to herself.

"You want that kitty, Mistress?"

"Gyaaaaa!" The startled sensei jumped the good part of three meters when Naruto's voice ringed in her left ear. Even Naruto was startled by her reaction.

"What the hell?"

"That's my line!" Setsuna retorted. "Wha-wha-aaa—as if! As if I could have any interest in that incredibly cute—uh, HORRIBLE! That horrible, ominous, low-quality product for stupid children!"

"I'm here you know…" The man in charge of the stall muttered rather sadly.

"You've been staring at it for a while, though…" Naruto clamly pointed out, further drawing his teacher's embarrassment and anger.

"Gah…be-because it's so HORRIBLE!" Setsuna half-heartedly countered. "This stall should be permanently closed for bringing such…such disgusting objects and labeling them 'prizes'!"

"I'm STILL here, you know…"

Naruto rolled his eyes. Seriously, his Mistress was really, really weird at times. "I can get it for you."

A cloud of smoke bursted out of the fox-lady's burning face. "Ahh…ah…ahh…"

When was it? The last time somebody, anybody, had given her a present?

Madara doesn't count.

Had Makoto ever…?

"Gaaaah! Insolent!"

Naruto found himself the target of a rather nasty slap.

"As if I could possibly need your help to win this pathetic little game!" She quickly corrected herself. "If I wanted that horrible thing on the first place, that is!"

"Uhh, putting your girlfriend aside—OW!"

The innocent stall boy found himself the target of a conveniently present white rubber ball.

"Don't pair me up with the likes of this brat!"

Naruto twitched.

"Ugh…anyway, you can't play here, boy."

Naruto immediately complained. "Whaa? Don't tell me you're still angry about the paint balloon slingshot."

"It was you!" The nameless extra cried bloody murder, pointing at our protagonist. Allowing his anger to simmer in the deepest recesses of his heart, the guy eventually calmed down. "…I mean, it's got nothing to do with that. Shinobi are not allowed to play."

"Ah."

Naruto looked at the game; it was the standard knock-the-bottles game, using the rubber balls Setsuna had already tried out of the hapless extra's face.

"…yeah, I guess it makes sense."

"Ho-ho…" A third voice, female, creeped up from behind Naruto. "So it's okay as long as I'm not a ninja?"

Looking behind him, Naruto was surprised to find the entire group of lilies. All of them (sans Mayuri) wore identical, innocent smiles on their faces.

Yuria's own smile was anything but.

* * *

"And here you go," Yuria happily placed a bird plushie on Mayuri's tiny hands. "A gift from an independent Kitsune to the Great Ghost Clan of Higashiyama."

"Your gift is most appreciated and acknowledged, independent Kitsune Yuria-san," Yurimi responded while her fingers dallied with her new cow plushie.

Naruto sweatdropped at the sight of the now out-of-business stall owner crying on a corner. Then, he looked down at his own new bunny plushie.

It was for Sayuri, of course.

"That was just cruel, Yuria."

Naruto's fiancée only grinned.

Meanwhile, Setsuna looked down at her new black cat plushie. On one side, it was a gift from Naruto's disgusting, big-breasted mate. On the other…

"…nyaa…"

In the end, the group just walked away, leaving the stall owner to his sorrow.

"Now, you can't just go emptying out the stalls," Naruto declared.

"Hey, they just said ninja are not allowed," Yuriyo argued. "They never said anything about, hmm…awfully talented civilians!" She then looked down at her horse plushie. "I think I'll call you 'Doctor Wang'."

"Why a Doctor…" Yurina muttered with a tired voice.

Naruto turned to Yurine, clearly the happiest with her new dog plushie. She was the only one willing to take that particular toy, and she certainly did not seem to mind it.

"Wan-chan! Wan!" The five-tails barked in the inanimate dog's stead.

"You seem to like it a lot, Yurine-chan."

"Um!"

"I can't tell what she sees in that ugly thing," Yuriyo muttered, sending looks of clear disgust at the stuffed depiction of a canide.

"Umm…if Mother likes it…then it's okay…"

Dogs are hard for young Kitsune to deal with.

**Muu…**

…_what?_

…**Sayuri's not Bunny.**

Naruto did his best to hold back from chuckling.

"Oi, Naruto!"

"Hawa!"

Everybody stared at Yurina, who had shrieked and jumped behind her sister's body for cover.

"Ah…um…so-sorry…Kiba-san scared me for a moment there."

"Ugh…" The young Inuzuka's enthusiasm faded away like the morning mist.

Dogs are hard for young Kitsune to deal with.

"Kotonoha."

"Yes, Yurimi-sama?"

"Cut him down if he gets too close."

"Yes, Yurimi-sama."

Very hard to deal with.

"Stop that, you two!"

"Yes, Master."

"Yes, Naruto-sama."

Yuriyo stretched her right arm towards Naruto in a rather controversial salute.

"Hail, Patriarch—OW!"

"Be quiet, Higashiyama Yuriyo!" Needless to say, Yuri was not very happy about it.

Naruto shook his head before addressing the approaching group of Genin. At the front stood, of course, Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino.

"Uh…sorry about that, Kiba. Akamaru."

The white dog on top barked in acknowledgement of Naruto's feelings. Kiba made an odd face.

"Nah, I'm…somehow used to it already…"

"That's really sad."

"Shut up!" The boy quickly lashed at Yuriyo, who swiftly retreated amidst snickers.

"He-llo! Kiiiiba-kyun!"

The boy stiffened at that sudden and most cheerful call. His cheeks somehow managed to shape themselves into a smile, even as they gained a healthy red.

"Ah-ah-hi. Yurine-chan."

"Hai!" She almost shoved her plush toy on his face. "Wan-chan!"

The boy blinked a few times. "Uhh…um, nice. Very cute."

"Um!"

"Hooo…"

The blushing Kiba lashed at Yuriyo one more time. "Whatever you're thinking, stop."

Naruto turned to greet Shino. "Hey."

"Uzumaki-sama." The boy in shades bowed curtly. "As usual, you're in good company."

"Ah-ahahaha…" Naruto scratched the back of his head, nervously avoiding looking at the foxgirls and women around him. "Um, yeah, I guess I'm very blessed…"

Score some points with the Kitsune.

"So, about that mission…?"

Shino shook his head. "We still have some time. Please enjoy yourself until then, Uzumaki-sama."

"Naruto!"

Yamanaka Ino forced her way between Kiba and Shino. In her hands she held a large basket full of beautiful red roses. Her grin was suspiciously wide. "Hey."

"Hey."

"You're a gentleman unlike these two, aren't you?"

There was something in that question, and Naruto noticed it. "…why?"

The ponytailed blonde did not seem to like this answer. "Why? What the hell kind of response is 'why'?" She shoved the basket on Naruto's chest. "Be a gentleman! Buy roses for the ladies!"

Her grin became utterly diabolic.

"For all of them."

"Oh, I like this girl," Yuri murmured in a warm tone.

"Ugh."

Naruto's little wallet, Gama-chan, croaked in agony.

A terrible battle of wills took place deep within Naruto's psyche; a battle the people around him only saw reflected in the way his body spasmed and twitched every second or so. It ended when the boy took a deep breath…and smiled. It was the smile of a martyr, yet it carried no resignation. It was a beautiful smile.

"Sure."

Ino blinked. "…seriously?"

Apparently she did not expect him to agree after all.

"Sure," he repeated. "You said it: I've gotta be a gentleman, and a good host. So…"

The hand that reached for the wallet was suddenly stopped.

"No," two voices spoke in unison. Most probably belonging to the two hands holding Naruto's wrist.

"Wha…?" The blond ninja turned back.

"No, Master."

"That won't be necessary, Naruto," Yuria spoke sternly and firmly.

"Right, right, what these two said?" Naruto jumped a little when Yuriyo shamelessly hugged him from behind. "You've done plenty enough for us, my boy. Today is the day we pay you back for your hospitality."

"I thought that was what the card and the massage were for."

Kiba and Shino perked up. "Massage?"

"Nah, nah, that was just the beginning!" After such a boisterous exclamation, Naruto got a surge of adrenaline when the half-Void's lips inched dangerously close to his earlobe. After all the time Yuriyo spent licking it and sucking it that morning, it was quite sensitive to her closeness. "Look forward to more 'wonderful memories'."

"Uhh, it will sound weird from me to say this, but please spare me."

"No way in hell."

The boy sighed. "…well, I tried."

Not very hard.

"A-ny-way!"

"Kyah!"

Yuriyo was forcefully pulled away from Naruto, and Yuria quickly latched her arm on his to establish her territory. "What the vixen over there tried to say is that we're happy for everything you've done for us, so things like this are not really necessary. Really."

"Speak for yourself, Boobs-for-Brains."

That was someone who had yet to speak in this scene.

The fidgeting, blushing Kiyoura Setsuna had a very strong hold on Kuro-nyan (the cat was baptized just a few minutes ago). She was making a considerable effort not to look at anybody.

"Boya!"

"Ye-yes!"

"B-B-Bu…buh…bu-buy me a flower!"

Massive sweatdropping.

"…ufufufu…" Kotonoha found this amusing for some reason.

"Wha-what are you all looking at?" Her neck would snap if she turned it any further. "I-I can demand whatever I want from my student, whenever I feel like it!"

Yuriyo's face was strangely void of expression. "…you…you're a very, very lonely person, aren't you?"

"Be silent!"

Kotonoha's 'fufufu' became outright giggling.

"What's so funny, Udder Woman?" She quickled turned to her prized student. "So, boya!"

Naruto's smile became quite strained. "Ye-Yes, Mistress…"

However, Ino pulled the basket away before Naruto could reach for a flower. "Not so fast."

The boy in orange barely managed to stop himself from groaning. "Now what?"

"Sorry, but you need to get things clear here. You people! Yes, all of you!"

Ino addressed the gathering of Kitsune.

"The crowd demands to know!"

"Nah, ah, it's just you being a shameless gossi—OOF!"

Inuzuka Kiba. Sometimes he says a little too much.

Then he ends up with an elbow shoved in his gut.

"Just what is your relationship with Naruto?" Ino asked THE question.

The Kitsune perked up as one, and Naruto knew he was doomed.

Sayuri was first, even if her voice could not be heard.

**Imouto!**

Yuri. "Well, his sponsor, of course, ufufufu~"

"I am Naruto-sama's proud maid and bodyguard."

"Uh, umm…a-a fellow gardening fan?"

"…"

"Onee-chan! Naruto-kyun's Yurine onee-chan!"

Yuria found it hard to find her voice. "F-F-F-Fi…Fianceé…"

"Mistress!"

"Sex friend!"

"ONEE-CHAN!" All eyes then turned to Yurina, which promptly elicited a delightfully notorious blush. "A-Aaah…Yu-Yurina…Yurina…and onii-sama…Yurina is…onii-sama's…kyun!"

"Joyhole."

All eyes turned to Yurimi.

"Don't say such embarrassing and misleading things!" Naruto then focused on the new Matriarch. "And you stick to 'Slave' from now on!"

The Lily Seed's carmine eyes glowed with passion and excitement. That was most definitely an order.

"Yes, Master!" She exclaimed in a deliriously husky voice.

Naruto buried his face in his hands and sobbed quietly.

A gentle hand patted his back. "There, there, umm…darling."

"I'll hit you."

"I'll sue you for intramarital violence."

"Who's the abusive one here?" Naruto exclaimed.

Utterly stunned, Shino fell on his knees. For once, Kiba actually followed him.

"We're not worthy! We're not worthy!"

"Ugh…" Ino groaned. "Stop that, you two."

"It's but what he deserves," Shino stated firmly. Kiba nodded.

"This time I gotta agree."

"Same here."

Naruto turned to the other two boys kneeling behind Kiba and Shino. "And when the hell did you two make it here?"

Shikamaru shrugged while Chouji and the other two boys continued their worship. "We've been here the whole time."

They have. I just didn't bother.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!" Yuriyo knew how to get everybody's attention. Then she turned to look at Yuria. "You. Just what did you say?"

"Urk." Her suddenly nervous poise spoke for itself. "It-It's none of your business."

"Oh, I'm pretty sure it is." Yuriyo grinned. "However, I'll defer to Yurimi-sama for this. Yurimi-sama, do you approve of my question, aimed towards the interests of our most glorious Clan?"

"I approve of this question."

"Curse the two of you."

Kotonoha made her best "demure lady" face, hand on lips and all. "My, my, I am pretty sure I heard 'Fianceé'. Of course, I could be mistaken."

"I trust your sharp hearing, Kotonoha."

"Thank you, Yurimi-sama."

"I-It's a long story…" Yuria muttered in a restrained tone.

"No, it isn't," Naruto retorted. "Some stuff happened, and now we're engaged. Hokage-sama will let us marry if I win the Finals-oh-God-please-don't-kill-me-Setsuna."

While the others only had to shift their heads a bit, Yurine had to turn her whole body to face Setsuna behind her.

"Eh? Mistress-chan—HAWA!"

A murder of crows took to the sky, cawing away their discomfort. Whether it was because of Yurine's loud cry or Setsuna's horrifically dark aura, we'll never know.

"Kill you…?" A cold gale swirled and danced around the place, drawing shudders from all those present. "No, no…why would I do something like that…?"

Twitch, shudder.

"After all, I trained you so hard…prepared you so well…" Spasm, twitch. "So that you would…win…the Finals…"

Crackle.

Yuri wondered if Naruto's children could also do that. The scary aura thing.

"No…no…killing you…such a waste…such lack of…" Twitch. "…consideration…" Twitch. "…if you excuse me…I have to go…somewhere…yes…"

Kuro-nyan disappeared in a burst of black fire. It was the last they all saw before Setsuna flickered away.

"She's killing me after I win the finals, isn't she?"

Well, she is after Kyuubi.

"I'm not turning into a widow before I even get married."

"You're not helping at all!"

"WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAH!"

A rather delayed reaction from the audience. Even the Kitsune joined in (sans Mayuri, Kotonoha and Yuri), but they actually stopped at around the fifth 'O'.

"Wait, no," Yuriyo spoke again. "Actually, it's more like, what the hell?"

"Haa…" The couple scratched the backs of their heads. Yuria spoke for the two. "It's kinda…uhh…please don't hate me, Yurimi."

The new Matrairch tilted her head. "Why would I?" Her eyes gleamed. "I was just acknowledged by Master." She actually raised her undeveloped chest a little. "I am Slave."

The engaged couple sweatdropped.

"Marriage?" Yuriyo uttered, as if the words put an odd taste in her mouth. "It's that 'in sickness and in health, yada-yada-yada, until death do us part' thing, right?"

"Uh, no, that's completely wrong…" The half-Celestial sister muttered tiredly.

There are no Christians in this story.

"Bu-but!" Yuriyo continued while making ample gestures with her arms. "That implies empathy! And concern for each other! Can you actually pull that shit off?"

"WE'RE NOT YOU!"

The institution of marriage means little to Kitsune.

"Oh my God!" Ino promptly threw all other matters aside. "A wedding! Naruto's getting married! Naruto! Kyaaaah! Oh my God! Wait till I tell…no! Wait, I shouldn't tell Sakura." She grinned. "I'm so not telling Sakura."

"Somehow I get the feeling we're forgetting something, Kiba."

"…huh."

* * *

In the solitude of her room, as she gently and thoroughly cleaned her Last Word, Hyuuga Hinata sneezed.

"At-choo-gyah! My wrist! I cut my wrist!"

**Please be careful, milady.**

Rumors of Hinata's suicidal urges would spread within the Clan starting the next morning. But that has nothing to do with our story.

* * *

"Huh…" Shikamaru was unsure of how to react to this development. "Congratulations…I guess. Maybe a wife's what you need to make you less troublesome."

"Ooh! Ooh!" Chouji suddenly perked up. "My clan can cook for the wedding party!"

"That's actually a great idea!" Ino was already making mental plans as if she were the one in charge.

"Uhh…guys…it's not such a big deal…"

"Not a big deal!" Ino roared like a tigress. She then turned to Yuria. "Will you let him say something like that?"

"Ugh…" The embarrassed Yuria could only look away. "Do-don't look at me…"

"Don't forget to videotape the wedding night!" Yuriyo's valuable input.

"SHUT UP, YOU PERVERT!" The couple immediately retorted, and Ino squealed.

"Kyah! That's so cute!"

Naruto and Yuria glowed a deep red. It was quite cute.

"A-Ano…" Yurina shyly spoke. "I...umm…well…where…where is Sayoko-san…I wonder?"

Yuri was the first to perk up. Indeed, Sayoko had not made her presence felt for a while. She hadn't even bothered to respond Ino's big question earlier.

"Now just where did she—ah."

Just a few meters away, a stall owner was looking down at the kneeling Kurosaki Sayoko with a mixture of compassion and exasperation.

"Umm, miss…could you please stop doing that? It's scaring the other customers…"

The stall read "Amazing Ninja Weaponry". Of course, aimed as it was for children, the "amazing ninja weapons" were not real. They were not even sharp. Or made of metal.

Still, Sayoko was doing her best to slice open her throat with a blunt plastic ninja-to. So far she had succeeded at making her skin red.

"Sayoko-san."

A pathetic, teary-eyed Void Kitsune looked up at her best and most beloved friend.

"…auu?"

It sounded like "will you help me?"

"Please stop that. It's seriously creepy."

"…auuu…"

* * *

There are few experiences more unsettling than fighting an invisible enemy.

This was not a case of the enemy using simple Illusion to hide his existence from his victim's eyes and brain. The nervous, overexcited Kitsune knew that, were this the case, he would have dispelled the technique ages ago.

It was truly an invisible enemy. No presence, no sound, no identity.

Was this Higashiyama's counterattack? No, it made no sense. Higashiyama had left the shrine.

Kurosaki Sayoko? No, the witch is always at the Silver Lily's side. It was the very reason Fubuki had not just obliterated Higashiyama: fighting Yuri would imply fighting Kurosaki Sayoko and Higashiyama Sayuri.

Even Gods would think twice before triggering a battle of that magnitude.

They had started as a group of eight Kitsune, all of them male, all of them ambitious.

Kuromiya is not a matriarchal family. It just so happened that their current and previous leaders were both female and gifted with the ninth tail. After so many centuries under female rule, it can't be helped for a polarization to occur.

The males of Kuromiya live to cater to their whimsical mistress' whims, hoping to draw her attention and favor. The greatest achievement a Kuromiya male could aspire to is, of course, to become Fubuki's mate.

Taking into account the fact that the fathers of six out of eight of Fubuki's children were killed by Fubuki herself soon after the deed, it is not a very exciting prospective. Fubuki the Mantis, some call her.

When the Void Kyuubi departed from their shrine, the Halls of Oblivion, some days before, she explicitely stated she wanted to travel alone. The Clan obeyed, of course, but these particular eight had other plans.

They first thought of following Fubuki anyway, to fight Higashiyama alongside her and gain her favor in this way. They quickly realized this was not such a good idea.

Then they thought of helping Fubuki from the sidelines; to sabotage whatever efforts Higashiyama could make to defend against their mistress. On their way to the Higashi Mountain, they received news Kinoshita Byakuren was also on the move.

While they could not stop the Mistress of Cherry Blossoms from reaching Higashiyama Shrine, they could prevent her from reaching Higashiyama Yuri. To do this, they split in four pairs, one for each direction around the mountain, to intercept whatever kudagitsune which may try to leave the mountain. Considering the sheer amount of forest surrounding the shrine, it was supposed to be an easy feat.

Losing contact with one of the teams was strange. Losing contact with two was unsettling. When the third vanished things got really, really disturbing.

Then his own partner, the one who was supposed to watch his back, vanished from the face of the earth. That was just plain terrifying.

Higashiyama is north of Konoha; hence days are longer in this time of the year. However, in the midst of the ocean of trees that carpeted the mountain, it was hard to notice. The four-tails, Kuromiya Hitoshi, was completely alone. His only companion was the lugubrious whispers of the wind as it caressed the leaves, and the invisible enemy.

As a four tails, he had the appearance of a short-haired man in his mid-twenties. Like most in his clan, his skin was fairly pale; an effect of their septentrional residence and exposure to the Mouth of the Void. His unusually narrow and centered black eyes nervously flickered from place to place, desperately looking for the enemy after his life. If only he could identify his stalker, even if he did not make it alive, he might at least be able to send a kudagitsune to the clan. If it wasn't Higashiyama, then which clan was supporting the Great Ghost Clan?

The foremost suspect was Kinoshita, of course. In the quietness of the forest, they were in their element. However, they were sure Byakuren's escort had not moved from the village.

"_**Void Release – Scion of Oblivion**_."

The Void hungers. Its nether tentacles eagerly probe and seek out for anything and everything to be consumed. Scion of Oblivion is a perception-type Jutsu to locate living beings.

It was not the first time he tried this jutsu. Like before, it did not work. The forest was just too rich with life, and he could not distinguish a Kitsune enemy amidst the fauna.

"_**Void Release – Illusion Eater**_."

It has a fancy name, but it's basically the same as the standard ninja Genjutsu-dispelling technique. Using Void chakra to negate all variations of chakra flow and frequency made it absurdly efficient as an anti-Illusion defense.

A flash of sunlight poked through the space between two leaves, blinding him for a moment. When he opened his eyes again, he found nothing.

Nothing had changed. He was stil alone…with the enemy, wherever it was.

He had been following the sun for a while already, hoping to meet at least one of his companions at the south-western "corner" of Higashi Mountain. Using Extension to reach for a sturdy branch, the fox-man climbed past the carpet of green to look at the sun above.

"Wha…?"

The sun was behind him, but he was blinded by it a moment ago! Yet he had never switched directions—

"Aeg-urk!"

Of course. Standing as he was on the very top of a tree, with the sun behind him, there was no way he could have properly shaped the _**Aegis of Shadow**_.

Impaled by half a dozen spears of water (?), Hitoshi lost his footing and fell the twelve or so meters that separated him from the rivershore (?) below. However, the river itself apparently was eager to claim him, and it reached to welcome him.

After being further impaled by eight rising stakes of river water; the same stakes that became tentacles to drag him to a watery doom, he had a few seconds to ponder prior to being claimed by the God of Death.

A river…there was a river…and the sun was behind him.

How long had he been under the sway of the enemy, following the direction of an illusory sun?

Bu-but, he had used Illusion Eater…how did…?

* * *

"Nee, Byaku-rin-rin…"

"What is it, Chiyu-rin-rin?"

"…what are we waiting for?"

"Haa…so impatient, Chiyu-rin-rin. You'd never make a good diplomat."

"I-I have no interest in such things…"

The two sat on the second-to-last in the long line of stone stairs that connects Higashi Village with Higashiyama Shrine. Right behind them, a humongous red torii arch marked the boundary of the Great Ghost Clan's territory, as well as the barrier that protects it.

"Well, we could wait inside the shrine…"

"Byaku-rin-rin, you know I can't just let you in…"

"Right, right…I would be disappointed if you were so gullible."

Especially after the nasty beatdown from earlier that day.

"In any case, here's as good a place as any—ah, there she is."

Indeed, they were not alone anymore.

Just a few yards away, standing about twenty steps downstairs and calmly closing the distance between them, there was a young, tiny girl. She would not have looked at odds amongst the most recent batch of Konoha genin.

Wearing a thin, flimsy, short-skirted one-piece deep blue gi held tight by a thin black cloth belt, on top of a full-body fishnet suit, the girl looked as if made to exemplify the word "kunoichi". One leather band around each of her healthy thighs held a small, sturdy leather pouch, as well as a scroll case.

However, this girl wore no headband. Her short, wiry, should-length celadon hair was left unrestrained, and her vivid scarlet eyes displayed maturity one Uchiha Sasuke could not even hope to match.

This was a girl who had walked into the deepest darkness, embraced it, and turned it into her finest weapon.

Chiyuri gasped in unrestrained excitement.

"Shizu-tan!"

Two celadon tails lashed harshly at the air around their owner.

"Don't call me that."

Some call her "The Death Whisperer," in a reference to her low, quiet voice, as if every word she said carried a terrible secret. Some call her "The Green-Haired Monster", in a subtle salutation to her fearsome skill at assassination. Her two best friends call her "Shizu-tan".

This is the Shadow Lady, the leader of the Great River Clan of Nagashirakawa, **Nagashirakawa Shizuku**: one hundred and seventy-three years old.

* * *

"Go away if you aren't buying anything, you damn vixens," Ino growled, and Yuriyo laughed.

"Damn right we are!"

Shino's eyes narrowed for a moment, but calmed down once he took it as the joke it was.

The lilies of Higashiyama (plus Sayoko) were delighted by Yamanaka's flower collection. Ino's parents were a little taken aback by the large group of women, especially because they seemed to be acquainted with their little princess. Inoichi, of course, had received the news of the Kitsune "invasion", and kept a close eye on the lovely youkai girls. And there was also…

"Oi, Naruto."

"What?" Naruto was not even looking at her, seemingly more interested in an amaryllis Yurisa had just pointed out to him. To his right, little Mayuri also looked at the flower, pretending to be interested.

"Do something about these girls of yours."

That made Naruto turn to look at her. "First, they're not MY girls."

"Mast—"

"Be quiet, Yurimi."

"Yes, Master."

"Our leader, ladies and gentlemen!"

"Riyo-nee-chan!"

"Hawaa…"

Ino raised an eyebrow.

"Don't. Say. A word."

After that short interruption, Naruto continued as if nothing had happened. "Second, what makes you think I could stop them even if I wanted to?"

"The boy speaks with wisdom," Higashiyama Yuri added. "Now, lilies, Uzumaki Naruto-kun, I take my leave now. We'll meet again for dinner." She bowed to Yurimi, who acknowledged it with a slight bow of her own. Like that, the former Silver Lily departed, shadowed by her best friend as usual.

"Uzumaki-sama," Shino stood behind our protagonist. "We should move out soon."

The blond's eyes sparkled. "Alright. Let's get movin'. What are we gonna do?"

"You will understand when we get there." Apparently, it was within walking distance, because Shino did not seem to be in a hurry. Naruto followed, and a trail of Kitsune followed after him.

"Can we go too?"

"Of course, Yuriyo-san."

"Uhh…" Naruto made an odd face. "Are you sure that's…?"

"Of course," Shino affirmed. "In fact, they might prove critical for this mission." His sunglasses glinted under the lamplights around them after he pushed them back up unneccessarily.

Naruto sweatdropped. "Why do I feel I'm about to get involved in something extremely stupid?"

"Naruto-sama grows wiser by the chapter," Kotonoha declared, followed by a light giggle.

* * *

Stupid would be wrong word…but it was definitely not what Naruto had in mind. In fact, the lilies were considerably more excited.

The blond Genin stared at the large banner above them with a stone cold stare.

"…a dancing contest."

"Yes," Shino responded.

"…a dancing contest."

"Yes," Shino repeated.

**Danshin' Sayuri can dance!**

The adult Sayuri wondered about that. She was sure her little counterpart had never received dancing lessons.

A lot of air was expelled out of Naruto's nostrils.

"…and our mission is…?"

"To act as judges, of course." Shino's shades glinted again.

"Stop pushing up your glasses, it's annoying!" Naruto randomly lashed. "Back on topic, WHAT THE HELL!?"

"Ufufufu, what a wonderful tsukkomi, Naruto-sama…"

"Truly, it's like I fall for Master more and more with every sentence that comes out of his mouth."

"Now you two are just making fun of me."

"Wait-wait-wait-wait-wait!" Yamanaka Ino stepped through the gap between Yuriyo and Yurina to reach Naruto and Shino. "What the hell's going on here?"

"That's what I want to know!" Naruto insisted. "And what are you doing here? I thought you had flowers to sell."

"Don't you talk to me like that, Uzumaki Naruto!" Ino growled at our protagonist. "I'm not one of your cute little toy girls here!"

"Ah…" Yurimi rested her right cheek on her right hand. "Finally, the world acknowledges our relation—"

"I think I told you to be quiet."

Yurimi's eyes glowed at the rather harsh rebuke from Naruto. She's just weird like that.

"Yes, Master."

"Goddamnit," Yuriyo muttered, struck between been amazed and appalled at Naruto and his slave.

"Goddamn indeed," Yuria agreed.

"Anyway!" Ino retook the flow of the discussion. "Why the hell would Naruto be a judge in a dancing contest?"

As good a question as any.

"Because I've invited him to," Shino explained as if it were obvious.

"And why can you even invite him?" Ino insisted.

"Obviously, because I am a judge, too."

"And why would YOU be a judge for a dancing contest?" Ino was close to losing it. Her voice was rather loud at this point.

Shino only pointed at a poster stuck to a lamppost nearby. On very small letters by the bottom right corner, it was written "Organized & Sponsored by the Aburame Clan."

"WHAT THE HELL!?" Naruto and Ino cried as one.

"We're providing the prizes, of course."

"Hmm…" Yuriyo mumbled as she examined the poster. "…beauty products? Nice. But how come…?"

"Insects can do many, many things."

"Haa…" Yurina's response to Shino's answer.

"Huh, cool," Yuriyo was a bit more eloquent. "So, Shino."

"So now you call me by name, Yuriyo-san?"

"Yeah, whatever. So, if I join this contest, do I get a bonus to my Perform check if I'm not wearing anything?"

"Yes."

"NO!" Naruto and Yurina were quick to correct Shino.

"Hawaa…dancing…sounds fun…"

"Please don't." Yuria was quick to intervene. "It would probably lead to a disaster, with wounded and deaths and massive structural damage."

"Hawawaaan…"

"Hmm…" Yurisa had a rather nostalgic smile on her face. "Brings back memories…"

Yuriyo groaned. "Ugh, that's it. This contest is over."

The four-tails squealed in embarrassment. "My, my, you don't have to put it like that, Yuriyo-chan~"

Mayuri looked at her mother with a strange expression.

Noticing the humans' confusion, Yuria explained. "Nobody in the clan can outdance Yurisa." Pulling Naruto towards her so that only he would hear the rest, she whispered. "Unless there's a Sound Kitsune hidden amongst the contestants, Yurisa would have this thing in the bag."

"Oh, but I cannot possibly compare to Yurine-onee-sama. She might truly be the finest dancer in the whole world." Yurisa turned to her elder sister as she showered her with praise.

"Hawaa…Yurine…Yurine can't be that great…"

"Mother trips on air itself. It's painful to watch."

"Waa, it's okay…" The lovely, childish five-tails smiled at her half-Void daughter. "Yurine's breasts always cushion the fall…"

"That I gotta see," Shino commented, only to be smacked on the back of his head by a fuming Ino.

This was ignored by Naruto and the Kitsune, as most of them tried to interpret the strange but tender smile Yurisa directed at her elder. It was a smile that spoke of a time the other, younger foxgirls did not know about.

A time when Higashiyama Yurine was an incredible existence, worthy of praise and admiration.

* * *

Nagashirakawa Shizuku sighed and also took a seat on the stairs leading to Higashiyama Shrine. "I…guess I can afford a few minutes for the two of you."

Chiyuri giggled. "Ahaha, tsundere Shizu-tan is too cute."

"I'm not tsundere, I'm just busy."

Byakuren nodded. "True that. Besides, Chiyu-rin-rin, it's obvious Shizu-tan is a kuudere."

"Huh…" Chiyuri examined her smaller friend. "…hmm, yes, I can see what you mean."

"Don't talk about me like I'm not even here."

From that they moved on to even more tea and a more serious discussion.

"So, Shizu-tan's here to help us…?"

Byakuren nodded. "If she's here it means the job is already done. I presume we can safely send kudagitsune now."

Shizuku nodded and Chiyuri's eyes brightened.

"The last of Kuromiya's eight interceptors was dealt with a minute before I arrived here."

"Tha-that's great! I'll let Mother know immediately." And she did it, of course, with a kudagitsune. "But, for Shizu-tan to defeat eight Voids, that's amazing…"

"She was not alone, you know," Byakuren corrected. "A Kitsune of Nagashirakawa never works alone. Not even their leader…especially not their leader. How many of your people are watching us right now, Shizu-tan?"

Shizuku gave a sharp look to her fellow Clan Leader.

"I brought three squads with me. I told them they could go ahead of me once we were done but, knowing them, at least one squad stayed behind."

"Squad…?"

"The basic structure for operations within Nagashirakawa; composed of three Kitsune."

Shizuku raised an eyebrow. "I'm starting to think you know a little too much, Byakuren. Maybe I should do something about that."

"My, my, such aggressive words towards your good friend, Shizu-tan? I'll let you know I won't go down easily, ufufufu~"

They made for a strange group, these three, especially to the eyes of the other Great Clans. Shizuku's cool, inexpressive demeanor strongly contrasted with Chiyuri's cheerful attitude. Byakuren stood somewhere in the middle, swaying between the cheerful disposition of the Higashiyama four-tails and the dexterous powerplays of the Great Clan Leaders.

Most people believed Shizuku was in it out of personal convenience. Nagashirakawa needed allies, even if they were the second weakest of the Great Clans, Kinoshita, and the smallest of the Great Clans, Higashiyama—then again, the total numbers of Nagashirakawa and Shionzaki are not really known precisely.

Byakuren and Chiyuri liked to believe otherwise. They were an outlet for Shizuku's stress. Being a Clan Leader with only two-tails is not easy, after all.

Shizuku looked at the trees that surrounded them. "I guess I would be at a terrible disadvantage in the middle of this forest."

"You and anyone else," Byakuren added. "No matter how good you're at hiding yourself, in this forest, I'll always find you."

"A Forest Kyuubi would be scary…" Chiyuri mused, and Byakuren shrugged.

"It's never happened, so I can't comment on that." She paused. "But I'd say the Kyuubi we have right now are scary enough…don't tell them I said that."

"I guess…I can understand what you mean," Shizuku continued. "Celestial and Void…how do you match that kind of power?"

Byakuren chuckled. "A Time Kitsune, maybe?"

Shizuku snorted. "Time Kitsune? A pathetic fairytale; a lame attempt at rebelling against Shinkirou and Kuromiya by implying there's a power superior to them."

"Hmm…" Byakuren enjoyed her warm cherry tea. "But, don't you think it would be exciting? If there were Time Kitsune, I mean?"

"I'd be more scared than excited," Shizuku succinctly declared. "The ability to manipulate time and space is not something any youkai should have. Moving on…" She also took a sip of tea. Cherry was a little too sweet for her tastes, but she was not one to complain. "If we're looking at powers to match Fubuki-sama and Kougon-sama…well, isn't this the reason you are here, Byakuren?"

Chiyuri frowned. "You don't mean…"

The Forest Leader nodded. "Higashiyama Sayuri, of course."

Shizuku also nodded. "The question is whether the strongest _**Katon**_ can actually match _**Kouton**_ and _**Kuuton**_ jutsu. It does not seem likely, at first glance. No, I can say, with absolute certainty, that Higashiyama Sayuri does not stand a chance against those two."

"So it is up to Kurosaki Sayoko, then," Byakuren concluded, to which Shizuku responded with a frown.

"There are many rumors concerning that woman. Has anybody actually seen her fight?"

Byakuren frowned. "Maa, I guess there's a first time for everything. If she's not up to what all the rumors say about her, well, I guess that's it for Higashiyama." She turned to her best friend. "Sorry, Chiyu-rin-rin."

"You don't sound sorry at all, mou…"

* * *

"Uh, Yuria, please hold back on your strength, you know…" Naruto whispered on his fiancée's left ear.

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry. So!" The short three-tails stepped forward. "Let's do this!"

The challenger this time was the standard strength contest: swing a hammer on a lever to lift a weight as far high up as possible. The man in charge offered Yuria the "weapon", but she immediately pushed it aside.

"I need no puny hammer to ace this thing!"

In the end, none of the lilies had joined the dancing contest. They were on a schedule, after all, and the contest would likely take most of the night. Naruto used his status as their guide and host to avoid the judging role, which he promptly handed to Ino. Like that, the group of lilies (and Naruto) continued their explorations of the large festival grounds: the streets of Konoha.

"Oryaaa!"

Ding!

"Haha! I'm awesome."

"Yes, yes, very good, Yuria," Yuriyo deadpanned before dropping her voice to a barely audible whisper. "Freak!"

"Stop it," Naruto hissed.

"Hmm…" The half-Void raised her hands behind her head, grinning when Naruto's pupils inevitably shifted to her chest for a moment. "A shame we don't get to dance; I would have owned all the other pretenders."

"Now, now…" Yurisa intervened with a mildly scolding tone. "It's not proper to underestimate humans like that, Yuriyo-chan. I have met extremely skilled human dancers in the past."

"Hmph. Whatever." Yuriyo did not seem to regret her words in the slightest. "But Mom wanted to dance, too, right, Moth-iyaaaaaah!"

All eyes turned to Yuriyo, who had fallen hard on her butt and crawled away from her mother in abject terror. The cause was obviously the mask Yurine had used to cover her face.

"Wha…what is that?" Yuria muttered.

"Some sort of…insect…thing…?" It was the best Naruto could come up with. Yurimi and the others simply stared in silence.

"Hawaa? Yuriyo-chan, it's me, Yurine…" The slow-witted five-tails muttered behind the mask.

"Where…where did you get such a thing, onee-sama…?" Yurisa finally asked.

"Eh? Ah, they're selling masks over there…"

The group looked at the spot Yurine pointed at. Indeed, a stall offered festival masks for sale. Normal festival masks. Not insectoid cosmic horrors.

"Vendor-san said the kids didn't like this one, so he gave it to Yurine for free. Isn't that great?"

"Uh…" Yurina sweatdropped. "Um, yes, tha-that's great, Mom…"

"Eheheh~"

Mayuri quietly stared at the strange and frightening mask. She could swear she had seen something like that before.

It was hard to tell, she had so many visions they all eventually became one single blur of madness in her head.

* * *

Seated on a long wooden bench, Sarutobi Hiruzen quietly enjoyed a warm cup of sake as he watched the bustling festival in front of him. People walked before his eyes, and he nodded in response to every single bow from those who noticed his presence as they walked by.

The children's smiles, the feelings of peace and celebration. This was the reason they fought, right? The reason they fought, bled and sacrificed so much.

The role of the Hokage is to protect these feelings.

"It shouldn't be me…" The aged shinobi muttered to himself. It should not be him, the one seated on this bench. His time had long passed, but the most unfortunate of events had forced him to take the robes and the leadership of this village for a second time.

He had hoped he could protect Minato's legacy. He had hoped Naruto would become a bright, proud shinobi of Konohagakure, maybe even a Hokage. However…

Naruto was taking steps into a different path, and it worried the Third that he still did not know just where that path led to.

"Mind if I sit here?" A melodious voice pulled the Third out of his thoughts.

It was a gentle smile that welcomed him, but he could not help but feel wary in front of this woman.

"Higashiyama Yuri-san."

"May I?" The fox-woman insisted. The Hokage's shoulders shook lightly.

"I guess so, yes."

"Thank you."

The moment Yuri sat down, Sayoko was there to fill an ornate teacup with the contents of a warm thermos. Yuri received the cup with a nod and a smile before turning to the Hokage.

"I believe introductions are in order. Hokage-san, my attendant and best friend, Kurosaki Sayoko-san."

The Void Kitsune bowed almost shyly. She was not really good, or really eager, when meeting new people. Sarutobi of course noticed this, and responded to the uncertain gesture with a small bow of his head.

"Pleased to meet you, Kurosaki-san."

"U-Um…everybody calls me Sayoko-san."

Even her best friend.

"Very well." The Third refocused his attention on the former Silver Lily. "So? How can I be of help?"

Yuri giggled, and somehow Hiruzen felt several decades younger. "My, Hokage-san, most unfortunately, you're already too aged to be of any use to me, ufufufu~"

Sarutobi's expression did not change. "Youkai never were my cup of tea, to be honest."

Yuri's charming expression did not change, either. "Oh, such brave words, but so little to back them up with…"

"Hmph," the old man finished his sake and reached for the bottle for a refill. "I'm very sorry, but I don't make it a habit to flirt with menaces to my village."

Sayoko looked almost like she was in pain. Yuri, however, was unfazed.

"Now, that is something that has always bothered me, to be honest," the former Matriarch began. "Why is it that humans have this ridiculous idea that Kitsune exist solely to make their lives miserable? A rather self-centered misconception, if you ask me."

"I bet you know a lot about self-centered," the Third struck back. Yuri laughed.

"My, yes I do!"

More than a few faces turned to look at the strange trio: the tall, voluptuous woman, the quiet, unassuming servant and the wise old Hokage.

"You have to love yourself a lot to make it as a Clan Leader, you see. But you still have not answered my question, Hokage-san."

"Well…" Sarutobi pretended to think about it for two or three seconds. "You cannot deny humans do not usually come out unscathed from their associations with Kitsune."

"Humans rarely come out unscathed from associating with each other," Yuri bluntly responded. "Though I will admit we do like to prank you a lot. We can't help it; you humans make the best reactions. Other youkai are just not fun at all."

"As much as it pains me to admit it, we need you humans for our amusement. On the other side, you humans would not mind in the slightest if all Kitsune dropped dead in this very moment, would you?"

The Third Hokage had nothing to say about that.

"Yes, yes, you would not mind at all," Yuri continued, as if talking only to herself. "That's what you do, after all: whenever you find something not to your liking; whenever you find something standing in your way, you just eliminate it." She paused. "Oh, but I did not come here to point out the cruelty of humanity, not at all."

"Then why are you here, if I may ask?" After exchanging a few sentences with the Kitsune, Hiruzen already felt awfully tired.

"If I need a reason…" Yuri's smile suddenly took a bitter shape. "…to apologize, I guess?"

She had the Third's undivided attention.

"It seems my…well, my family's presence has attracted the attention of certain…elements. Unlike my family and I, they might be what you have deemed…'menaces to your village'. For this, you have my honest apologies."

"I can assure you; however, that the clan of Higashiyama will do its absolute best to ensure no harm falls upon this place. There is no place for humans in the conflicts of Kitsune, and it should remain that way. Uzumaki Naruto, most unfortunately, is an exception you yourselves created. I hope you will understand if we…take advantage of it."

The Third's eyes sharpened dangerously, and Yuri found herself the target of his killing intent. It did not seem to be that effective, however.

"What do you intend to do to Naruto?" He demanded to know.

"Me? Nothing. I can't answer for my daughters and granddaughters, though. They've grown quite fond of the lad. But I must admit, he has a way to reach people's hearts. Maybe, if I were a few centuries younger, I would be under his sway myself."

Her expression turned fuzzy, as if her eyes were lost in memories from a very long time ago.

"He's always been quite…picaresque, that boy. Full of surprises. Don't you think so, Sayoko-san?"

The Void Kitsune only sweatdropped and made a rather strained smile.

"I don't want any of your girls to break his heart," Sarutobi admitted.

"Yes, that would be terrible." Noticing the surprised look she was getting, Yuri explained herself. "I do not particularly approve of Kitsune, any Kitsune, targeting such a young child. Children, human or youkai, are still children. I think my lilies are honest, though. Maybe too honest and innocent to my liking, but they have to learn at some point. In any case, what's done is done, so we should make the best of it. After all, this would have never happened if Kyuubi had not been sealed in that boy."

"On a different note, about tomorrow…please be wary of snakes, Hokage-san."

Hruzen almost spat his sake.

"Wha…wha…why do you—?"

"Oh, please, such a reaction is unnecessary. You should know you're not the only one with eyes and ears everywhere in this village. So, please, take care of yourself. It would not do to lose such a charming drinking partner, ufufufu~"

Sarutobi did not know whether to feel grateful or disgusted. He went with a little of both. "Thank you…I guess…"

"Hmph. Not cute at all."

"I see that as a good thing!"

"Ufufufufu~"

The Third sighed in defeat, even as he struggled to hold back a tiny smile.

The fireworks began at about this time. All of a sudden, Konoha was roused by cheers and cries of joy and celebration, as the sky was tinged with colored lights. The aged man and the aged Kitsune watched the charming fireworks together, quietly enjoying their warm drinks and their most unusual company.

On a balcony some distance away, Mitarashi Anko watched the fireworks with tired and heavy eyes, even as she did her best to ignore the subtle and very skilled touches of the twin Kitsune standing behind her.

In the outskirts of the village, while seated on the electrocuted heap that we know as Tobi, a tense Kiyoura Setsuna watched the display as she struggle to suppress strange emotions she refused to acknowledge or even understand.

"Taaaa-ma-yaaaaa~nya-hahaha!"

While an ecstatic Higashiyama Yurine shouted in response to the bursting lights in the sky, her half-Celestial daughter quietly watched her back, forlornly imagining a world in which Yurine was still the woman her older relatives still remembered her to be.

A few steps to the right, Yurisa looked down at her tiny daughter. Mayuri's eyes pointed at the night sky and the colorful display, but Yurisa still wondered just what those tired, sorrowful eyes were truly looking at.

She reached for Mayuri's hand, and found a tiny moment of happiness in the fact that her daughter did not pull away.

In front of the four-tailed Yurisa and her daughter, Yurimi and Kotonoha quietly enjoyed the show. The latter, however, found herself immersed in a flood of thoughts and feelings.

Why was it, Kotonoha wondered, that joyous moments such as this one always brought the worst memories to the forefront of her mind? So many tears, so many lies…the disillusion of a blood-stained past that refused to find resolution.

She prayed to Inari-sama to let her tribulations come to an end soon.

To the left of Yurimi, with arms firmly planted on her waist, Yuria also watched the fireworks. For an instant, she imagined the fireworks to be directed at her, praising her and celebrating her beauty and her might.

She quickly pushed away such embarrassing thoughts, and chose rather to join Yurine in shouts of "Kagiya" and "Tamaya".

And behind all the others, a strangely melancholic Naruto watched the lights in the sky and the backs of the youkai who turned his life upside down.

**Waaaah! Sayuri too!**

_Don't even think about it._

**Mugyuu…**

"Haaa…eh?"

His hand was suddenly enveloped by another, far softer hand, which pulled him backwards and away from the group. When he turned, his eyes met the mischievous and devilishly alluring smirk of the Night Lily.

An explosion of red filled the night sky and reflected itself on Yuriyo's eyes, gifting them with a truly supernatural luster.

Naruto found his mouth suddenly dry, and his pants rather tight.

The Succubus Lily winked, and her lips reached for his right earlobe.

"Come with me," she beseeched with a whispering voice that made Naruto's knees tremble.

The adult Sayuri, within the monotone darkness of Naruto's inner world, cautiously chose to disconnect hers and Sayuri's perception from the boy's five senses. She responded to her little counterpart's inquiring eyes with an "it's better this way".

Like the siren whose singing lured hapless sailors to their watery doom, Naruto was hopelessly pulled away by Yuriyo's hand.

Hand in hand, they walked away, unnoticed by the others.

* * *

**CHAPTER 16 - _To be continued..._  
**


	32. The Day of Naruto, Part Three

_**Naruto Genkyouien**_

_**- **__**ナルト**__**- **__**幻**__**脅**__**威宴**_

**Chapter Sixteen: The Day of Naruto (Part Three)  
**

* * *

"Kyah!"

With a nasty thud, Chiyuri's back hit the stone stairs. Immediately, a foreign weight fell on her stomach and a sharp tip poked her throat. Looking up, her eyes met Shizuku's unchanging expression.

"A-re-re-no-re-no-re…it seems I lost?"

"You did…and just what in Inari-sama's name was that?"

Chiyuri is the queen of weird expressions.

Byakuren watched from a distance as Shizuku stepped away allowing Chiyuri to stand up. "And in less time than I expected, to boot. I'm impressed, Shizu-tan."

"Don't call me that."

When the River and the Spirit Kitsune rejoined Byakuren at the top of the stairs, the Forest Leader had already prepared tea for them.

"So, Chiyu-rin-rin, how did a two-tailed Kitsune beat you just now?"

"Ugh, when you put it like that…"

Byakuren giggled. "When I put it how? It's the plain truth: you, a four-tails, just got beaten by a two-tails. How did it happen?"

Shizuku stiffened a chuckle. Her best friend could be so cruel with her choice of words…

"I…I just couldn't see her…Shizu-tan…"

"Don't call me that."

Byakuren nodded. "Indeed, you couldn't see her. Shizu-tan can flawlessly hide herself from sight, hearing and even smell."

"Really, stop calling me that."

"But, Chiyu-rin-rin, you're a Forest Kitsune. Like me, you should be able to track her with all these trees around."

Chiyuri pouted. She hated it when Byakuren got all condescending like that. It made her feel like a child.

"You know that didn't work!"

Shizuku remained quiet, giving side-glancing to Byakuren as she drank her tea.

"Indeed, it didn't. That's because our tracking ability perceives 'life'. Breathing, beating, moving…that 'life'. Yet somehow Shizu-tan can fool that perception, by becoming something that does not 'live'."

"Ah!" Chiyuri let her right fist fall on her left palm. "The Void!"

Byakuren nodded. "Indeed. It's a Void technique. The way to fool a technique that flawlessly tracks things that 'live' is by becoming something that 'does not live'. Since the Void is the negation of concept, it's the ideal tool for Shizuku's perfect stealth."

"Waaah…" Chiyuri smiled nervously. "I always forget Shizu-tan is a half-Void…"

"Well, you shouldn't," Byakuren retorted.

"But, Byaku-rin-rin, you said you could track her anyway."

"So I did. There was not a moment I was not aware of Shizu-tan's position."

The Forest Kitsune looked at the ripples the mild breeze made on her cup of tea.

"Even if her technique fools other techniques by giving the impression of 'non-being', it does not change the fact that she 'is'. She is somewhere, standing 'there'." She looked at Shizuku's feet. "If you can't feel that she 'lives', then you should just feel that she 'is'."

Chiyuri gasped. "That's-! The roots!"

Byakuren nodded. "Through branches and leaves we feel for the presence of living beings. However, Shizuku's technique cannot conceal the fact that she has a weight, and she exerts that weight on the ground under her feet." She shrugged. "If you cannot feel her through branches and leaves, feel her through the roots."

Shizuku finally understood. "Tremorsense."

"Right. It's easier for me because I'm half-Mountain, but Chiyuri should also be able to do it. Like I said, she just has to feel through the roots." She looked up at the evening sky. "I guess you could follow that with multiple layers of illusion to muddle her perception, but then it becomes a straightforward illusory face-off, and I'm pretty sure Chiyu-rin-rin can beat you at that."

"Of course, it's hard for an unexperienced Kitsune to follow this entire trail of reasoning in the actual situation, which I guess is what happened to the Kuromiya interceptors just a while ago."

Closing her eyes and crossing her arms in front of her undeveloped chest, Shizuku made her head sway up and down a few times as she immersed herself in thought.

"Byakuren, you…"

"Yes?"

Shizuku opened her eyes again; her expression cold and firm. "All this time, I thought you had been appointed as Clan Leader only by virtue of being the oldest living Shionzaki. I know better now."

"You…are a most dangerous woman, Kinoshita Byakuren. Having you as my friend relieves me and upsets me at the same time."

Byakuren's closed-eyes grin remained as demure and lovely as ever. Only those who were looking for it woud have noticed the blade-like sharpness of her expression.

"My, I'll take that as a compliment, then, ufufufu~"

"Hoe…?" Chiyuri could only tilt her head in confusion. She lived on a different frequency, disconnected from the cuththroat world of Kitsune clan leaders.

* * *

"Well, that was fun to watch," Yuria declared the moment it became obvious no more fireworks would color the sky.

"From what I heard, there will be another round of fireworks at midnight," Kotonoha revealed. "But now it is time to meet with Yuri-sama for dinner."

"Umm…I believe I should already know this, but…if Yurine is here, who is making dinner, then?" Yurimi wondered, and Yurine laughed in a rather silly manner.

"Heheh~Yurine gave instructions! Like a top-class chef!"

Yurina explained her mother's ambiguous words.

"Umm…Mother decided on the menu and prepared the ingredients. I think Kokoro-san and Koushiro-san are taking care of the actual cooking…"

"Hmm…if it's my sister, then it will be a very good meal," Kotonoha concluded. "I'm sure Naruto-sama agrees with…ara? We…we're missing some people."

"Hau?" Yurina quickly looked around. "Ah, onii-sama and…"

"That accursed vixen…" Yuria was gritting her teeth.

After a few moments of pause, the rest of the group calmly began to walk to the agreed meeting point.

"Oi! Don't you care at all?"

Yurimi shrugged in response to Yuria's claim. "It's not that big a surprise. It is her turn after all."

Yuria quickly understood. The lilies had, after all, agreed to spend some time with Naruto in an attempt to show their appreciation for his kindness and hospitality. Yurina and her massage, Yurine and her drawn card…Mayuri and Yurisa were in the middle of a walk with Naruto when they were interrupted by Yuria. The former Budding Lily also remembered Yuriyo only asked for her timeslot to be sometime at night.

"Ye-yeah, that's true…but!" The three-tails insisted. "Aren't you worried at all? She could be raping him right now for all we know!"

"Yuria, it's unbecoming of you to overreact in such a manner," Yurimi spoke quietly. Yurisa was chuckling quietly.

"Seriously…it's not like Yuriyo-chan has shown any hint of being interested in Naruto-san."

They somehow managed to hear crickets chirp even in the midst of the festival's noise.

"Ah—n-n-no way onee-chan would try something like that!" Yurina tried again, with a strangely high-pitched voice. "I mean, she's not THAT eager to have sex, right?"

More chirping.

"Lilies, the following is an order from your Matriarch," Yurimi finally declared. "Spread around the festival grounds and locate Yuriyo and Naruto-sama ASAP. Go!"

"Yes!"

Like that, the lilies (plus Kotonoha) hurriedly mixed in with the crowd in different directions. The exception was Mayuri, who sighed and walked off at her own pace. Yurimi turned to her remaining older sister.

"I hope I can count with your cooperation, independent Kitsune Yuria."

"You don't even have to say it," Naruto's fiancée growled before taking to the rooftops, leaving the new Matriarch alone with her thoughts.

"Now, if I were a seduction specialist with a rather one-track mind and a thirst to enjoy wonderful, naughty, sweaty, hardcore sex with Master…"

A drop of blood leaked out of her left nostril.

"…no! Stop it! You must focus, Yurimi! Focus!"

* * *

Yuriyo pulled him through the crowd, swaying and zig-zagging through the large throng of people with almost liquid fluidity. He kept bumping and blurting out half-hearted apologies, but Yuriyo was almost ghastly in her dexterity; the fabric of her clothes never making contact with anybody else's. Had he been less worried, he would have been impressed.

"Yuriyo, where—"

The half-Void, giggling as if admiring the most amusing theatrical performance, danced around him in form of an answer, rubbing her body against his in most tantalizing ways. It reminded Naruto of a cat, rubbing against her owner's leg in a cry for attention.

"Follow me," she said. Not like Naruto had any other choice. Her grip was strong, and he had long lost track of their way.

So, he went along with the whimsical foxgirl. While she mostly stayed ahead of him, pulling him towards whatever destination she had in mind, oftentimes she inched closer, mesmerizing him with saucy winks, fleeting caresses and captivating flutters of her dangerously short-skirted kimono.

She giggled every single time she caught him staring at her legs or her cleavage. Every time she laughed, her carmine eyes flickered as if she stood in front of a raging bonfire.

"You just revel in the attention, do ya?"

Yuriyo laughed again. Naruto thought it was beautiful.

After she laughed, she stopped in front of him, facing him with those glowing, fiery eyes of hers.

"Look at me more, Naruto. Look at me more with those hungry eyes."

She stepped into his personal space, pressing her breasts against his chest and inching her face mere centimeters from his.

Her whisper was like honey laced with poison.

"I love it."

And then she dashed away again, never letting go of his hand. Something caught her attention to the side, and her hand reached with surprising swiftness.

Three seconds and eight meters later, a young girl cried at the loss of her lollipop.

"Like taking candy from a child," Yuriyo laughed as she took a lick of her loot.

"That's horrible!" Naruto yelled in outrage, making a mental note to do something about that.

They eventually made it to a rather familiar place. They had reached the bridge were he always met with the rest of Team 7. Upstream they would reach the lilies' favorite spot for their outdoor picnics.

Yuriyo ran downstream and into the trees, away from the festival, the noise and the people. The distant streetlights and torches gave way to the gentle mantle of moonlight in the foliage. Yuriyo no longer dodged past people, but now she guided him deep into the sea of trees, walking past trunk after trunk as if they were not even there.

Yet just as quickly as she had kidnapped him, she stopped, leaning against a tree and taking deep breaths after several minutes of running. Her predatory smile and the sway of her chest made the blond Genin gulp and do his best to focus on her face.

"You can keep ogling if you want; you know I don't mind."

Naruto grimaced. "You shouldn't make things so easy for a guy, you know…"

"Oh, no, no, don't get the wrong idea." Yuriyo snickered. "Tonight's special, you see…so this is only for you."

As if to make her point, a finger hooked around the edge of her kimono and pulled it aside, revealing even more of her left breast. The other hand still held Naruto's.

"And what did I do to deserve special treatment now?" The grimacing Naruto decided to just go along with the girl's whims. He had learned enough to know it was the best choice he could make.

"Well, being such a nice host to me and my family, of course." Her expression softened, the lascivious smirk giving way to sincere gratitude for a change. "We do appreciate it, especially because we Kitsune don't get that kind of treatment from humans very often…at least not without Enchantments involved."

"You might get it if you didn't use Enchantments in the first place."

Yuriyo laughed. "Oh, the boy has a wit!"

She suddenly pulled him, and it was Naruto who stopped the inertia just half a step away from the foxgirl.

"Good. I like a man with good wit."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Speaking of Enchantments, you really didn't have to use those to get me to follow you; you know I don't like them."

Yuriyo grinned as if she had just won a game Naruto did not even know he had been participating in.

"I did not use Enchantments at all, my delightful blond stud."

Naruto blinked.

"You…you didn't."

"I swear on my pride as the Night Lily of Higashiyama."

Naruto held back another grimace.

"God damn, then you really are that beautiful."

Yuriyo could not stop herself from blushing, floored by the boy's blunt honesty. It was the first time somebody outside her family praised her looks in such a straightforward manner.

The guy from that illusory blowjob some days ago never bothered with the slightest form of praise…other than to her sucking technique, that is.

"What an adorable human you are, Uzumaki Naruto."

"Ugh…those are the kind of words I'd rather get from Kotonoha."

"Really…" The hand which was not clasping Naruto's hand reached for his jacket, slowly unzipping it. "Then would you like me to praise your astounding manliness, perhaps?" The hand snuck through the now-open zipper to touch Naruto's chest over his dark blue t-shirt. "Or maybe I should tell you how much I like your firm, hard, strong muscles…"

"We-well…" Naruto weakly articulated; his body shuddering under the half-Void's gentle touch. "I-I guess I wouldn't mind…yeah, I like praise."

"Who doesn't? I enjoy praise a lot myself." Her index finger traced circles on the blue fabric. "But I did not drag you all the way here to shower you with praise now, did I?"

"Don't ask me, I still don't know why the hell we are here for."

Yuriyo nodded. "Then we better get to the point, hmm?"

"My sister gave you a most pleasant massage, if I am not mistaken."

"You are not. It was amazing."

The dark-haired girl grinned. "My mother gave you a card…and she made arrangements for a most fantastic meal tonight."

"I'm looking forward to it."

"So am I," Yuriyo agreed. "Anyway, it's my turn to do something special for our most important human friend."

"Oh, you don't have to, really…"

"Oh, but I want to…" Reaching for his waist with her left hand and interposing their entangled hands in between their chests, Yuriyo closed the remaining distance between them. "I **really** want to…"

Naruto's knees trembled again.

"So I thought, 'what could little old me have to offer?' It took me a while to come up with…ah, who am I kidding; it took like two seconds."

Yuriyo snickered, and Naruto almost snickered along.

"You see, my sister likes you very, very much. So I guess it's only a matter of time until she decides to try to get…closer to you, if you know what I mean."

Naruto was honestly surprised. "Yurina-chan? Really? Bu-but, she's so nice and cute…she's not the type to like someone like me…"

The half-Void raised an eyebrow. "And you're telling me Yurimi is the type?"

"…you got me there."

"Right. Now, my sister happens to be a hopeless romantic. She also happens to be pathologically shy. I can guess, then, that she will not just drag you to the mattress and have her way with you."

"Like you would."

The Night Lily's eyes gleamed with excitement. "O-ho-ho…do you want me to?"

Naruto decided to keep his mouth shut from that point onwards, unless absolutely necessary.

"Unlike me, my lovely sister will start from the very basics. For a start, she'll probably aim for nothing but a kiss. A kiss! Ha!" Her laugh sounded almost spiteful. "She's truly sad to watch at times, my lovely sister. She could easily just do this!"

And without warning, Yuriyo captured the boy in front of her with a deep and passionate kiss.

The force of her attack jerked Naruto's eyes wide open and made him stumble a step back. The foxgirl followed right along, unwilling to separate her lips from his. Her right hand never left his left, but her left hand reached for the back of his head to keep him close.

As if annoyed by Naruto's lack of response, she forcefully intruded her way into his mouth; her tongue the greediest ravager, as if aiming to thoroughly clean his tonsils.

Naruto, still taken aback by the suddenness of the kiss, moved his tongue clumsily and halfheartedly for a few seconds, until a clearly dissatisfied foxgirl pulled away.

"What the hell was that?" Yuriyo immediately complained.

"Don't expect me to apologize."

After several seconds of wordlessly challenging each other, the young Kitsune sighed in defeat.

"I guess I should not complain about your lack of experience…or technique…or plain manners." She found her succubus smirk once more. "That's what onee-san's here for."

"Oh, I don't like the sound of that."

"Oh, you should." She was back in seductress mode in record time. "Like I said, my sister will aim for your lips, my boy…and I won't allow my sister's first kiss to be as lame as what you pulled off just now."

Naruto groaned. Seriously, these foxgirls were just…

"Oh, come on—"

Yuriyo's left index finger fell on Naruto's lips, silencing them.

"Onee-san won't take no for an answer, my dear."

Her lips would have reached Naruto's again were it not for her finger in the way. She kept that closeness, however, forcing Naruto to stare at those powerful, captivating and sultry eyes.

"Let onee-san teach you…"

A tiny tongue slithered out of the space between her lips, teasingly caressing Naruto's.

The strangely ticklish sensation made his breath freeze halfway down his throat.

"…how to kiss a woman…"

She raised their entwined hands to her mouth's reach.

Naruto gulped when Yuriyo's exploring tongue drew a line of saliva on the length of his index finger.

"…how to touch a woman…"

Slowly, very slowly, she guided his left hand downwards, towards the kimono skirt…and underneath.

"…where to touch a woman…hunngh!"

Naruto's pupils widened. The foxgirl's incredibly erotic moan the moment his cold hand touched the skin of her right buttock sent a jolt throughout his entire body.

Still, he put up resistance.

"Yuriyo, we really shouldn't—"

The half-Void's eyes became sharp and deadly.

"You will **not** run away, Naruto. I'll use an Enchantment if I have to."

Somehow, the E-word flicked a dangerous switch in our protagonist.

"You will **not**."

The inexplicably wild expression Naruto's face took in that moment stunned the girl.

She knew it was not the case, but…it was…it was as if he had suddenly bombarded her with pheromones!

Those eyes…those eyes that sought to dominate her…

Yurimi's 'slave' fetish suddenly made a whole lot of sense.

She wondered if this she was feeling was somehow similar to the feeling her Aura of Allure elicited on her targets.

But she could reflect on that later.

It was time to have fun.

"Then don't be a pussy and kiss me already!" She hissed like the horny vixen she was.

Uzumaki Naruto does not like to be told what to do.

However, Uzumaki Naruto does not back down from a challenge, either.

Finally, Uzumaki Naruto really, really wants to put Higashiyama Yuriyo in her place.

So kiss her he did.

* * *

Aburame Shino suddenly jumped off his seat, his body trembling uncontrollably. Like this, he interrupted the performance of one of the dancing contest's participants. His action was followed by Ino, who was honestly worried after this most unexpected outburst.

"Shi-Shino-kun…are you okay…?"

Shino shook his head a few times, as if trying to shake water out of his earducts.

"I…I'm sorry…I'm terribly sorry." He directed the last sentence to the dancer on the stage.

"What happened…?" Ino was still preoccupied.

"It's…it's nothing…" Shino snorted, and then his lips shivered into something resembling a smile. "It's just…my Win-radar just gave off a signal way off the scale."

Ino's expression shifted to the colder side of the spectrum. "…win…radar."

"Yes. Win-radar. It's a radar that detects Win."

They stared at each other for several long seconds. Then Ino spoke.

"You…you know, nothing. I didn't hear anything."

With that, she sat down…or at least she tried, until she noticed the scene just behind her.

Shino's fellow Aburame, who made a sizable portion of the audience, had all stood up in the same manner as her best friend, shuddering and looking around for the source of such overwhelming Win.

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me."

* * *

They were animals of passion, driven only by a bottomless thirst for each other.

The saliva of the other became their sustenance. They were generous and kind to each other, though, and did not hesitate to share the most desired nectar.

Their tongues danced by the rhythm of dozens of invisible drums, following a maddening percussion that obeyed no axiom but the will to overwhelm, consume and dominate the other.

Hooking, twirling, pushing, licking, tasting, pulling…it was a merciless battle to make the other drown in drool and pleasure.

It was hard to breathe. Air flowed in and out of their nostrils in muted gasps, mostly drowned by the hums and moans that escaped Yuriyo's throat.

Naruto's left hand, guided to the foxgirl's shapely rear, accepted the indecent invitation and grabbed the plentiful muscle with little delicacy.

Yuriyo's moans became louder. Apparently she enjoyed the rough treatment.

He wondered if it was a Void quirk.

His fingers barely touched the foxgirl's perineum, but it was enough for him to feel the warm wetness that quickly flooded her nether regions. He chuckled, which was enough incentive for Yuriyo to relent on her ravenous kissing.

"What?"

Naruto chuckled one last time. "…no panties."

"And your point is?"

The boy shrugged. "Nothing really. I'm not really surprised; I mean, you never wear the damn things. But it was funny for some reason."

Yuriyo frowned at him for about two seconds, and then rolled her eyes.

"Whatever." Just as quickly, she smiled. "But that was surprisingly better than I expected, you hot stuff. A solid 60, I'd say."

"Doesn't sound like much of an improvement."

"Oh, it's okay, it's okay…" Yuriyo licked her lips, and Naruto found himself envying them. "I'm not letting you go until you get to 70. So we'll just have to try again…"

She licked the nape of his neck…

"And again…"

…sucked on his right earlobe…

"And again…"

…and bit it gently.

"…until you get i—kyah!"

Suddenly pinned against the tree trunk behind her, Yuriyo posed no resistance to Naruto's fierce assault. Her mouth warmly welcomed his tongue into her depths, and her rear muscles tightened when both hands fell upon them like a baker on wet flour. As a further invitation, the half-Void raised her right leg to wrap it around Naruto's waist, pushing his body against her and grinding her pelvis against his.

"Yes!" She hissed into his mouth. "Wa-wait, no!"

She pushed him away, and Naruto obviously frowned.

"Hmm…you're giving me mixed signals here, Yuriyo."

"Oh, don't try to be a smartass, Naruto." The girl snorted. "I mean, this is not what we should be doing."

"Reaaaaaally mixed signals."

"Jerk." The Night Lily took a deep breath. She was more flustered than she expected. "As much as I enjoy a good old-fashioned session of tonsil hockey – and apparently, so do you…"

Naruto actually remembered he's supposed to blush at such plain innuendo.

"I don't think Yurina expects that from her first kiss…es." She shook her head as if to ascertain this sentence in her mind. "No, no, she'll want normal kisses, without tongue. You know, tender and stuff."

"Ye-yeah, I think I see what you mean…" A small part of Naruto was amazed he was actually going along with this conversation. "But, to be honest…"

Memories of his kissing experiences throughout fifteen chapters flashed in his head.

"I…don't have that much experience with those…which is kinda disturbing if I think about it."

Sure, he had kissed Yurimi like that, but that memory was easily eclipsed by dozens and dozens of rather…moister lip-on-lip encounters.

Yuriyo chuckled naughtily at that revelation. "Oh-ho…so you're into naughty girls, my boy? Good, good…"

One more chuckle, and then she thoroughly grinded her pelvis against his crotch.

Naruto held back his voice, fearing it would come out a little too high-pitched. The girl chuckled one more time, amused at the boy's resistance. Her lips reached for his right earlobe once again.

"I can be very…very…**very** naughty."

Unable to hold herself, Yuriyo captured Naruto's lips between her own, initiating yet another very messy round of tongue tug-of-war. Naruto's hands moved up her back to get a better hold on the squirming, moaning girl.

When their lips separated, Naruto's eyes drifted down to the girl's chest as it swayed up and down with her labored breath. Yuriyo reveled in the shameless ogling and further exaggerated her breathing.

Naruto's pupils followed a single drop of sweat slowly sliding down her neck and over the curve of the Succubus Lily's right breast. Yuriyo scooped it with a finger and winked to the rather stupid-looking boy right before taking the wet finger to her mouth and suckling with an exaggerated slurp.

"Do you want to see…just how naughty I can be, Na…ru…to…kun?"

Naruto was just a breath away from giving his soul to the devil and blurt out the damning 'yes'. It was impressive and utterly terrifying, the power of a woman's eroticism. If anything, this was the biggest lesson Yuriyo taught him that night.

He almost did say 'yes'. However, something within him, whether his remaining sense of virtue and responsibility or his newly discovered fear of lightning, tempered down his mind before it could make that final and most deadly step.

"Ma…ma-may-maybe…" He inhaled, kept the air for two seconds, and exhaled. "Maybe some other time."

A most diplomatic answer. Kotonoha would be proud.

Yuriyo was actually grateful. Had Naruto actually said yes, she would have probably said 'screw Yurina' and changed the curriculum to "Rough Sex 101".

Not that she would ever let him know this.

"Good," she nodded, accepting the boy's response. "Look forward to Lesson Two, then."

* * *

Within the festival grounds, Higashiyama Mayuri handed a lollipop to a crying girl. Not paying attention to the girl's or her mother's gratitude, the little Time Kitsune walked away and made her way to the meeting spot.

She had done it because she had seen herself doing it. To put an end to the girl's crying.

How very bothersome…

Shaking her head and making a mental note to make that annoying Yuriyo make up for this somehow, Higashiyama Mayuri continued walking amidst the joyful crowd.

* * *

"There are few things more fearsome in this world than humanity's capacity for hatred."

Yuri began with these words. Followed by her faithful attendant, the former Matriarch continued her discussion with the Third Hokage, whom she had invited for a late dinner.

"We Kitsune are creatures mostly driven by emotion, yet even we are humbled by humans' sheer capacity to feel. When you love, you really love. When you hate, you really, really, really hate."

Yuri's tall gait attracted many looks as she walked, even more so for being in the company of the Third. Ignoring the many eyes on her, the White Lily continued her monologue.

"I have wondered why this is so, from time to time. Is it because of their short lives, trying to magnify their limited experiences? Is it because of their powerlessness; their defiance for being at the mercy of so many external influences?"

Her head turned to look at the old man.

"I still do not know the answer, but I do not really mind remaining ignorant. To be honest, this…emotional avalanche only humans can pull off…it scares me a little."

She did not look or sound the least bit scared.

"But it does not change the fact that humans are awfully interesting." A smile. "I said it before: we need humans. You intrigue us. You amuse us. You entertain us."

"We do not exist for your entertainment."

"I do not believe we exist to be entertained by humans, either." A giggle. "Still, we seek you, we reach for you and we use you, because it's entertaining."

"When you reach my age, Hokage-san, you fear boredom far more than you fear death itself." She raised her voice a bit. "I cannot begin to imagine how you cope with it, Sayoko-san."

"Every peaceful day I spend with Yuri-sama is a wonderful day."

Sarutobi then witnessed the unbelievable.

Higashiyama Yuri, the mightiest Kitsune he had ever seen (besides Kyuubi), was blushing like a love-struck teenager.

"I-Is…Is that so?" The eldest of the lilies took a deep breath. "I…I also greatly enjoy your company every day, Sayoko-san."

"Such words I do not deserve."

Apparently in need of a pause, Yuri walked in silence for the next two blocks. Then she resumed their current discussion.

"We approach humans because of those strong emotions you wield so openly and dangerously. Human love is a most fascinating thing, especially so because it's so fleeting and short-lasting. If interest does not wane, age takes care of the rest. We revel in that love, that attention. So, if we want to be the recipients of those incredible feelings, we understand we have to accept the bad together with the good."

"Every once in a while a Kitsune screws up and triggers the wrong switch in a human. Immense love becomes terrible hatred, and our little Kitsune ends up dead. An acceptable sacrifice if it means keeping the strange status quo between humans and Kitsune."

"That's just twisted…"

"We've never claimed to be the most stable of beings…"

An excited call for her name claimed Yuri's attention and directed at an approaching figure. It was one of her beautiful daughters, and one whose sudden appearance surprised the former Matriarch.

"Yurine? What are you doing here?"

The Harmonious Lily was all smiles, as usual.

"Yurimi-cha-uhh, sama! Right! Yurimi-sama gave the order to look for Naruto-kyun! So Yurine was looking for Naruto-kyun!"

That only raised more questions. Of course, the Third Hokage was also interested.

"What happened to Naruto-kun, Yurine?" The seven-tails inquired. "I thought he was with you and the others."

"Yuriyo took him away~"

Yuri thought about that for a second…and then she sighed. "No surprise there. But I see you're not alone."

"Um!" A surprisingly strong hand pulled the shirt of the person she was dragging along. "Yurine didn't find Naruto-kyun, but Yurine found Kiba-kyuuuuun~"

A visibly uncomfortable and embarrassed Inuzuka Kiba weakly waved at the trio of two Kitsune and a Kage. "Umm…hi."

"Good evening, Kiba-kun," the Third warmly greeted the young Genin. "Akamaru, too."

The dog barked, which elicited a squeal from Yurine and the playful ruffling of the small pup's fur.

Yuri sighed in mild annoyance. "Yurine, dear…I wish you were more mindful of the company you keep…"

When Kiba's eyes met Yuri's, it took everything he had not to take a step backwards. His breath got caught in his throat as a gripping cold took hold of his chest. It was painful.

Her eyes…they were so incredibly cold…

Yuri's attention moved from the Inuzuka boy to the aged Hokage when a spike of killing intent unexpectedly struck her. "Yes, Hokage-san?"

"Don't look at him like that," Sarutobi demanded, his voice making it clear this was not up for discussion. Yuri simply raised an eyebrow.

"How, exactly?" Her eyebrow went back down, resulting in a particularly flat stare. "You mean, how this entire village has looked at Uzumaki Naruto for almost thirteen years?"

Sarutobi physically recoiled from that one.

"We do not tell you how you should behave, Hokage-san," Yuri's condescending voice had no mercy for the weak. "We would be grateful if you return the gesture in kind."

Yurine, gods bless her, diffused the current discussion with her childish ignorance and good will.

"Mama! Mama! Can we take Kiba-kyun for dinner? Pweaaaaase~"

"Eh?" The boy, while he certainly did not mind Yurine's closeness, still felt a bit uncomfortable around Naruto's female friends. It made perfect sense: aside from Yurine, the others seemed to find him repugnant for some reason.

Yuri only sighed and rolled her carmine pupils.

"It's your dinner, Yurine…besides, you know it's not me who you should ask, but Yurimi-sama."

The five-tails nodded eagerly, and both Kiba and Hiruzen found themselves following the amazing bounce of Yurine's ninety-eight and a half centimeters of bust.

'_How does it…sway like that? And why?'_ They thought in unison.

Fanfiction breast physics are beyond the comprehension of even the finest minds.

"Um!" The joyous fox-woman exclaimed, strengthening her already-titanic grip on Kiba's jacket. "Let's go get dinner, Kiiii-ba-kyun!"

The boy only managed to blurt a series of meaningless monosyllables as he was dragged away by the overly friendly Yurine. Meanwhile, Sarutobi replayed the last few sentences in his head and noticed something odd.

"If I may ask…"

Sarutobi remained cautious and respectful even if every neuron in his brain told him this woman did not deserve good manners.

"You may."

The Third took a deep breath and added a bit more to the black mass of anger and frustration he had been piling up since Higashiyama Yuri made it into his life.

"Who is Yurimi-san?"

"My daughter, the fourth Matriarch of Higashiyama."

Sarutobi blinked. He did NOT expect that.

Visibly amused by the old man's reaction, Yuri giggled before resuming their walk. "What's so surprising? It's the natural way of things: the old steps aside to give way to the new…"

She paused.

"…unless the new gets itself killed sealing a Nine-Tailed Kitsune, then there is no choice for the old but get back in business, right? Ufufufu~"

That was it.

There are thresholds that should not be crossed, and for this insolent youkai to step on the memory of such a great man as Namikaze Minato…!

The sound of a very loud slap suddenly paralyzed almost the entire block, with Higashiyama Yuri at the center.

The mighty Kitsune's head swayed irregularly, as she became aware of the stinging pain on her reddened left cheek.

"Wha…?"

"Apologize at once."

The voice, no matter how much Sarutobi would have wished to, did not belong to him.

It was Kurosaki Sayoko who stood before the taller former Matriarch; her hand raised and her eyes struggling not to release tears.

"Apologize at once…!" Sayoko hissed; her voice wavering between weakly threatening and pathetically whiny.

"Sa-Sayoko—"

"I thought I taught you better!" The Void Kitsune's pained voice did not allow for responses. "The Higashiyama Yuri I raised did not behave like this! Apologize at once!"

The lily's pride quickly stepped over the initial surprise. "You don't expect me to—"

"Apologize **at once**!"

There was no mistaking it. The night around them had become darker. Colder.

Deadlier.

Even the Third Hokage, one of the mightiest, most battle-hardened warriors in history, found himself shivering at this scene he could not understand. Around him, children of all ages broke down in wails and tears, while adults shuddered uncontrollably and sought each other for warmth that never reached them.

Suddenly aware of their surroundings, Sayoko restrained herself and shut down the Whispers. The night became just night again, instead of the cold corridor leading to the gates of damnation.

And a shaken, shivering Higashiyama Yuri, while wearing the expression of a humbled little girl after taking her parents' harsh scolding, slowly stepped in front of the Third Hokage…and bowed profoundly.

"I…I, I apologize. My words were disrespectful, uncouth, unsightly and most inappropriate." Her shoulders trembled, as if it were physically painful to say these words. "I affronted you and your village, and I humbly apologize for my most regrettable behavior."

Sarutobi would have enjoyed this little victory a bit more, if he weren't so shaken by the whole thing.

"I…I will let it pass, Higashiyama Yuri. However, there are some things which simply cannot be forgiven."

The White Lily blinked and took a step back. She looked quite surprised for whatever reason.

"Namikaze Minato was a great man, and we remember his sacrifice with pride. He is a hero of Konoha, and Konoha stands today in celebration because of him. Do you understand what I mean, Higashiyama Yuri-san?"

There was no killing intent involved this time, only the natural strength of a human's soul and personality, developed by years of experience, growth and wisdom.

Whether you can live 700 years, or just 70, it matters little.

"Ye-yes…" Yuri's voice trembled. "…yes, I believe so."

The Third nodded. "Very well. Now if you may excuse me, I believe I will pass on tonight's dinner. Have a pleasant evening, Yuri-san…"

He turned to the other woman. Who was this Kurosaki Sayoko, who made the (former) leader of a Great Clan tremble and obey her?

"…Sayoko-san."

The woman in lavender nodded gently, allowing the wrinked man to leave them for the evening. Her eyes stayed on his back for while, and Yuri's remained fixated on the sandy ground. Some people still stared at them, but most had given up on making any sense of what just occurred.

"…Sayoko-san, you have my thanks."

The Void's pupils turned to the White Lily.

"…it has been so long since I dwelled amongst humans; I am letting my emotions get the better of me."

She is Higashiyama Yuri, former Matriarch of Higashiyama. She is way past the age when it was forgivable, acceptable and even expectable to fool around with humans like that.

It says a lot about the eldest of the lilies that she managed to regain her usual composure, and even chuckled, so soon after the recent scene.

"Humans are such curious creatures indeed, ufufufu~"

Sayoko did not say anything. In a way, this was the childhood Yuri was denied six centuries before.

* * *

Any pretense of education had long disappeared. Naruto had proved he would not forget the comprehensive list of erogenous zones Yuriyo had presented to him, and he had also shown he understood the basics of the subtle art of kissing.

Nah, Yuriyo had long stopped caring about where Naruto's fingers reached for, as long as he made her feel good. Even if he had spent the last five or so minutes twisting her left nipple with one hand and exploring parts of her only one other male had touched with the other, she had absolutely no reason to complain.

What little self-restraint she had allowed her to stop herself from taking this "lesson" to the next level, as well as to scold Naruto whenever he tried to use his tongue. Their legs had long succumbed, so she was sitting on his lap, with her back pressed against his chest, while Naruto's back resting against the tree. His lips traveled between her lips, cheek, ear and then back to her lips via the nape of her neck. It was a fantastic circuit that sent jolts of pleasure down her spine.

And how come he was so damn good with those fingers of his? She was sure she had not given him any advice on how to use them on a woman's most private parts. This was the mark of previous experience…much welcomed previous experience.

"Touch me more…touch me more!"

Naruto's mind was somewhere else. Had it been truly connected to his body, he would have probably tried to put an end to this session already. But Naruto was lost.

He was lost in her voice: her incredibly sexy moans, on a category completely different from Yurimi's quiet hums and Setsuna's overall kinkiness. Yuriyo was extremely vocal; unhesitating to express her wants and considerate enough to let Naruto know what he was doing right. She truly knew how to use her voice to stimulate and encourage her partner.

He was lost in her feel: the incredible softness of her unblemished skin, the fascinating hardness of her nipples and the slippery wetness of her nether regions. Sometimes he was not sure whether he was touching her kimono or her fair skin, it was just that unbelievably soft. The wickedest part of him wondered if Yurine and Yurina were also like this.

He was lost in her scent: the indescribable musk she released as her body responded to the pleasure he inflicted upon her. It was not a scent he could describe easily; he only knew it drove him crazy; it was almost addictive. His nostrils flared wide open, desperately eager to capture as much of Yuriyo's erotic perfume as possible.

And he was lost in her taste: the sickly sweet taste of her skin mixed with the salty taste of her sweat made for an enticing combination; a cocktail of charm and desire that left him craving for more.

He had suspected it for a while, but this latest experience all but confirmed it: this girl, Higashiyama Yuriyo, was born into this world sorely for the sake of pleasure. An avatar of eroticism; a finely-crafted instrument of ecstasy tuned by years of Higashiyama education in the arts of seduction, and tempered by a natural interest in the intimate acts.

When he was younger, he liked to claim he was born for the Hokage position. He didn't know about that anymore, but he could say, without the shadow of a doubt, that this foxgirl was born into ths world only to give and to receive pleasure.

In a way, it was sad and disgusting, if you thought about it. The problem is, once he was snared by her lure, he lost any and all ability to think.

He was lost. Lost in the fantasy that is Higashiyama Yuriyo.

This explains why he did not notice the other person that made it to their little forest playground. He did not notice how that person stood just a few meters away from them and silently watched their libidinous performance.

Yuriyo, who did not have a body covering her visual field, had no other excuse but the fact that she kept her eyes closed the whole time. Neither ninja danger sense nor the highly developed Kitsune senses of hearing and smell helped the two youngsters drowned in passion. It took Yuriyo finally opening her eyes for a change to realize there was a third person.

The moment she did notice, however, the cloud of ecstasy that surrounded them and muddled their senses faded like a house of cards.

"Huh…hey," Yuriyo greeted the newcomer with a dazed voice.

It was then that Naruto noticed the other person…and froze.

Even if her expression never changed, Naruto could not help but feel awfully, awfully uncomfortable.

"We do not want to begin dinner without you two, Yuriyo, Master."

"How…" Yuriyo began as she tried to make her body move properly again. She was finding it hard to just get off Naruto's lap. And she was still horny. "How did you find us?"

"A slave's intuition."

"Huh…" With that, Yuriyo sighed and patted Naruto's right thigh. "Oh well, seems like we're done with tonight's lesson."

"Huh…huh." As usual, Naruto is very expressive.

"Lesson?"

"Yes, Yurimi-sama," The half-Void finally got back on her feet. She spoke as she tried to fix the wrinkles on her kimono. "I decided to give our golden boy here a lesson or two on how to please a woman." She paused. "Uhh…all for the sake of the clan's enjoyment, of course."

"I see…" Whether Yurimi believed Yuriyo's bullshit or not, her face did not show it.

"Alright, food, food!" Yuriyo happily skipped past Yurimi and in the general direction of the riverside, when she noticed her obi was a bit loose. "Ooh, Naruto, you kinky, kinky boy, just what were you aiming for?"

"Shut up," the aforementioned kinky boy growled, eliciting laughter from Yuriyo, who stopped to take a proper look at the loose knot.

"Hmm…might be better to just undo the whole thing and do it again…but it's a bit too dark in here…"

Naruto ignored the black-haired foxgirl once he stood up, but that only meant his attention shifted to the other foxgirl.

"Yu-Yurimi—"

His voice choked out when the new Silver Lily's forehead fell on his left shoulder.

"Master is too cruel."

"Huh?" The boy flinched at the strange tone of Yurimi's voice. And just why was she breathing so heavily? Did she run on her way here or something?

"Master already has…his faithful slave…who would do anything for him…"

Her head turned to look up at him, and Naruto was struck by a haze of pheromones released by the dazed, uneasy Lily Seed.

"If Master wanted to enjoy pleasure…if Master wanted to enjoy the touch of a woman…"

"Uh, no, I never asked for any of this…"

"Why won't Master make use of his slave?"

Naruto felt a very strong urge to sigh.

They were back at the same old question: just what was his relationship with Yurimi?

"I…gods, I really need to think about this…"

It hurt, having to put serious thought into things. What kind of twelve (almost thirteen) year old was he?

But thinking would have to wait. Now he had to do something about Yurimi.

Even if anybody else would say her expression had not changed, he just could tell. To Naruto, hurting Yurimi was an abominable crime. How could he dare to do anything hurtful to this girl who had accepted everything he is, when she could do so, so, so, so much better?

"Yurimi."

Yurimi blinked. It was her sole reaction to the strangely hard tone Naruto's voice unexpectedly took.

"Yes, Master?"

"Hmm." The boy nodded. "I am 'Master'…right?"

Yurimi honestly could not see what he was going for with this question. "Yes. Master is Master. I am Master's slave."

Still, it felt good to say that.

Higashiyama Yurimi is very perverted.

"So…a slave does whatever her Master orders. Am I right?"

"Ye-yes! Of course!" At the prospect of receiving a command, Yurimi's pupils gleamed with life.

"The-then…" Growing embarrassed, Naruto looked away and scratched his right cheek. "If I tell you to, let's say…"

His pupils danced between Yurimi's kimono and somewhere as far away from Yurimi as possible.

"..to, umm…to undo the knot on your obi, like, right now…"

Without hesitation, Yurimi's hands reached for the length of cloth that tied her kimono to her thin body. "As you wish, Mast-oomph!"

The Silver Lily grunted when her back hit the tree trunk, but it mattered little compared to Naruto's lips mashed against hers and his hands reaching into the opening she had just created for him. Her breath, roughened up for quite a while already, became a loud series of desperate nasal gasps when Naruto's left hand's fingers delicately, almost teasingly, traced random curves on the skin of her chest.

Naruto's right hand went straight for the prize. Yurimi's thighs crushed the invading hand the moment it reached for her sensitive spot, making Naruto wince at the painful pressure. He responded by flicking a tiny hard nub on her chest.

When Yurimi gasped loudly, she not only allowed Naruto's tongue passage into her mouth, but also caught Yuriyo's attention. The half-Void, who had been standing with her back to the couple while she tried (and failed) to fix her obi, blinked and gaped at the new development.

"What the…?"

It made sense for Yuriyo to be so surprised. Her image of Yurimi was that of a perfect and elegant lily; Higashiyama Yuri's pride and joy. When she learned of Yurimi's strange fetish, it made a bit of sense to her: such an uptight girl had to have an odd quirk or two. Besides, Yuriyo found it extremely amusing.

However, the sight of her new Matriarch raptured by the bliss of being ravished by her Master struck Yuriyo speechless. Yurimi's kimono was only held by her shoulders and her back that pressed the garment against the tree. Her tongue desperately sought out Naruto's whenever she deemed it not deep enough in her mouth. Her lips and chin dripped saliva, and something else, just as clear, dripped off the space between her thighs as it was violently teased by Naruto's right hand.

Naruto's hand made a strange U-turn and Yuriyo realized he was no longer touching Yurimi just outside. Yurimi gasped, eyes wide as saucers, and her body began to convulse in orgasmic bliss. A merciless Naruto did not allow her lips to escape, and the strange couple kissed messily and passionately for the entire duration of Yurimi's climax.

Like that, Yuriyo understood that her new Matriarch was not a cold, emotionless doll. Higashiyama Yurimi was just like every other Kitsune, and she enjoyed pleasure just like everyone else.

"That was so hot," Yuriyo whispered.

While Yurimi is normally taller than him (she is just as tall as Sasuke), her body had slipped down the rough bark as she lost the ability to stand on her own. Naruto embraced her and further supported her by placing his right knee under her crotch, which only made Yurimi mewl in pleasure. The blond smiled down at the panting, sweating, and utterly blissful foxgirl.

"How are you feeling, Yurimi?"

Yurimi's chest expanded and contracted dramatically. The girl could not care less that her undeveloped breasts were in plain sight.

"Haa…haa…happiness~"

Naruto chuckled but invited Yurimi closer to him, and the girl accepted his embrace wholeheartedly.

"That was so hot," Yuriyo repeated as her head poked out from Naruto's side. "So, Yurimi-sama, do you approve of my teaching methods now?"

"I didn't do this for you, you know."

"Oh, I can tell, my boy." Looking at Yurimi's flushed and rather embarrassing state, the half-Void whistled. "Damn. Aren't you sensitive."

"Higashiyama Yuriyo."

Naruto and Yuriyo almost stood at attention. Yurimi's voice was firm and full of authority; starkly contrasting with her current appearance, barely clinging to Naruto's body as she was.

"I must commend you on the substantial improvement of Master's kissing and fondling technique."

"Thank you!" Yuriyo smirked salaciously. "About time somebody appreciates my skills."

"That doesn't make me happy at all!" Naruto was not feeling the praise.

"However," Yurimi raised her tone for that single word. "Should Master **finally **decide to sate his thirst for rough sexual intercourse…"

"Why does it have to be rough…?" Naruto whined. "And I can take a hint, thank you very much."

"…it will be I, Higashiyama Yurimi, who will fulfill his every erotic demand, regardless of position, duration, or the hole he wishes to penetrate."

"Don't talk about me like I'm some sort of deviant!"

The deviant is not you, Naruto-kun.

Yuriyo made a salute. "Got it. I will not deny my Matriarch the pleasure of taking the first bite of this Naruto cake."

"I'm right here, you know!"

Yurimi nodded. While this agreement had been reached, it did not seem like Yurimi was done.

"However…" The Matriarch's eyes remained on Yuriyo's. "Once Master has fully branded me as his possession by stuffing my womb with his sperm…"

"Now you're just making things up! And that's gross!"

"No, it isn't," Yuriyo retorted in a sagely tone. "Reproduction is a very natural and beautiful thing."

"You be quiet!"

"…I believe I would also like to benefit from your commendable educational ability…together with Master, of course."

Two pairs of very wide eyes stared at Yurimi. Had she just said…?

"Wait, Yurim-!"

Naruto had no chance to voice his thoughts, as he was exposed to a sight he knew would remain burned in his retinas for quite some time.

Yuriyo had pounced, like the black panthress she was, and pinned the younger foxgirl back against the poor mistreated tree, not giving her a chance to resist before capturing her lips.

With the front of their kimonos wide open, their nude bodies easily came into contact, chests and thighs rubbing together while Yuriyo expertly changed the angle of her attack.

The Void foxgirl's hands quickly reached for the nice curve of Yurimi's rear; a decision Naruto could easily understand. The moaning short-haired lily did not settle her hands on a single place, preferring instead to roam Yuriyo's more shapely body.

When Yuriyo's tongue pulled away, Yurimi's followed, and the two met half-way between their faces in an open-mouthed encounter the likes of which are only seen on adult videos.

The raven-haired vixen inclined her head a bit, which allowed her to smirk at the gaping Naruto even as her tongue still played with Yurimi's. The young Silver Lily also noticed the attention, and her body shuddered at the thought.

"Mass-taah…"

A single of Yuriyo's fingers reached for Naruto's jaw and pushed it up until his mouth was closed. She locked lips with Yurimi one more time, moaning in approval of the Lily Seed's treatment of her breasts. After eight or so more seconds of ravaging her Matriarch's mouth, the Night Lily seized Yurimi's bottom lip between her own, suckled gently and then pulled away, grinning triumphantly at the obvious gleam of dissatisfaction in the other girl's eyes.

"Glad to see you're up to this kind of play, Yurimi-sama…" The Succubus Lily whispered alluringly. "I'm sure Yuriko and Yurika will also be delighted."

"Only…" Yurimi shook her head, albeit weakly. "Only for Master…I don't care…I don't want…anything…with those two."

Yuriyo chuckled. "Fair enough. I'll look forward to your summons, then."

It was with a Cheshire cat smirk that she then latched on Naruto. One hand reached for one of his and guided it to her right breast. The other hand reached for the hardness under his boxers.

"And I can see you are also looking forward to it, stud," she whispered to his reddened right ear. Naruto's face had become a big red beacon. "You're thinking about it, aren't you?"

Her ever-ready tongue reached for the earlobe.

"You, me, and Yurimi-sama…and the fun we can have together…"

A second later, Naruto was on the ground, having succumbed to severe nasal blood loss. Yurimi blinked.

"Hmm. It's been a while since Master did that."

Yuriyo chuckled. "Really. Anyway!" She turned to the younger lily, presented her partially nude body. "Think you can help me with the obi? I really can't figure it out in the dark…"

* * *

"Noooooo waaaaaay~"

"Stop whining already, Yuriyo." Naruto was growing quite tired of the the half-Void's complains.

"But I don't wanna~"

"You know, it says a lot when I'm the responsible one."

"Don't measure me with your human standards!"

"I know, I know, but I just can't let this one pass."

"Mou, let me go already!"

"No can do."

Naruto's left hand had a strong grip on Yuriyo's right wrist. On the other side, Yurimi was playing the role of a love-struck girlfriend and happily clung to Naruto's right arm.

A clone suddenly dropped right in front of the trio.

"Any luck?" Naruto immediately asked his copy.

The clone shook his head. "No, sir. We found Mayuri-chan, though, sir."

Indeed, Higashiyama Mayuri was slowly approaching them.

The three silently watched the Sorrowful Lily close the distance that separated them. The lilies watched her in silence because they had nothing to say. Naruto watched in silence because the expression on her face made him wary of saying any word.

It was good that Mayuri was beginning to at least show emotions, if not speak. It was not good that her face now only showed the fact that she was obviously pissed off.

The tiny foxgirl finally stood in front of them. She looked up, at Naruto, with those eyes full of annoyance. Naruto looked down, trying his best to look amiable.

"Umm, hi, Mayuri-chan."

"…"

"Umm…forgive me if I'm wrong, but…are you angry?"

He got a kick in the shin for that.

"OW!"

This made Yuriyo laugh and celebrate her freedom, until she, too, got a kick on the shin.

"OW!"

Mayuri's eyes met Yurimi's.

"Kick me and perish."

Mayuri rolled her eyes. It was not like Yurimi could even touch her, but she had no reason to kick her Matriarch anyway.

"Oww…" Naruto moaned. "Mayuri-chan, that was cruel."

The half-Time Kitsune pulled out a drawing notebook from literally nowhere.

"Wait, where did you get that from?"

For that question, Naruto received Mayuri's "I can manipulate time and space at my whim and you're wondering where I got a stupid drawing notebook from?" face.

It's pretty much a flat stare.

After staring for a moment or two, Mayuri began to write.

'_I have already dealt with the girl.'_

"Don't make it look like you made her disappear!" Naruto retorted. "And how did you even—?"

Flat staaaaaaare.

"…right. Stupid question. My bad."

"I'm jealous."

Mayuri and Naruto turned to the new Silver Lily.

"You understand her even if she does not speak. You have met only a few times and your bond is already so strong."

Naruto's eyes met Mayuri's, and the little lily's pupils grew wide just before she looked away, embarrassed.

"Wha-what do you mean?" Naruto was really confused, scratching his head and everything. "Isn't it obvious just from looking at her face? I mean, just now she was angry for who knows what reason, and now she's making this awfully cute embarrassed face."

Mayuri's jaw stiffened. He shouldn't say those things so bluntly!

Yurimi looked at the younger lily. If there was any change in Mayuri's expression evoking embarrassment, she did not see it. Being someone who is used to hiding her expression behind a mask, Yurimi knows plenty about reading the emotions of others.

"…so jealous."

Mayuri did her best to avoid Naruto's confused stare. However, the boy's warm hand soon fell on her head, making her wince as the visions took a rich infusion of orange and blood.

What an inconsiderate man, Uzumaki Naruto.

"Thank you for taking care of that, Mayuri…" And then he realized. "Crap!"

Immediately pulling away the dangerous hand, he kneeled in front of the paralyzed girl. Once again, only Naruto could detect the hint of terror in Mayuri's dead eyes.

"God, I screwed up!" The boy hissed, mentally kicking himself. In the balls. "I-I'm really sorry, Mayuri-chan! Are you—no, that's another stupid question! Gaaaah!"

Naruto's hands went to his hair. How is anyone supposed to deal with this kind of situation?

Yurimi approached the two, worried about Naruto's sudden, strange behavior. "Master, is there somethi—"

"Shhh, you!"

The Silver Lily stepped back, stunned, as the boy gave Mayuri the puppy dog eyes and wordlessly pleaded for a hint on how he could make things better.

With this kind of sight before her, Mayuri could not stay angry at him for long. Were she another kind of child, she would have giggled.

Pat, pat.

Naruto understood all was forgiven when Mayuri returned his earlier gesture and patted his mop of unruly blond hair. The boy felt tears gathering in his eyes. This was either the kindest youkai in the entire universe, or a youkai to whom he was so insignificant she could not bother herself to be angry at him for his obvious idiocy.

Or maybe she thought staying angry was too much of a hassle.

He wanted to believe it was the first.

"Thank you…"

For a single, significant moment, Mayuri pondered smiling back.

"…so jealous."

And the magic was gone, leaving behind an embarrassed-looking young boy and a goddess of spacetime intently staring at the street under her feet.

* * *

"I can't believe you made me do that," Yuriyo growled at the back of Naruto's head. The boy was just two steps ahead of Yuriyo, flanked by the Matriarch of a Great Clan and a Time Kitsune.

"Come on, it was not that bad."

"I can't believe you actually found her in the first place!"

"Well, what can I say besides 'I can make several hundred clones'?"

He had also relied on Mayuri's help, but he was not saying that.

"You made me apologize!"

"You stole her lollipop!"

"What about my honor as a Kitsune?" Yuriyo demanded in a heated tone, to which Naruto responded with a charm smile.

"Now don't be silly…we all know you don't have such a thing."

"Don't get cocky with me, Naruto!"

"Yuriyo," Yurimi interrupted. "It is not such a big deal, please forget about it already."

"You say that because you didn't have to embarrass yourself in public and apologize to some human brat!"

"You stole her friggin' lollipop!" Naruto insisted. "That's just too mean!"

"Don't apply your pathetic human moral standards to me!" Yuriyo shouted.

"It's the principle of the thing!" Naruto shouted back. "There's a limit to how rude a person can be!"

"Master, we have arrived."

"Tch, whatever." Yuriyo walked past the group to meet with the rest of the clan. "But I'm still mad at you!"

"If she's so mad then why did she do it in the first place…?" Naruto mused as he watched Yuriyo's back…

A blur.

Even Kotonoha, Yuri and Sayoko were startled.

The white blur tackled Naruto and sent him straight to the grass. Hard.

"Guh…ouch, ouch, ouch, what the…ah."

"**You**…"

It took everything he had not to groan. _I knew I had forgotten something important._

"Hi there, Kokoro-chan."

"**You**…" The voice had a certain animalistic overtone that made Naruto fear for his life. Or his pants. Or both. "Seems like you've been having the time of your life, Na-ru-to-kun…"

A distance away, but close enough to hear, Yuriyo snorted in childish derision.

"For all it meant to him…you made me apologize, you bastard!"

"YOU STOLE HER GODDAMNED LOLLIPOP! A LITTLE GIRL'S GODDAMNED LOLLIPOP!"

Naruto's neck made a horrible sound when Ayame's hands forcefully made him stare at her strangely-glowing eyes.

"No-no-no-no-no, Naruto-kun. No more Yuriyo-time. Now it's Kokoro-time."

Naruto sweatdropped. "Uhh…you do realize everybody can see us here, don't you?"

Ayame chuckled; a deep, ominous, dark chuckle. "I long moved past the 'I don't give a damn' threshold."

"Well I do!"

"Guess how little I care."

Naruto found the answer to that question in the bottomless pools of damnation also known as Ayame's pupils. Gulping at what he saw, he shifted his head to try to look at the large group gathered by the riverside.

"Would any of you mind?"

Yuria cupped her hands to yell back at the prone boy.

"But you're doing so well, darling!"

"We're SO getting marriage counseling, Yuria!"

Crack.

Naruto was looking at Ayame's eyes again.

"…marriage?"

Naruto began to sweat heavily. "…long story. You don't want to hear it."

"…I bet."

Most fortunately for the about-to-be-raped-in-broad-nightlight boy, a savior emerged most unexpectedly.

**Munii? Onii-chan, can you pway with Sayuri now? Sayuri said onii-chan was busy pwaying with Yuriyo fihst, so Sayuri was a good girl and waite-mugii! Onii-chan's been attacked! Sayuri will pwotect onii-chan!**

Whoosh.

"…God damn it."

_Nice, Sayuri! I've never loved you nearly as much as I love you right now!_

**Weally? Waaaaaaaaaai! Onii-chan, I wuv yuuu! Oniiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-chan! Onii-chan-Onii-chan-Onii-chan-Onii-chan-Onii-chan-Onii-chan-Onii-chan-Onii-chan-Onii-chan-Onii-chan-Onii-chan-Onii-chan-Onii-chan-Onii-chan-Onii-chan-Onii-chan-Onii-chan-Onii-chan-Onii-chan-Onii-chan-Onii-chan-Onii-chan-Onii-chan-Onii-chan-Oniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii -iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiii-CHAN!**

Wiggle, wiggle.

* * *

He tried to keep the pity out of his face, but it was honestly very hard.

"So, you're still in heat."

"My sister had to tie me to this tree. What do you **think**?"

She tried to keep the sheer hunger out of her voice, but it was honestly impossible.

**Ne, ne, onii-chan.**

_What is it?_

**If Kokoro-chan's in heat, that means she'll get on fire soon, wight?**

_Uhh…no. It's not the kind of heat you're thinking of._

**Mugyuu…then, can I set her—**

_Most definitely not!_

**Mugyuu…**

"Kokoro-chan…" he continued. "I…I really wish I could help you, but…I just can't. I can't give you what you want." He inclined his head before her restrained form. "I'm sorry."

Ayame stared at Naruto's blond mop before dropping her head and sighing. "I know, I know. It's just…hard." A bitter chuckle. "Can you imagine how it is to want something so badly, to have it just outside the reach of your fingers and never be able to grasp it?"

"I wish I knew."

"No, you don't. You really, really don't. That's the whole point."

"Naruto-sama…"

The boy looked up to greet Kotonoha. Or her breasts, which blocked sight of her face from him, seated on the grass as he was.

"I'm sure the others are looking forward to enjoying your company. I'll take care of my sister."

"Ah…um, thank you." Accepting the offer, Naruto stood up and waved goodbye to the possessed human girl. "Um…talk to you later, Kokoro-chan, Ayame-nee-chan."

Ayame wistfully watched the boy's departing form. "Kotonoha, I don't know what to do anymore."

"Kokoro, dear, you haven't had sex in more than fifteen years. That takes a toll on anyone."

"You haven't had sex in almost a hundred and fifty."

"I've always considered myself different from ordinary Kitsune."

* * *

Naruto had intended to sit with Yuria, of course, but he noticed something that inevitably drew his attention. There was one human too many amidst the group of Kitsune.

"…Kiba?"

"Hey," the young boy from the Inuzuka clan greeted the blond with his best "why the hell am I here?" face.

"Kiii-ba-kyun!" An overly eager Yurine appeared out of nowhere with chopsticks holding what seemed like some kind of fish. "Mouth!"

Wordlessly, Kiba opened his mouth allowing Yurine to stuff it with the fish-like thing. Naruto watched the scene while struggling to not reveal his thoughts.

"…you've been tamed."

"I'll kick your ass."

Only then did Yurine notice the second human in the scene. Apparently she had been so into hanging out with her new doggy friend to even notice Naruto arriving or the whole scene with Kokoro.

The last thing Naruto saw before having breasts smashed on his face was Kiba's wickedest grin. It was almost as if Kiba himself had given the attack order.

"NARUTO-KYUN!"

"Gya-hobgh!"

**Yurin-nee-chan! Waaaai!**

Apparently Sayuri likes Yurine enough to not mind the five-tails shoving her bust on onii-chan's face.

By the way, wiggle wiggle.

Kiba did not waste a second.

"Um, so, it was great to hang out with you girls, but I think I'll leave you to enjoy yourselves for the rest of evening—oh my God I can't believe I'm saying this."

"Yeah, yeah…" Yuriyo quickly dismissed the boy with canine features. "Get lost already."

"Ah-ahaha…" Yurina sweatdropped, looking rather guilty. "Plea-please excuse my mother…she can be…umm…"

Overbearing doesn't cut it. She only gets away with it because she's so damn cute.

"Um, yeah, whatever. See you around." He looked at the pile of fox-woman and blond ninja. "You're a good sport, Naruto. I owe you one!" He declared as he ran away as fast as his feet allowed.

"Huh. I'm such a jolly good fella," Naruto mumbled bitterly. Yurine was happily purring like the cat which has found its favorite toy.

**Onii-chan's the best!**

"Are you gonna make my mother apologize to the dog, too?"

"Oh stuff it already, Yuriyo."

"A-re?" Yurina tilted her head; her twintails swaying on both sides of her head. "Did something happen in onee-chan's and onii-sama's…umm…" Expectedly, a deep blush crept up the lovely girl's cheeks. "…time together?"

"Just what do you think I did with your sister, Yurina-chan?" Naruto wondered before noticing he was the target of a pair of puppy eyes. "Yes, yes, petting, petting~"

"Hawawaaan~" Yurine reached Nirvana.

**Mugyuu…**

The two-tailed blonde was of course quite struck by Naruto's suggestive question; all the while she shot wistful looks at the hand that gently petted her mother's hair.

"Ah-ah-uh-umm…no-no-nothing at all! Yu-Yurina had no weird ideas in her head, no!"

Yuriyo held back a chuckle. "You're too cute, sister. Don't worry, our honey blond here is still a cherry. That honor goes to Yurimi…or Yuria, I'm not really sure."

"Can we please stop discussing my virginity?" Suddenly petting Yurine seemed so much more appealing…

**Onii-chan, what's vihgee—**

_Nothing, Sayuri._

**Mugyuu…**

"No way in hell," Yuriyo rejected the proposal immediately. "Now the big question is you, my dear sister. When are you making your move?"

"Eh?" Yurina immediately squeaked. "No! No, no! I-ah-Yu-Yurina….Yurina never…" Her eyes suddenly met Naruto's, and she got even redder. It was a good thing it was late at night. "I mean, it's not that onii-sama is not…I mean, Yurina has thought…but…uhh…hauu."

Naruto was just grateful Yurine was in her own little world of bliss. Seriously, they were talking about him, Naruto, having sex with her daughters.

That was just plain scary.

* * *

"About time you decide to join us, darling."

"Yeah, it took a while," Naruto half-heatedly apologized before sitting next to his fiancée. As the clan's guests, Naruto and Yuria were supposed to share a table with the Matriarch. Yuri and Sayoko were also by this table, and it seemed Naruto had interrupted the former Matriarch with his arrival.

"Good evening, Uzumaki Naruto-kun," Yuri greeted the boy. "It seems you've had quite the…eventful day, from what I've heard. And you have an interesting new ornament."

"Ahaha…" Naruto sweatdropped, looking down at the fox-woman latched with arms around his waist and a blissful smile on her face. "She's rather…attached, yes."

"Hawawaaan~"

"What she said," Naruto finished.

"Well, you have come at a good time," Yuri continued. "With Yurimi-sama's permission, I was about to talk about the Nue."

Yurisa and her daughter, who were also approaching the Matriarch's table, simultaneously raised their eyebrows to display their curiosity. Even Yurine blinked and looked at her mother, visibly curious.

"Hawa?"

Just like that.

"Nue?" Naruto inquired right before shooting a warm smile to Yurisa and Mayuri as they sat to his right.

"Yes." Yuri assented. "Yuria-san here wished to hear the names of the strongest youkai I know."

"Eh?" Naruto uttered. "Aren't Kyuubi the strongest youkai?"

"That's a common misconception, yes," Yuri admitted before explaining. "As you know, comparing Kyuubi with other Kitsune is a lot like comparing humans with, let's say, earthworms: very similar at first glance, but the most basic of examinations reveals a glaring abyss of difference between the two."

Naruto sweatdropped. "Please spare me the nasty jokes, Yuri-oba—onee-chan."

"Ufufufu~sorry, I could not stop myself."

Sayoko shook her head and sighed. Had her best friend regressed to the age before she became Matriarch, or what?

"But Kyuubi are just members of this superior tier of youkai, Naruto-kun. There's also the **Great King Tengu**, ruler of a secret kingdom of flying youkai; the Overlord of Oni, **Shutendouji**; and the Youkai Aristocrat, **Nurarihyon**. All of them are mighty beings with power that rivals that of a Nine-Tailed Kitsune."

"Of course, there are also the legendary Time Kitsune, but their existence is only a rather bothersome rumor, so I won't bother bringing them up."

Naruto and Mayuri exchanged identically guilty looks.

"And there is the one acknowledged as the mightiest and most fearsome of all youkai: **Nue**. But, it might not be right to call Nue a youkai after all…what do you think, Sayoko-san?"

The perpetually-depressed Kitsune gave her friend a "please don't get me involved" face. Nue was a topic that made her particularly depressed. This was not something Yuri knew, however.

"Nue is…a strange being," Yuri continued. "Now, I have to say I've had the fortune never to meet Nue in person, so everything I know about it comes for other sources. Unlike Time Kitsune, however, there is absolute no doubt that Nue does indeed exist, and is out there somewhere."

"So, there's, like, one Nue?"

Yuri nodded in response to Yuria's inquiry. "Yes. Most fortunately, Nue is incapable of siring progeny. I heavily doubt it is even capable of partaking of the sexual act, even."

"Are you implaying then that the Nue is immortal, mother?" Yurimi asked this time. The question obviously sparkled Mayuri's interest.

"That or, via some method nobody knows about, the dead Nue is immediately replaced by a new Nue at the end of its natural lifespan."

"What if somebody kills it?" Yuria wondered, eliciting cheerful laughter from her mother.

"Yuria, dear, Nue cannot be killed," The White Lily unhesitatingly declared. "It's fundamentally impossible, like stopping time."

Mayuri pretended she did not hear that.

"Says who?" Yuria stubbornly replied. "Just because only weaklings have fought it so far doesn't mean—"

"You already made the mistake just there," Yuri interrupted. "There is no 'fighting' the Nue."

"The Nue is a thing of pure anarchy; entropy given form. It is said that Nue is the necessary antithesis to the natural order of things." The eldest of the lilies clasped her hands together on her lap. "It is impossible to fight the Nue simply because anything that gets close to it is immediately unraveled and disassembled into its elemental constitutents." Noticing Naruto's confusion at the strange wording, Yuri clarified things for him. "You disappear. Disintegrate. Cease to exist. Become dust. Kaput."

A heavy silence filled the group. Even Naruto seemed to be deep in thought.

"Wait, wait, so you're saying she can't be touched," Yuria inferred. "I assume the same happens with weapons and jutsu."

"You assume right," Yuri agreed with a nod.

"But what if, let's say, Nue falls off a tall cliff or something?"

"Nue also happens to be an unparalleled shapeshifter. I'm sure it has a way to prevent such accidents from harming it." Yuri paused for a moment, as she remembered something. "It is said that the Nue's appearance is different for different people; that the way Nue appears before you is none other but you own personal construction of how 'the strongest youkai' looks like."

"Alright!" Yuria grinned eagerly. "So should I ever meet my identical twin, I'll know it's this Nue!"

The others quietly stared at the boisterously laughing three-tails.

"I really wish I had your confidence, Yuria-san," Yurimi admitted.

Yuri sighed and shook her head at her banished daughter's attitude. "Yuria-san, while your enthusiasm is certainly invigorating, I have to ask you: please, do not seek out the Nue. It's a monster even the mightiest gods avoid. Inari-sama calls her the Goddess of Chaos. Even if you really want to become the strongest youkai…this is something that goes beyond mere 'Power'. Nue is not a youkai, it's…it's…I have no idea what it is. So…just, stay away from it."

"Nue…Nue is…sad."

The table went awfully quiet. Kurosaki Sayoko had opened her mouth.

"Nue is…a terrible existence. Unable to touch anything, unable to hold anyone. Unable to grow, unable to age, unable to bond, unable to **live**. A pitiful, pointless existence condemned to an eternity of loneliness and stagnation."

Naruto nodded. He had just reached the exact same conclusion.

"How could anyone…how could anyone be afraid of such a pitiful thing?"

He did not seem to mind having become the center of attention. At this point we can assume he is used to it.

"It shows we all have different ways to look at things. So, Naruto-kun, what would you do if you ever met the Nue?"

**Sayuri will say hi! And set her on fire!**

Sayuri has apparently assumed the Nue is a she. And, of course, did not pay attention to the fact that fire would probably not work.

Naruto pondered Yuri's question for a few seconds.

"I…I really don't know."

Fortunately for him, he still had a few weeks to come up with an answer.

* * *

"Hi-ho!"

"You are late." This was Yurimi's greeting to Higashiyama Yuriko and Yurika.

"Ahaha, sorry, sorry~" Yurika responded with a guilty smile. "We got kinda stuck."

"Very well." Yurimi calmly sipped her tea. "I will listen to just how you two screwed up things today in due detail after we are done dining."

"Urk." The twins gulped as one…then they noticed. "Wait, isn't there something wrong with this scene?"

Yuri wiped off an inexistent tear off. "I'm so proud of my little girl."

Some distance away, Naruto was off enjoying his own tea in the company of Yurine and her daughters. The five-tails was lost in dreamland, snoring cutely as her head rested on Naruto's lap.

"We have a nice breeze tonight…" the boy idly commented.

"Yes, it's so refreshing, onii-sama…"

"THE HECK!?"

Pfffffffft—the sound of tea being expelled at dramatic speed from Naruto's mouth.

**Wahahaha, onii-chan, so funny~**

"Don't scare me like that!" Naruto shouted to the Matriarch's table, at the twin foxgirls who had just made that extreme exclamation.

"O-Onii…sama…"

"Eh? What's wrong, Yurina—waaah!"

Green tea dripped off Yurina's face and hair and quickly taken in by her kimono, which now clung to her curves quite nicely. While Yurina's breasts are smaller than Yuriyo's, the difference is virtually indistinguishable, as Naruto could easily see in that moment.

"Waaah, Yurina-chan! I-I'm so very sorry!"

"N-No…" The lovely twin-tailed foxgirl was visibly struggling to maintain her perpetual gentleness. "It's…accidents happen…"

"No! No! Plea-please let me help you—STOP LAUGHING, YURIYO!"

The black-haired lily was literally rolling on the ground laughing her cute ass off.

**Sayuri will help!**

_Wait, no—!_

Whoosh.

Naruto groaned.

"Hawaaan~" the combusting Yurina moaned pathetically.

A mature voice sighed deep within Naruto's mind. A second later, there was an additional Kitsune in the group.

The adult Higashiyama Sayuri walked over to the burning Yurina, dispelling the comedy flames with a flick of a finger.

"Her execution was terrible, but her idea had some merit. Let's me dry you with a little heat, Yurina-chan."

"Ah…ah, thank you…"

The group remained in silence: Yurine slept, Yuriyo watched, and Sayuri did her thing. On the Matriarch's side, Yuri finished presenting Yurimi as the new Matriarch to a pair of dumbstruck twins.

Then just as suddenly…

"Onii-chan!"

"Guah!"

Naruto was quickly caught in Sayuri's embrace and the girl most eagerly rubbed her face against his unruly hair.

"Onii-chan-Onii-chan-Onii-chan-Onii-chan-Onii-chan-Onii-chan-Onii-chan-Onii-chan-Onii-chan-Onii-chan!" Sayuri's face re-emerged out of the golden mop with a bright smile. "Puah! Onii-chan Energy, Full Charge!"

"Ugh…" Naruto was thoroughly embarrassed.

**Muu…Sayuri too…**

"Alright everyone!" The adult Sayuri, clad in a plain crimson kimono with a yellow obi, clapped to get the whole group's attention, never releasing Naruto. "This party is too lame!"

"Uhh, I don't think it's really a party…" Yurisa muttered.

"Let's have some performances! Performances!"

"Nah, I don't think we can come up with something original all of a sudden…" Yuriyo countered. "And I only know how to do ero stuff, so…"

"That last sentence was unnecessary!" Naruto's voice blurted out of Sayuri's bosom.

"So, for my performance, I will shout 'onii-chan' eleven times in one second!"

"No way! That's impossible!" Yuria promptly claimed.

"Ahaha! Don't underestimate Onii-chan Energy!"

"Are you drunk?" Naruto mumbled to Sayuri's cleavage.

"Kyaan! Onii-chan, that tickles!"

**Onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-haaaaaaaaun!**

The last thing is apparently Sayuri deeply inhaling.

"Gaaaah, stop that!"

"But, onii-chan, I haven't done anything."

Naruto could only groan.

"Kyaaan, onii-chan, you ecchi~"

**Onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan…haa…haa…**

"My head…it hurts…"

"Don't worry, don't worry! Sayuri will kiss it and make it better!"

"Ugh…"

**Muu…it's not enough!**

_It is! It's so enough you wouldn't believe it!_

**Mugii! Nope! Sayuri has to make up for chwapter fifteen!**

_Oh God…_

**Onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan—**

"And here we go!" Sayuri took air…

"God, please, not you too!"

"Onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan!"

**Onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan!**

"Amazing! I can't believe it!"

"Don't encourage them, Yuria!"

**Waaai! Onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan—**

"Somebody kill me…please…"

—**onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan—**

It's Onii-chan Overload.

* * *

Yuria had departed, claiming she was tired and wanted to rest.

"_Don't stay up till too late, Naruto! You have your big fight tomorrow, so you gotta rest!"_

The three-tails' fiery demand stunned the young boy and elicited amused chuckling from the older Kitsune.

The group had now split in "four tails and up plus Mayuri" and "two and three tails". The twins were detailing to their new Matriarch the whole issue with Mitarashi Anko, while Yurimi did her absolute best to keep her composure at just how thoroughly those girls had messed things up. Fortunately for them, Anko's hangover was just too strong for her to do anything with the information she had gotten from the twins, at least not until the following day.

"We thought of killing her," Yurika stated matter-of-factly.

"But that's kinda nasty," Yuriko added.

"And we guess it would lead to more issues with the village," Yurika conceded.

"And killing is just so unsightly; it doesn't feel right," Yuriko admitted.

"And Anko-chan is just so hot; it would be such a waste…" Yurika concluded.

Yurimi had a headache.

Naruto, surprisingly, was in the other table, with the elder Kitsune: Sayoko, Yuri, Yurine, Yurisa, Kotonoha and Kokoro, who had calmed down and joined them at least for dessert. For safety reasons, she sat as far from Naruto as possible. Yurine, who had been abruptly woken up by Sayuri's "performance", had resumed her reverie on her new favorite pillow: Naruto's lap. Sayoko, too, had succumbed to her cat-like sleeping pattern and curled her body to sleep next to Yuri. Mayuri was also lying on the grass, but she did not sleep, choosing instead to watch the sky and wait for the midnight fireworks. The adult Sayuri had also given her goodbyes before wandering off somewhere. The little Sayuri had already fallen asleep "like a good girl".

Naruto had succumbed to the temptation and quietly, calmly stroked Yurine's long black hair, just as silky and lustry as her half-Void daughter's.

"So, will I get an explanation for your weirdness this afternoon?" the boy suddenly spoke; his words aimed at Higashiyama Yuri, who responded with her usual demure laughter.

"Ufufufu~yes, yes, that must have been quite a shock for Naruto-kun."

Very concisely, Yuri explained what she had learned from the adult Sayuri about his unique genetic contribution to Kitsune reproduction.

"So," Yuri struck once she was done explaining. "Would you be so kind as to give us some kits?"

Naruto's flat stare was his response. "Uhh, let me think about it—NO! I'm not some…sort of…breeding…animal!"

"Mugyuu…"

"Did you just say 'mugyuu'?"

"Yes. In all honesty, I always wanted to try saying it at least once." Yuri giggled. "I guess I can see the charm behind it."

There were very interesting discussions going at both tables.

"Hey, I've been wondering…" Yurika mentioned. "All our voice actresses get the same pay, right?"

"They get paid?" Yuriyo pondered.

"I mean, I'm just wondering…" Yurika looked at the other table. "Mayuri has a seiyuu, right?"

"Mizuki-san," Yurimi responded.

"Yeah." The leading twin nodded. "Well, you know, Mayuri doesn't speak a single line. How come Mizuki-san gets paid for doing nothing?"

"Maybe she sings the opening," Yuriyo suggested.

"We don't have an opening song!" Yurika yelled.

"Well, we should."

I know!

"Ano…" Yurina finally joined the discussion. "Mizuki-san also voices Hyuuga Hinata-san…"

"Who the hell is that?" Yuriyo and Yurika deadpanned together. Yuriko chuckled.

Please keep doing your best, Hinata-san.

* * *

It was already past midnight. A few scattered fireworks released here and there still marred the quietness of the night, as the people of Konoha returned to their homes for a most deserved sleep.

Naruto had left the women of Higashiyama. They would next meet at the arena where the finals will take place. The boy, however, had not returned to his apartment. Instead, his legs had guided him to a familiar place.

He found her sprawled on the grass just past the bed of rocks by the riverside. Not saying a word, he sat down two steps to her left and gazed at the starry sky.

"How did you find me?" she finally asked. Their eyes never met, lost as they were on the immensity of the universe above them.

"…I had a hunch," Naruto admitted.

"A hunch…" The foxgirl's fingers drummed on her belly. "You remember this place, right?"

"Of course."

Seven nights before, they met in this exact place.

"So, is there something you want to tell me?" Yuria inquired. "Something that couldn't wait till later?"

Naruto's face perfectly hid his uneasiness. "…yeah. Yeah, I guess I do."

With a quiet tone, careful yet unhesitating, Naruto described his day to Yuria. From the things she knew, like Yuriyo's early morning surprise, to the things she did not know, like…well, Yuriyo's evening surprise. By the time he was done, Naruto was a blushing wreck, with excellent reasons to keep his eyes on the sky. Yuria did not say a word during Naruto's narration, and never did her eyes drift from the scenery above.

"…why did you tell me all this, Naruto?"

It took him a while to choose the proper words for his answer.

"I…don't want to hide things from you. I don't really get it myself, but I just felt I would regret it if I didn't tell you."

"Hmm…" Yuria scratched the tip of her nose. "And what about…" She exhaled. "…the marriage thing?"

"Didn't I say it then?" Naruto also exhaled, making a loud snorting sound when the air escaped his nostrils. "You just abandoned your clan to keep them out of your problems. I'm not gonna let you do the same to me."

Naruto's head finally turned to gaze at Yuria's profile.

"You're the one who will become the strongest youkai, and I want to help you." He grinned. "Damn it, I want to be there when it happens. It should be pretty damn cool."

"Hmm…" Yuria repeated. "So you don't mind being weaker than me?"

"Who said anything about me being weaker than you?" Naruto raised an eyebrow. "I'll obviously be the human who will become stronger than the strongest youkai." He paused. "Damn, that's a tongue-twister."

"No, it isn't," Yuria retorted amidst chuckles.

Turning his whole body to face her, Naruto continued. "You don't owe me anything, Yuria. Staying at my place, eating my food, sleeping on my bed…I wouldn't let you do any of those things if I minded. I wouldn't have gone along with the whole 'mate' thing if I minded."

"I want to be your friend. Not like Sakura-chan. Not like Sasuke. I mean the real deal, Yuria."

"I want to fight by your side, to grow by your side, to fool around, to have fun—damn it, I just want to **be with you**!"

Yuria was finally looking at him, returning his passionate, fiery eyes with a strangely forlorn gaze.

"I want to be your best friend, so I won't let you go off by yourself to fight alone! Like hell I'm gonna miss out on the fun…" Naruto's expression was full of tenderness. "…like hell I'm gonna let you be the only one who has to struggle."

"…funny words, coming from you."

"That's exactly why I'm saying them: I know how you think, Yuria…" His charming smile inevitably drew one from the Budding Lily. "…you think just like I do."

Yuria closed her eyes. Those were beautiful words, but…

"Do you…do you really want to…?" She couldn't help but blush at the thought. "Do you really want to marry me?"

Even Naruto's grin came out a little crooked to the side. "Eh…if it's the best way I can help, I'll happily do it."

"Bu-but!" Moving to a sitting position, Yuria turned up the volume of the argument. "You…" She sighed and smiled, albeit sadly. "A Kitsune will never give you the happiness you want, Naruto. You deserve a human girlfriend, a human partner—ugh!"

Without warning, Naruto slammed his hands on Yuria's shoulders and pinned her down on the grass, looming above her with a rather unfriendly expression on his face.

"You don't get to decide what I want, Yuria. I do. And I know pretty damn well what I want."

"I want to win the tournament. I want the village to acknowledge me as a strong shinobi. I want to make the old man feel proud of me. I want to teach Hyuuga Neji the lesson he deserves. I want to stop Gaara's madness. I want to release Sayuri from her prison. I want to protect Mayuri. I want Kotonoha to smile at me every day. I want to learn more and more from Mistress Setsuna. I want to be a good Master for Yurimi….whatever the hell that means."

"I want to help Yurina-chan feel better about herself. I want Yurine-nee-chan to become a normal woman again. I want to laugh along with Yuriyo's jokes and roll my eyes at her perverted antics. I want to keep trading gardening tips with Yurisa-nee-chan. And I. Want. To Be. With **YOU**."

Naruto's forehead fell on top of Yuria's.

"Haven't you listened to a word I said?" A nervous chuckle. "I wouldn't agree to marry you if I minded marrying you on the first place, ya know?"

"What about the others?" Yuria asked in a weak tone.

"…you are foxgirls," Naruto spoke in a voice that suggested Yuria had just asked the most stupid question. "I'm pretty sure we can find a way." He paused as he actually put some thought into it. "Besides, what makes you think us being married will stop them?"

Yuria pondered that for exactly a second. "…true, that."

"Well, there you go." The boy grinned, visibly satisfied with the outcome. "So…I'm not really the best catch, but I'll do my best to make you happy."

For the first time in this scene, Yuria blushed. Cutely and brightly; she was a beacon of red in the dark night.

"Do-do-don't—gah, shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut uuuup! Don't say embarrassing things like that!"

Naruto's grin grew wider. He had not forgotten: Yuria could be quite cute at times, too. It was generally eclipsed by her tough attitude and her eye-popping bust.

With big eyes and pouty lips, Yuria weakly mewled her response to Naruto's 'proposal'.

"You…you better win that tournament, you hear me?"

The boy nodded eagerly.

"You betcha."

Naruto helped his fiancée stand up. "Let's go home, Yuria."

Regaining her composure, Yuria allowed herself to make a subtle jab. "OUR home, Naruto?"

Naruto blinked, and his lips puckered out for a moment as he thought about it.

"…yup." He nodded and smiled. "Our home, Yuria."

* * *

**CHAPTER 16 END**


	33. Interlude: Monsters in the Night

_**Naruto Genkyouien**_

_**- **__**ナルト**__**- **__**幻**__**脅**__**威宴**_

**Interlude: Monsters in the Night**

* * *

In the quiet and warm comfort of their relatively large bedroom, a couple slept.

It was a bit of an overstatement to call them a couple: their relationship was not one of two lovers. They were friends, very good friends. They understood each other as if they were one and the same. They believed in each other and stood to support each other when in need of support.

Some would call their relationship more sibling-like than couple-like. However, this was most definitely not correct.

They were brother and sister in a way, yes. This brotherly and sisterly bond grew in tandem with their powers and skills. Every single time they sparred, every single time he taught her, every single time she taught him, this bond grew. Brother in battle, sister in battle.

But there was also the undeniable attraction. She was attracted to his kindness, to his mentality, his spirit and his willpower, which so mirrored her own yet overwhelmed her with their magnitude, coming as they were from one who belonged to what she had for a long time deemed an 'inferior race'.

He was attracted to her strength, to her confidence, to her remarkable attitude towards life and to her positive outlook despite her poorly concealed frustrations.

He was also very attracted to her amazing body. Like an amazon warrior princess, honed by decades of hard work in a way none of his so-called professional kunoichi acquaintances could ever hope to match. All women he knew with combat training were more on the lithe side, which made perfect sense from the standpoint of fat content and distribution of body mass.

That impossible, inconceivable, indescribable amalgam of voluptuousness and physical prowess only she possessed rendered his mouth dry and his mind wandering every single time he thought about it. He could only imagine what she did and how she actually managed to build her body in such a way.

So, they were undeniably attracted to each other. This attraction, however, had yet to become actual lust. First of all, they had plenty of other things in their minds: shared dreams, ambitions and aspirations. They had so many things they wanted to do together, to achieve together, that there was simply no room for mutual sexual explorations. Secondly, while the girl seemingly had little to no sexual apetite; whatever of it the boy may have was easily quenched by the girl's relatives.

They loved each other, but they had no need for a physical relationship. At least not yet.

They were content in sleeping in each other's arms. The girl wore only a fishnet t-shirt and plain white panties. The boy wore a black t-shirt, boxers and a ridiculous night cap. The girl mumbled something too quietly to make sense and rubbed her commendable bust against his left side, constantly seeking the comfort of his warmth. The boy unknowingly acquiesced to the girl's needs by pushing her close with the arm wrapped around her shoulders.

It made for an endearing–and enticing–sight.

It mattered nothing to the third person in the room.

Flat, unfeeling carmine eyes looked down on the two from the bedside. White hair, clear as an arctic landscape, swayed gently and eerily under the thrall of the night breeze leaking in from the balcony. The time was 3:12:43 AM.

The hand she had extended to reach for the boy was stopped by another hand, and the intruder was struck by an overwhelming spike of killing intent. The white-haired apparition turned her head slightly to her right, to meet a second pair of carmine eyes. The color was identical, but the absurd amount of rage—no, **bloodlust**—they reflected would render all but the mightiest of beings into pathetically broken wrecks.

"Don't you dare…" the incarnation of fury hissed, revealing terrorific canines. "**Don't you fucking dare…!**"

The other woman, frightening in her apparent lack of reaction to such strong, violent feelings, returned the dire threat with a bored "Hnn."

The two flickered away, leaving the couple to continue their reverie.

* * *

The chase was too fast for anybody to notice. Not even the ANBU patrols they passed on the way got the slightest hint of the furious persecution taking place on the rooftops of Konohagakure.

The white-haired phantasm simply flickered, her body instantaneously moving from ceiling to ceiling without intervals in between and no other pace but that set by her own heartbeat.

The furious huntress followed as best as she could with the imperfect resource that was _**Shunshin no Jutsu**_, dividing her attention between keeping up with the other's impossible pace and weaving a mantle of illusion that cloaked their passing from the world around them.

In less than twenty seconds they had covered the distance between Naruto's apartment and the half-destroyed Hokage Monument. They could have been much faster.

The snow-haired woman, flickered out of existence one last time, and her stalker knew she had made it to the top of the mountain in that split instant. Pumping more chakra into her legs and coaxing her muscles to do nothing but their absolute best, she climbed the sculpted hill in less than six seconds, covering the vertical distance in a blinding series of diagonal jumps without pause. To her relief, her target had not taken the extra seconds to extend her distance, instead having taken a seat on a nearby rock.

She was welcomed with an infuriatingly bored expression.

"_You interrupted me_."

The adult Higashiyama Sayuri hissed, hairs bristling and pupils narrowing in barely restrained fury. This…this woman! She dared **complain**!

Everything about her made Sayuri's blood boil. That permanently bored expression, those insolent, condescending eyes with which she looked down on her…! On her!

And her voice! That weak yet slightly high-pitched voice; soaked in false enthusiasm yet ephemeral to the point it could have been dispersed by the mildest breeze! But noooo, she could not bother herself with opening her mouth, with using her throat to create sound! She'd rather rely on distributed wide-area telepathy rathen than making her muscles work!

"**Mayuri!**"

Sayuri's roar would not be heard over the many layers of illusion woven around her self to remain unnoticed by the slumbering village.

The former Sorrowful Lily flicked a lock of white hair behind her right ear.

"…_yes?_"

No living human would have been able to follow. In a moment, Sayuri closed the distance between them and stood behind the seated fox-woman, fire-coated claws (not nails, **claws**) eager to rip Mayuri's spinal cord out.

However, Mayuri was not there anymore.

"…_don't you get tired…?_" Her voice reached Sayuri's right earlobe. Tickling, taunting. "_Of failing, I mean…_"

Once again, Mayuri disappeared just before Sayuri's clawed hand could rip her head off her shoulders. As if following a rain of napalm, the trees in front of Sayuri were swallowed by a line of fire following the horizontal motion of Sayuri's arm. After about two seconds of burning, though, the flames receded and disappeared, the trees looking as if nothing had happened.

"_Such recklessness…_"

"SHUT UP!"

Mayuri stepped out of hiding behind one of the not-burning-anymore trees, and Sayuri did not hesitate to run after her head. She had run for almost three seconds before she gave up, snarling in irritation and frustration.

She had not moved at all.

She took a step forward, yet the distance between them never changed. Mayuri tilted her head as if inquiring "do you get it?" and Sayuri snarled again. It was a jutsu she was already familiar with.

_**Impossibility of Motion – The Tree**_: the infinite projection of spatial dimension.

"_Sayuri, my aunt…_" the Time Kitsune began. Even after so many years, and even after changing to a more adult appearance (an inch and a half shorter than the adult Sayuri, though), she still favored the wide-sleeved shrine maiden clothes she wore as a child. "_You are a smart woman, I know this. I am sure that the thought has not escaped your mind._"

"_You attack me constantly: year after year after year…_" What passed for compassion to Higashiyama Mayuri appeared on her stone cold face. "_Do you realize the only reason you keep your life is because of my mercy?_"

The next moment, Mayuri stood right in front of her aunt, her hand gently patting the nine-tails' chest.

"_It would be so easy. So easy…_" she shook her head. "_But he would be sad, after all._"

Sayuri's eyes widened as her fury reached a whole new level. "Don't you dare…!"

"_I can't get rid of you, annoying as you are, because he would be sad. My Naruto-nii-ya._"

The tremendous spike of killing intent had absolutely no effect on Mayuri. She had never feared the Mistress of Fire. She had no reason to.

"Don't…" Sayuri growled, her tears sizzling as they evaporated the moment they left her eyes. "Don't say his name like that!"

Mayuri tilted her head again, this time in plain, almost childish curiosity.

"_Is a wife not allowed to call the name of her beloved?_"

The snow-haired lily flickered and reappeared some distance away from Sayuri. She could not stand the heat released from her aunt's body.

"You were no bride of his!" Sayuri affirmed. "Onii-chan is dead!" Even if it hurt to say it, she had to. "He's dead! He died so long ago…! So long!"

Mayuri's eyebrows went up a little bit.

"…'_dead'? Just what do you mean, 'dead'?_"

Sayuri skipped a beat. That idiot, she obviously meant…!

"No…" Her furious demand had suddenly become a plea.

"_Nii-ya is not dead, Sayuri,_" Mayuri calmly declared with lips curved into a placid smile. "_Nii-ya is with me, like he always has been._"

"No…" Sayuri shook her head, denying Mayuri's words with everything she had. "Stop…"

"_Nii-ya has always been with me…_" There was no denying the happiness and pride in Mayuri's words, in spite of her quiet, mild tone. "_To protect me…to love me…just like he promised…_"

"No!" Sayuri insisted. "You're not the Mayuri he loved anymore!"

"_Haa…_" The Time Kitsune shook her head very slowly. "_There is no need for jealousy anymore, Sayuri. Nii-ya has chosen me and only me. Please show your maturity and bless our union, alright?_"

The grass, the rock, the very air around Sayuri caught fire. "I'm gonna **KILL **you!"

"_So you have tried for decades. I would wish you luck, but I've seen your future. It's not pretty._" With a swipe of her hand, the flames surrounding Sayuri dispersed. "_I'm tired, Sayuri. Tired of you annoying me—annoying __**us**__—time after time after time. Getting in the way of mine and nii-ya's happiness._"

"Happiness!" Sayuri barked in response. "You call your pathetic little lie happiness! Don't make fun of me, Mayuri! I won't let you…" She wiped off tears and mist from her eyes. "I won't let you step on his memory! On everything he taught us!"

Mayuri sighed.

"…_stupid woman._" A shrug. "_Well then. This ends tonight. After all…_" Her smile turned morbid and frightening. "_Nii-ya won't cry your death if he never finds out._"

For all her rage, Sayuri was trembling. What could she do?

She could escape, of course. If she ran far enough…no. She was already trapped in Mayuri's infinite space technique.

"Please step away from Sayuri-sama, Mayuri-sama."

The hand Mayuri had begun to raise went back down. "_…Kurosaki Sayoko_."

The woman in lavender looked her usual bored, depressed self, but the sharpness in her few words was unmistakable.

Sayuri, meanwhile, let go a sigh of true, honest-to-God relief. It was unexpected help, but it was definitely much appreciated.

Mayuri side-glanced at the newcomer and Sayoko returned the glance with her unchanging expression. It was rather amusing, as it looked like Sayoko was about to fall asleep on her two feet. Sayuri, however, understood the implicit challenge in those exchanged looks. Mayuri was evaluating her options: could she pluck Sayuri's worldline and erase her from existence faster than Sayoko could react?

It was a tricky question: Sayoko's combat capabilities were as much a mystery to these two otherworlders as they were to pretty much everyone in this timeline.

Mayuri went for a bluff. "_I am eternal. I fear not the Void_."

Sayoko's face became pure, undiluted pity. "Oh, you should. Now, please take a few steps back and please, please do not try anything."

Thw white-haired lily did not move when Sayoko calmly walked over to Sayuri. "Are you well, Sayuri-sama?"

The half-Fire Kitsune greeted her savior with a tired smile. "Yeah…bu-but, how…?"

Suddenly Sayoko looked so very tired. "The Silver Key woke me u—"

In an instant, Sayoko and Sayuri were encased in a shell of absolute darkness: _**Aegis of Oblivion**_. Even when it dispersed, revealing the two Kitsune again, the presence of the Void lingered in their impromptu battlefield: shadows were darker, night sounds fainter, the stars above seemed dimmer and the breeze noticeably colder.

"Please do not do that again," Sayoko chided with a tone of mild exasperation. "I like my worldline just the way it is…and I think Sayuri-sama does too."

Mayuri bit her tongue inside her mouth. "_Our matters are none of your busi—_"

"They became my business the moment you stepped into this timeline." As she said those words, Sayoko's bored, lazy expression had all but disappeared. "I do not know what your personal issues may be. I do not care. This world will NOT become your personal battlefield." Sayoko did not bother with things such as 'killing intent'. "I will not allow it."

"**That's enough already.**"

The three Kitsune, all mighty in their unique ways, shook at the emergence of this fourth voice. It was a strong voice, sharp and scalding, like a katana in the process of being forged.

Two pairs of eyes widened in recognition, while Sayoko's widened solely in surprise.

Sayoko did not bother with things such as 'killing intent'. She was not an aggressive person, so it was not as threatening as it should be given her age and power. The times she was obliged to speak and/or act, she let her words and/or actions speak for themselves. However, she could not deny the sheer immensity of the aura that suddenly filled the place.

It was an oppressive, almost physical force that threatened to push her down on her knees. If she could assign it a color, it would be the purest gold: the color of royalty. It was a massive, powerful aura, yet there was no thirst for violence, no desire to harm within it.

**Kneel before me.**

It was the aura of the king of kings. The aura of one who stood above all others, and did not hesitate to display his greatness. This aura could break all conflicts, end all arguments, and make life-long enemies join together in adoration of its source.

They were trembling, Sayoko noticed.

Sayuri and Mayuri, they were trembling.

"I salute you, Kurosaki Sayoko."

There was no grand entrance. No panoply, no entourage of trumpets and horns to salute the mightiest ruler. She simply appeared before them, calmly closing the remaining distance to the three now that the situation was under relative control.

She was tall, about as tall as Higashiyama Yuri. The twelve colors of her kimono, one for each of the Kitsune types, shone with a metallic luster under the moonlight. A translucent, silver veil covered her head, but her long obsidian hair emerged from underneath to fall placidly to about waist level. Her face was covered by a mask. Most unsubtly, it was a white, porcelain-like mask in the shape of a fox's face, with a red spiral acting like a third eye on the very center of her forehead.

There was no way Sayoko could know, but this mask was a powerful artifact, enchanted with the most powerful illusion magic. Whoever wore it could change her appearance, voice, and ever her smell at will.

"Onee…sama…" Sayuri mouthed in utmost awe.

The masked woman paid no heed to Sayuri's call, instead curtly bowing before the Void Kitsune.

"You assistance is most appreciated. You have my gratitude."

Sayoko blinked. That awesome, terrifying aura had dispersed at some point and she had not noticed.

"Uh…um."

"I apologize for these two: it seems I have not scolded them enough. Please, allow me to handle the matters of my timeline."

Sayoko nodded almost eagerly. Not only she was the type to delegate work unto others whenever she could, she was also aware that saying no to this woman was a very, very, VERY bad idea.

"You-you are…"

"Ah, yes…" The woman chuckled. It was warm, as if she were amused by a joke only she could understand. "I am addressed as Empress. The Empress of All Youkai."

* * *

"Ahh~" The Empress of All Youkai slapped her knees with relish. "This seriously hits the spot. More!"

"Right away." Sayoko even had a tiny smile on her face as she refilled the Empress' sake cup. The masked woman had unceremoniously taken a seat on the hard ground and demanded for sake. When Sayuri claimed it was too late for her to get any, her onee-sama made a tantrum only stopped by the ever prepared Kurosaki Sayoko.

"Damn, but you sure know how to make a woman happy, Sayoko-san! Puah!" The Empress exclaimed before slipping the cup under her mask and greedily emptying it in her mouth. Sayoko immediately moved to fill it one more time.

"I live to serve Higashiyama Yuri. I am already prepared to cater to her whims."

"Damn. I'm envious." Behind the mask, she gave sharp looks at Mayuri and Sayuri. "I'm stuck with Bitch, Moron and Fangirl."

"Mo-moron…" Sayuri groaned, sweatdropping. Then, she sighed. "But I guess 'Fangirl' does fit Chacha-chan."

"Chachamaru-chan?" Sayoko inquired.

"Yeah," the Empress affirmed. "The third member of my wonderful, wonderful Triunvirate." The sarcasm was obvious to Sayoko. "I mean, I can admit you girls are far better than me at politics and stuff, but then you pull off stupid shit like this. Damn, it pisses me off. More!"

"Yes, with pleasure," Sayoko responded with a giggle. What an interesting Empress.

"Haa, how nice~Sayoko-saaaan, please come with me~"

"No can do. My apologies."

"Yeah, yeah…figured as much."

A distance away, Mayuri watched the exchange with mixed tension and exasperation. To think she was afraid of such an unsightly woman…

"U-Um…onee-sama…"

"What?" the Empress barked back at Sayuri, who flinched at the clear irritation in the voice.

"Um…how…no, why…?"

"Well, it's obvious Mayuri brought me here," The Empress stated. "She's the only one in our world who can do space-time travel. As for why, obviously I was looking for you."

"For me…?"

"Well, duh. You disappear from the face of the earth and you think I won't get curious? So I went to Mayuri here, and asked her if she had finally snapped and killed you."

"Ugh…" Sayuri groaned.

"Of course, if she had done that then I would have killed her on the spot. Fortunately, she was kind enough to tell me that you had begged her to send you here." The mightiest of all youkai turned to Mayuri. "Why did you even agree to help her anyway? I thought you hate each other."

Mayuri rolled her eyes. "_Sending her away for a few days meant she would not annoy me and nii-ya for a few days. It was not a hard choice._"

Sayuri snarled at the Time Kitsune, who responded with her usual uncaring gaze. Sayoko listened in silence, just trying to understand the distorted natures of these three strange women.

"…fair enough." The Empress shrugged. "So, Mayuri told me you had gone to Higan to meet with the Shinigami, so I also went and had a chat with the guy. He also told me you can leave now if you want."

"Eh?" Sayuri perked up. "Bu-but, I still haven't fulfilled my part of the deal—"

"Knowing you, you've just been having fun here and haven't even bothered to look for the guy."

"Ah…ahaha…" Sayuri had the decency to look guilty.

"Oh well, it's okay, in any case. Shinigami said you've done enough, whatever that means. Maybe he has divined something or whatever. So, you're coming back with me, no questions asked."

"Bu-but…" She held back before she drew the Empress' ire. "Ye…yes, onee-sama."

"Good." Putting the sake cup away, the Empress got back on her feet. "Now, can you tell me just how this little quarrel began?"

Sayuri's eyes snapped to attention in tha precise moment. Almost scolding herself for relaxing; all her anger, all her desire for the death of Higashiyama Mayuri came back to the forefront of her thoughts and expressions, full force.

"**You!**" Like the Empress, Sayuri, too, jumped back on her feet, to better direct her rage. "You were about to do it! If I hadn't stopped you, you would have—"

Sayoko went awfully tense. She could see Sayuri's neck veins as she strained herself not to jump at her niece on the spot. But not even Sayuri's very visible and very intimidating anger could prepare Sayoko for what happened next.

"**Is that so…**"

It was that aura, back in full force. Stainding as she was right next to the Empress, it took absolutely everything Sayoko had not to let her knees fall on the ground.

This was more than just an aura!

"So this is…guh…" Sayoko grunted as she stood tall once again. Some distance away, Sayuri was also steading her posture, while Mayuri's legs trembled under her red hakama. "This is…the secret of the Empress' power…"

The masked Kitsune turned to the Void Witch, raising an eyebrow and curving her lips behind her concealment.

"I really would have loved to fight you once in my life," she spoke quietly, and only Sayoko heard these words. Then she raised her voice again. "Really! To figure out the nature of my power AND to resist my aura to this point, you're nothing short of commendable, Kurosaki Sayoko."

"The-there is an Enchantment element here, too…" Sayoko added, and the Empress laughed heartily.

"Yes, yes! It's my _**Aura of Hegemon**_. Just because I sucked at Enchantments in my youth doesn't mean I would suck forever. It just took time." The tall woman turned her head to the side. "A lot of time." Back to cheery. "I mean, I can't really do any complicated stuff like mind control or instant seduction or whatever. I can only use my image of 'the strongest' and impose it upon others…which is awesome, I may add." She shrugged. "My best friend in the whole world advised me to focus on what I had and make it better instead of lamenting the skills I lack. I took it to heart, and look where I am now." She paused. "On the other side, it doesn't really do crap against most of my enemies, 'cause they are, you know, abominable horrors from the end of the universe; but, it does stop my subordinates from killing each other, as you can see."

She sighed in clear exasperation.

"Really, you would expect them to put aside their difference and work together, being in middle of a war against ultra-powerful alien horrors, but noooo~" She shrugged, as if resigning to the unavoidable reality. "I guess it's just the way youkai are. And humans. We're not that different."

"So you're really fighting…" Sayoko commented with a pained tone.

"Maa, I call it 'war' because it sounds cooler than 'extermination'…no, wait, 'extermination' sounds way cooler…it just depresses me. Anyway," the very air around the Empress changed, and the Time Kitsune took a step back. "So you were after Naruto, as usual?"

Mayuri narrowed her cold eyes. "_You said you would not stop me._"

"And I haven't…" The Empress chuckled behind the mask that concealed her identity. "But now that I remember, when you brought me to this timeline, didn't you dump me in the middle of nowhere and snuck off on your own?"

"…_urk._"

"Let me tell you, now that I know why, I am not very happy. So…" Knuckles were cracked. "Now you'll be a good girl and let me beat you to an inch of your life. If it just so happens that you become unable to go after Naruto, well…we'll call it a bonus."

Mayuri flickered some distance away from the rest of the group, quickly assuming an overly defensive posture and glaring at the Empress, whose only response was barking laughter. Hands on her belly and everything.

"Ahahaha! Wow! So the lovely daughter of Yog-Sothoth has a spine, after all!"

Sayoko gaped at the amused woman. "…the what?"

The Empress snorted. "What, you haven't wondered why Yurisa doesn't remember her mate's face? Why Mayuri's so much more powerful than any other Time Kitsune? Not that it matters crap to me."

She pointed at the white-haired Kitsune with her left index.

"One finger!" she taunted. "One finger is all I need to crush you, pathetic brat!"

Mayuri's right thumb went up to her mouth, where it was prickled by her right fang. "_I'm never alone._"

Sayuri shuddered. The Empress snorted one more time behind her mask.

"…do your worst."

The Empress made a beckoning gesture with her finger much faster that Mayuri could touch the ground with her bloodied right hand. What happened next Sayoko and Sayuri could not comprehend. This was especially important in the case of the latter: Sayuri had seen this technique many, many times, but she still could make nothing out of it.

Mayuri's hand was only about halfway down when she found herself inevitably pulled belly first towards the black-haired fox-woman. However, her figure disappeared the moment her body was launched towards the Empress, literally popping out of existence. The Empress, too, had disappeared in the exact same manner. For all of two seconds, Sayoko and Sayuri were the only ones in the place. When the other two reappeared, the fight was already over. The Empress lazedly looked down at a battered Mayuri, the younger Kitsune groaning in pain by her punisher's feet.

Of course, what Sayuri and Sayoko saw (or did not see) was different from what Mayuri experienced. Her body was truly launched off her feet towards the masked woman. Chakra spiraled around the Empress' finger in the time Mayuri flew across the field: no amount of Time Manipulation stopped the powerful attraction…and the inevitable impact.

Mayuri's flight was only interrupted when the Empress poked her solar plexus, using solely the reinforced strength of her finger to throw Mayuri down. The impact was strong enough to make the ground and the mountain beneath vibrate, albeit slightly, and definitely more than enough to utterly incapacitate the Time Kitsune, who had never had a strong body.

This was the Empress of All Youkai's signature technique: _**Jishou no Chiheimen**_, the boundary of inescapable attraction.

"Sad, worthless child…" The Empress uttered, shaking her head in disappointment. "Know your place!"

Broken, battered as she was, Mayuri found within her herself to speak three simple words.

"…_**Kuchiyose no Jutsu**_."

A tiny whine escaped Sayuri's mouth. Whatever it was Mayuri had summoned; it was immediately knocked yards away by the unbelievably fast swipe of the Empress' black tail. A sickening crunch sound reached their eyes when the summoned being impacted a nearby tree with enough force to break the trunk and rip its roots off the ground.

Mayuri was about to say something when a foot fell on her stomach, hard. What came out was only an agonic cry.

"Don't FUCK with me, Higashiyama Mayuri!"

Between grunts and groans, Mayuri did not hesitate to speak her twisted mind.

"_I…am…Uzu…ma…GAH!_"

Another stomp stopped the Time fox-woman's ambitious claim.

"**You are NOT worthy of that name, brat!**" the furious Empress declared.

Sayoko, however, only had eyes for the newly appeared summon. After the smoke cloud and the sudden impact, she had been able to recognize the figure. The way Sayuri watched it, with a mixture of longing and disgust, only confirmed the Void Kitsune's disturbing thoughts.

He looked different from the one she was acquainted with; most definitely older. His clothes were also different: a thin, light orange long-sleeved shirt and a pitch black hakama. But there was no doubt in her mind she was looking at Uzumaki Naruto.

"Onii…chan…" Sayuri cried, tears clouding her vision one more time.

Naruto's body twitched and spasmed strangely as he struggled to stand up. The fact that his body was severely damaged by the Empress' tail whip did not seem to affect him. It looked, however, as if he was not in complete control of his anatomy. His left foot slipped and he fell back on his butt, but even then no sound escaped his mouth.

"That…he is…" Sayoko muttered as she tried to figure out just what was wrong with this Naruto.

"Manipulation of souls is the signature of all Ghost Kitsune," the Empress began. "Among humans, these techniques are deemed 'forbidden' due to their strange moral standards. Even amongst youkai, using souls to reanimate bodies is not something we take lightly: the God of Death does not generally approve of it, the technique itself is rather deficient, as you probably know, and Ghost Kitsune understand and value the worth of souls more than anyone."

Souls and bodies have a sense of compatibility. A random soul placed in a random body will animate the body with the identity defined by the soul, but the effect is only temporary and demands immense amount of chakra. _**Edo Tensei **_is not an S-rank technique solely because of its effect.

"…_nii…ya…help…guh!_"

"Silence, brat," the Empress shut Mayuri up by stepping on her one more time. She then turned back to Sayoko. "This girl found a way around that issue: she reanimates Naruto's corpse with the soul of another Naruto."

Sayuri covered her tear-stained face, and Sayoko took a step back, digesting what she had just been told. "You mean…"

"She's a Time Kitsune, isn't she?" the Empress shrugged. "Jump to another timeline, kill the Naruto there, put his soul in her Naruto. Rinse and repeat." Noticing Sayoko's confusion, the masked fox-woman explained. "Soul-body compatibility also seems to be timeline-dependant. Even the soul of a different Uzumaki Naruto lasts only a decade, two tops." She glared down at the still prone Mayuri. "How many have you killed, huh? The fact that you can reconcile the cold-blooded murder of countless Narutos with your twisted love for that doll never ceases to amaze me."

"_Nii-ya…help…me…_"

Naruto leapt at the Empress as if his entire body was made of springs. Glancing sideways at the reanimated body, the tall fox-woman exhaled.

"…enough."

Sayuri's and Sayoko's breath got caught in their respective throats.

Mayuri howled in heart-rending agony.

Naruto's body fell by Mayuri's side; foul brownish blood pouring out of his neck. The Empress' right hand, which she had used to crush the corpse's head, now held a disgusting, putrid mass of bone splinters, filthy blood and mashed flesh and brain matter.

"_Nii-ya! Nii-ya! Noooo!_" Mayuri desperately crawled and held her beloved, sliding an arm round his shoulders and pouring tears on the stump where his head used to be.

The other three felt a tremendous spike of chakra, and a field of silvery light surrounded the morbid couple. The Empress sighed and turned to Sayoko.

"This is why I don't bother. No matter how many times you destroy it, she will just restore the body." Indeed, Mayuri was not crying on a perfectly restored, albeit dead, body. "She needs a new soul now, though."

That was the cue for Sayuri to regain her bearings. A second spike of chakra, this one blazing strong like a star, filled the entire place as the beautiful nine-tails stood once more.

"I won't allow it," she declared with firmness and bravery. "Even if it's the last thing I do, I swear to all gods, I will not allow it!"

"And here we go again…look at me, you two!" When she was sure she had the two rivals' attention, the Empress continued. "I'm sick and tired of the two of you. Kill each other for all I care, but only after we leave this timeline! Mayuri!"

"Ah, ano…" In a very Yurina-esque manner, Sayuri shyly raised a hand.

"Now what?"

"Uhh…can we leave tomorrow night?"

The Empress took a deep breath. "Sayuri, you have five seconds to give me a good reason or I'll turn you into this." A piece of corpse brain slipped off her right hand.

"Bu~ut!" The Vizier of Fire whined. "The Chuunin Exam finals are tomorrow! We never got to watch them! I want to watch onii-chan being awesome and manly!"

The Empress raised an eyebrow behind her mask. "The Chuunin…hot damn, I had completely forgotten about those. So you prevented Yuri's…"

Sayuri nodded. "Everybody's alive and well."

"Alive…and well…" Sighing, the Empress looked at the sleeping village before them. "Well, I guess even the great Empress of All Youkai can use a holiday for once. Fine!" Hands on her hips, the mighty youkai imparted orders. "We'll stick around. However, there will no complaints when I say it's time to leave. Understood?"

Sayuri nodded eagerly.

"And we're sticking together while we're in this time. Mayuri! That means you will not go on your own!"

Still clutching her now inanimate Naruto, and projecting her feelings in the form of the sharpest, coldest glare, Mayuri assented.

"There will be no attempts on each other's life! If you can't control yourselves I'll just break every single bone in your bodies!"

Sayuri and Mayuri nodded again, doing their very best to not make their eyes meet.

"And there will be no contact with the people of this timeline! We're invisible observers! We clear?"

"Umm…" Sayuri raised a hand. "Can I at least say goodbye to everyone before I leave?"

The Empress rolled her eyes. "Fine."

"_Nii-ya…_" Sayuri made a face when Mayuri's lips gently caressed the corpse's. "_We'll be together again…soon. I love you._"

Like that, she dismissed the summons, sending the body back to the Crystal Spire, her magnificent residence in the timeline she comes from.

"That's not love…" Sayuri muttered bitterly. The Empress only shook her head.

"Well…I guess it should be fine if I take off the mask, huh?"

Sayoko nodded. "Actually, I was wondering about that mask…"

"It was Nagashirakawa Shizuku's idea. Apparently, my real appearance is not 'impressive' enough for an Empress of All Youkai. Curse that insolent woman."

"Shizuku-san? She's still…?"

"Nah, she died a long time ago."

The all-too-familiar white cloud of smoke emerged when the tall fox-woman pulled off her mask, quickly revealing a woman much challenged in height. Curiously, while her stature had decreased dramatically, her bust size remained the same. What had definitely changed were her eyes: no longer brimming with the enthusiasm of youth, but tempered by years of growth, battle, tragedy and loss.

If Sayoko was surprised, she did not show it. She just smiled and gently bowed before the mightiest of all youkai.

"…Higashiyama Yuria."

"Nah, just Yuria." Nine long, white-tipped black tails swayed behind the short Kitsune. They were quickly reduced to a single one. "I renounced to my family name a long time ago."

Sayoko chuckled. "I think our Yuria still beat you to that, though."

Empress Yuria grinned and raised an eyebrow. "Really? Well, how interesting." She then noticed a certain one was standing up. "Well, how's that for a quick recovery? I'm impressed, princess."

Mayuri got back on her feet, even if she was still a bit wobbly. That did not stop her from glaring at the half-Mountain Kitsune.

"…_you hurt nii-ya. I'll never forgive you._"

Yuria opened her hands in a welcoming gesture. "Anytime. Now!" She sat back down on the hard ground, eagerly staring at Sayoko. "Can I get some more of that sake?"

* * *

Some distance away, yet invisible to any who bothered looking in that direction, a tall, handsome man and a loli stood side by side.

"So…this is what we came to see?" the loli inquired. "A disgustingly emo Sayuri and a batshit crazy Mayuri?" She planted her arms on her hips and stomped the ground with her right foot, making her twin blonde ponytails dance. "And knowing you, you definitely intend to help them."

"Of course," the man spoke, his voice tender and compassionate, full of pity and love directed at the group of Kitsune mingling a distance away. "They deserve it. They have suffered enough."

"They're doomed," the blonde loli insisted. "Their world is doomed. You said it yourself."

"Even a little bit of happiness before the end is better than none at all."

The short girl sighed. "Haa…there it is, that annoying kindness of yours."

The man grinned at those words. "Your mother fell in love with that annoying kindness, you know."

The girl shuddered and blushed, not hesitating to shoot a heated glare at her companion. "Mo-moron! Don't say such embarrassing things!"

"Yeah, yeah…"

"Okay, so you wanted to come here and see them. Why did you have to drag me with you?"

"What? Can't I hope to spend some special time with my beautiful, adorable little girl?"

The aforementioned adorable little girl went beet red.

"I mean, it's not like we hang out together that often, so I thought a little trip together would be nice," the man, apparently in his mid-twenties, gazed down at the young girl with surprisingly cute puppy dog eyes. "Don't you want to spend some quality time with your Papa, Kizuna—YEOWCH!"

Uzumaki Kizuna pulled back the tiny foot she had used to stomp her father. "Shu-shut up! L-Like I would f-feel happy to h-hear sweet words from the likes of you! Stupid Father!" She was yelling so loud her eyes were closed, and the redness of her face reached all the way from her forehead to her chin. "A-A dog's words are worthless! Worthless! Stupid Dog Father! Chihuahua! Shih Tzu! Dachshund!"

"Oww…" Naruto whined rather pathetically, but a smile never left his face regardless. "Really, Kizuna-chan, you're too cruel…you should be nicer to your father…"

"Hmph!" Kizuna looked away and crossed her arms in front of her flat chest. "Stupid Father only gets what he deserves!"

"Bu-but I love you so much…"

It was amazing, how fast Kizuna's face could shift from her usual clear skin to tomato red. Her mother could not possibly compare.

"Lo-lo-lo-looo…kaaa—guuuuh…mu-kiiii!"

"What the hell?" Naruto exclaimed when small and utterly random bolts of lightning shot out of Kizuna's skin in all directions. "Kizuna-chan, get a hold of yourself!"

"Mu-kiiii! Mu-kiiiiiiii!"

"Gaaah—they're gonna see us, they're gonna see us!" A man of action, Naruto went for the most obvious and most potentially harmful option…which was also the most effective.

Kizuna was effectively stunned the moment Naruto's strong arms wrapped around her tiny body from behind.

"Kizuna-chaaan…"

The young hybrid shuddered at the feel of Naruto's breath on her left ear.

"Will you be a good girl and stop? Hmm?"

The stiff little loli stood silent, trembling as she allowed the closeness to engulf her and fill her with all sorts of crazy thoughts.

"…um." A tiny nod. Naruto smiled brightly.

"That's my girl."

He let his body fall backwards until he was seated on the ground. Kizuna fell with him so she ended up seated right in front of him, with Naruto's legs enclosing her own. His arms were still loosely wrapped around her small body, and his chin rested on top of her head.

She was still a blushing wreck.

"Le-le—let go of me…"

"Don't wanna."

A battle of wills took place within Kizuna, all to prevent a stupid smile from taking shape on her lips.

"I don't get to pamper my cute Kizuna-chan very often. Now be a good girl and let your father pamper you."

Steam gathered around Kizuna's face as the heat emitted by her cheeks acted on the surrounding environment. He had a point, though. Her mother was not a follower of the "being tender to your children" philosophy, even if she had mellowed down considerably, according to people who have known her since before Kizuna was born. All her other siblings got a lot more "daddy time" than her, that was for sure.

"Like…like this would make me happy…stupid father."

Naruto chuckled. "You're too cute, Kizuna-chan. So utterly cute."

Kizuna made herself tinier in her father's impossibly warm and comforting embrace.

"S-So…" the blonde loli began, desperate to make conversation that would distract her from the butterflies in her stomach and the feel of Naruto's broad chest against her small back. "How are you gonna help them?"

"Well…" Naruto's feet swayed from side to side for no reason. "We'll wait till they've gone back to their timeline; we don't want to mess with ours. And I'd like to bring at least Karen and Suiren for this."

"Hmm…yeah, makes sense. So we only came here just so you could take a look at them…"

"Well, yeah…" He planted a kiss on the crown of Kizuna's head, which promptly made the girl stiff as a stick once again. "That, and I wanted to enjoy this moment with you."

"Wha-gah—I…I do-don't…I have no need for your stupid praise, stupid father!" The flustered little girl insisted. "I'm not a pampered little princess like the others!"

"Right, right…" Naruto smiled behind the girl's head. "I know you're taking good care of the others when they go in their adventures." Another gentle kiss on Kizuna's hair made her shudder in delight. "You're a kind onee-san, Kizuna-chan. I'm very proud of you."

Kizuna's heart was considerably large for her size. This was obviously because it worked more than the average heart, almost constantly pumping blood into her cheeks.

"It-it-I…it's…it's not li-like…it's not like I do it to get your stupid praise, you stupid terrier!"

Her weak, almost lyrical tone betrayed the harshness of her words. Naruto was pretty used to it, and responded by holding his daughter even tighter.

A delightful pain struck the girl's chest, and she unconsciously leaned back to feel herself closer to Naruto.

"It…it's not…you…it's not like I'm happy…or anything…" she whined. "Stupid Father," she added just for the hell of it.

No more was said after that. Father and daughter stayed silent for the rest of the night, until it was time for them to return to their home. They remained silent, comfortable in their closeness, gazing at the Konohagakure of Naruto's childhood; the place where, so long ago, Kizuna's parents intertwined their lives and bonded their destinies to each other.

* * *

**INTERLUDE END**


	34. Invitation to the Party, Part One

_**Naruto Genkyouien**_

_**- **__**ナルト**__**- **__**幻**__**脅**__**威宴**_

**Chapter Seventeen: Invitation to the Party (Part One)**

* * *

It was a pleasant morning, warm but blessed with a refreshing breeze. On a power line near Naruto's apartment building, two birds happily greeted the new days with a minuet of harmonic chirping. It was a beautiful melody; a celebration of nature and life.

Then, the male one in the duet spontaneously combusted.

**Munii…? **A sleeping Kyuubi mumbled in her sleep. **Hafta shoot at the black valkywee? Ah-wight…**

The female birdie was on her way to her incinerated partner's side, tweeting alarmingly, when she, too, went into flames, joining her beloved partner on the road to Bird Paradise.

Higashiyama Sayuri was a horrible, merciless monster even before she became a nine-tails.

Outside the metaphysical realm of Sayuri's prison and away from her dreams of unleashing fiery devastation on the Trial of the Grand Crusader, her warden, Uzumaki Naruto, also slept comfortably. Like it had been for the past week, he did not sleep alone. His best friend turned fiancée, Yuria, moaned in a pleasant tone as she cuddled to his left side. They truly made for an endearing sight.

Outside the bedroom, Naruto's mini-kitchen was already a bundle of activity. Maid-slash-bodyguard, Katsura Kotonoha, joyfully worked in front of the heating plate, stirring the pot full of soup in the making. It was part of a healthy breakfast for a very important day.

No longer bearing the duty of looking after Higashiyama Yurimi, Kotonoha suddenly found herself unemployed, at least until Yurimi decided on a new mission for her. However, the swordswoman's feet had taken her back to Naruto's apartment the previous night. Like she had done for over a week already, she spent the night in a sleeping bag in Naruto's living/dining room. Naruto had not approved of her sleeping on a corner of the room like a common animal the first night.

She thought of waking up the boy and his partner, the exiled lily. She quickly changed her mind and, with a shrug, focused her attention on the almost-finished meal.

The boy would definitely not oversleep on such an important day, would he?

* * *

"OH MY GOD! I'M GONNA BE LAAAAAATE!"

Uzumaki Naruto, Genin extraordinary, shouted before stuffing his stomach with food as tremendous speed. Kotonoha and Yuria ate at a far more sedate pace. They would not scold him, but they would not help him either. If he did not make it in time for the great event, well, then maybe he did not deserve that promotion after all.

**Munyuu…**

Higashiyama Sayuri, still wandering through the boundary of wakefulness and sleep, was too dazed to actually notice the avalanche of flavors Naruto send past his taste receptors. Kotonoha was a bit bothered by Naruto's lack of appreciation for her cooking but, at the pace he was eating, she would be surprised if he was even aware of what he was putting in his mouth.

Eventually, the boy slammed his rice bowl on the table. "That's enough; gotta brush my teeth!"

Kotonoha and Yuria exchanged glances, and then sighed together.

"Tell him to hurry up, alright?" Yuria instructed the bodyguard before standing up. "I'll be waiting outside."

Kotonoha took the empty dishes to the sink. There was no time to properly clean them. After shooting a wistful glance at the chore asking to be done, the four-tails shook her head to clear her thoughts and reached for a box in the cupboard.

It did not take long for the boy to re-emerge from the bathroom, teeth clean and ready to go.

"Kotonoha, we gotta move!"

**Sayuri's weady!**

For what exactly?

The woman chose not to comment on the fact that only 'he' needed to move.

"Naruto-sama, could I ask for a minute of your time?"

It pained to have to resort to abusing the boy's kindness, but it was his fault for being late on the first place. She could actually see the mental battle projected on Naruto's face as he strained himself not to complain. As expected, it eventually settled down in that marvelous smile Kotonoha had grown to love.

"Ye…yes? What is it?"

The four-tails simply put the box she held on the dining table and pushed it towards him.

"Like the girls, I…" her voice faltered for a moment. "I prepared a gift for Naruto-sama. I…I tried to find a good moment yesterday, but…"

Naruto's eyes widened as they glanced down at the unopened box. He was truly floored by the unexpected gesture. "Ko-Koto—I…you…you didn't have…"

"I did it because I wanted to…in appreciation for Naruto-sama's kindness and hospitality."

Still, Naruto hesitated to reach for the present, as if it would spontaneously combust on touch.

With the one little prisoner he took care of, it could definitely happen.

**Mugyuu…Sayuri wouldn't do that…**

Don't mess with the narration!

"Please, go ahead and open it," Kotonoha insisted.

"Uh…um."

It was with hesitant hands that the suddenly nervous boy reached for the plain box. Its contents, however, were most surprising.

"These are…" Naruto muttered as he lifted the pair. They were heavier than he expected. "Arm bracers?"

Made of what felt like extremely tough leather and painted a deep black, two pieces of arm-protective armor presented themselves before the surprised young lad.

"I would hope…Naruto-sama would…wear them to…well…protect himself…"

There was something awfully cute about a bashful Kotonoha.

Naruto stared at the objects for a long moment, as his jaw began to tremble and his eyes watered a bit. Then, in a sudden burst of activity, the blond hurried to take off his jacket and try them on.

"This…this…just…awesome!" The boy exclaimed excitedly. "They're so…so…so…hard!"

"It's very good leather," Kotonoha claimed, puffing up her impressive chest a little.

"Awesome!" Naruto repeated, moving his arms around to check his new armor from different angles. Black really went well with orange. He didn't want to cover them with his long-sleeved jacket just yet. "Ko-Kotono…"

"Please, do not say anything." The woman clasped her hands in front of her, unknowingly pressing her breasts together. "If this plain gift has made Naruto-sama happy, then I, Kotonoha, need nothing else."

The boy's lips trembled. There was something he needed to say. Anything. But, there was this other impulse; a powerful urge that took over his body.

"Kotonoha…!"

The woman stumbled back a step when the boy's body pretty much rammed her. There was no hidden intention when he buried his face on her chest and trapped her in the tightest embrace. An invisible, incorporeal hand squeezed her heart, and it felt good.

"Naruto…sama…"

Even as tears flowed without restraint, the boy smiled in the delightful feeling that encompassed him. It was a feeling he had wondered about many, many times in the past, on silent, lonely nights in his bedroom.

"I love you."

There was no hesitation. This was the one woman he could say those words to without faltering.

This was the woman who gave him this feeling he had thought to be impossible for the likes of him to experience. Yet she had achieved it, in less than ten days.

The woman who made him feel like he had a mother.

"I love you…so much…guh…aaah!"

He wanted to scream, for this feeling was so immense he felt he would burst otherwise.

Family…was family something…so powerful? So precious?

Only to one who had dreamed of one for years.

For a moment, he forgot about the finals, about Neji and about becoming a Chuunin. All this became unimportant compared with the prospect of staying for as long as humanly possible in the embrace of this strange woman he loved so much.

Kotonoha did not say a word. She was unable to.

She just stared at the crown of the boy's head, reveling on the warmth of their closeness and strangely aware of the moist path her tears traced on her cheeks.

It was awfully…pleasant. Itou Makoto had done many things with her breasts. Using them as a pillow was, strangely, not one of them.

They could afford to stay like this for a while…right? If they were very fast, they could…

"Where did you buy these things?"

Naruto looked a bit silly as he looked up at the tear-stricken woman, like a child half his age demanding to be pampered. His smile was contagious, however, and Kotonoha returned with a smile of her own, as bright as she could muster.

"Ah, I made them myself."

Naruto stared at the beautiful woman.

"…I like leatherworking," Kotonoha admitted with a wondrous smile.

And the magic was gone, as if set on fire and showered with liquid helium at the same time.

A saccade drove Naruto's pupils to a certain leather bag on the nearby table. Then back to the woman's smiling face. Why did his arms feel so cold and heavy all of a sudden?

"Uhh…Kotonoha…san?"

"Yes?"

"…just what are these bracers made of, again? Just wondering."

"Just wondering?"

"Just wondering."

Kotonoha tilted her head cutely. "Very tough leather."

"…really."

"Um."

"…just exactly—"

"Whatever Naruto-sama may be thinking of, it's not that."

"That doesn't make me feel better at all!"

Kotonoha just hugged him tighter, as if that could solve every problem in the world.

**Nee, nee, onii-chan.**

_What?_

**They're pwetty…**

Naruto desperately tried to recapture the amazing feeling from before.

He failed.

_Ye-yeah, I guess they are…_

**Can I burn them?**

_You're horrible!_

**Mugyuu…**

* * *

After wiping off the tears and putting his orange jacket back on, Naruto eventually made it out of the apartment, Kotonoha close behind. Just out of the door, they were greeted by a most strange of sights.

"Yo!"

Yuria was upside down. However, it was not her hands, but two of her tails which supported her weight on the floor. The third tails was wrapped around her ankles, tying them together. Yuria's upper body (lower body at the moment, though) moved up and down.

Naruto inclined his head as far as his neck allowed. "…so this is how you built your amazing six-pack?"

Yuria grinned. Somehow, Naruto praising her physical prowess made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It probably had to do with the fact that she never got such praise from her (former) family.

A lily of Higashiyama is not supposed to have well-defined muscles.

"Hehe…it's amazing, isn't it?" It was a subtle way to ask for more praise.

"It worries me…and places serious doubts on my worth as a man."

"Now, now…" the three-tails easily returned to a normal standing position. "I've been doing this for more than sixty years, you know." Bones cracked when she turned her neck and drew circles with her shoulders. "So! We're going now?"

"I'm very sorry for making you wait, Yuria-sama," Kotonoha bowed to express her apology. "So…I guess if we travel on the roofs we could…"

"Actually…"

The identical grins on Naruto's and Yuria's faces made Kotonoha more than a little uneasy.

"Yuria and I thought about it last night…"

"We talk a lot on the bed," the foxgirl declared.

"And we were thinking of trying a…umm…different way to travel."

Kotonoha's mental alarms moved to DEFCON 3. "Will this bother Yuria-sama or Naruto-sama in any potentially dangerous, harmful manner?"

Yuria pouted and clasped her hands behind her head. "Hmm, it shouldn't. I'm pretty strong," she paused before grinning. "I can't say the same about Konoha, though."

"Konoha?"

"Yuria…" Naruto warned.

"Hey, it's true and you know it. And you said you wanted to do it!"

Naruto stared at his fiancée. "…damn it, you got me." His grin got even more wicked. "I really wanna do it!"

"That's the spirit!" Yuria barked happily. "Now this is the man I chose to marry!"

"You didn't 'choose' anything."

"It's a figure of speech!"

**Waaaaaai! Mawwy! And Sayuri will be onii-chan's weal imouto! Waaaaaaaaai!**

Wiggle, wiggle.

* * *

Some time earlier, at the arena where the finals were to take place, we find one Hyuuga Hanabi.

Hyuuga Hanabi was not used to large congregations of people.

She was stunned by the literal horde of humans slowly making their way inside the arena, all of them eager to get good seats for the violent ninja action. All of them pressing, squeezing, rubbing and squirming against each other…it sent shivers down her spine.

Most fortunately, she was a Hyuuga. The clan leader's daughter, to boot. Hence, she would be spared the horrendous trip through the human grinder.

Or so she thought.

Her father's tenuous hold on her hand disappeared the moment he saw some noble from the capital and hurried to greet him, not before commanding Hanabi to 'not move from there'.

Why couldn't he just take her with him?

So, little Hanabi tapped her foot impatiently. Her eyes glanced between the swarm of humanity and his father's figure some distance away. She was so bored…

It was hard to explain how, or even what happened. All of a sudden, the immense congregation of people surrounding the stadium went quieter, as they noticed something.

It was a procession. An entourage of beautiful women, following the calm steps of a stunning, young, silver-haired girl.

As the Matriarch, Higashiyama Yurimi led her lilies towards the day's attraction; the grand finale of their little family 'holiday'. She had personal reasons to attend; otherwise she would not be the slightest bit interested in such a barbaric display.

But her Master would participate.

He would fight, which meant he would display his considerable physical prowess. He would sweat and, with some luck, his clothes might be destroyed by a ninja technique, revealing his finely sculpted musculature…and then if he succeeded, he would be exultant and drunken in the ambrosia of success, so they might hug, and dance, and kiss, and then he might push her down and assert his masculinity by taking her fiercely and roughly…

Yurimi nodded to herself. Yes, she definitely had very good reasons to attend.

Yurimi turned to her mother, who was all smiles. It was rather disturbing.

It was also enlightening. Even Yuriyo was giving appreciative looks to the seven-tailed former Matriarch, whose unleashed Aura of Allure was so encompassing, yet so tenuous, that not even the shinobi amidst the crowd had noticed there were supernatural powers at work behind the people's dumb stares.

"Is such a thing truly necessary, Mother?"

Yuri giggled demurely.

"Of course not. I am just enjoying myself here. Is not that the reason we are here? To relax and enjoy ourselves?"

"I thought we came to release Sayuri-nee-sama and for me to claim Master."

"And see how those two things turned out, ufufu~"

Yurimi was seriously re-evaluating her opinion of her mother.

It was then when her eyes caught a glimpse of the little Hyuuga girl. They were just a few steps away, so the young Silver Lily simply closed the distance between them before acknowledging Hanabi's presence.

"Good morning, Hyuuga-san."

Thoroughly elated at the fact she was remembered by this living embodiment of everything she wanted to be, Hanabi's response got lost somewhere between the stammering and the blushing.

"Ah…umm…we-well…umm…he-hello…Yu-Yurimi…sama."

Yurimi nodded. "I would extend this conversation, but I and my family would like to find acceptable seats…" she paused. "If you do not mind, may we converse as we walk?"

Hanabi was almost going to explode in happiness, when she remembered her father's instruction. Bummer.

"I…I would love to, but, I'm waiting for my…"

That was when her eyes found her father again. Was he staring at that woman's boobs?

Sure, they were enormous, but still…

Ignoring the strange twitch on her forehead, she turned back to the Silver Lily and smiled as best as she could.

"…actually, forget I said anything. I would be happy to, Yurimi-sama."

"Very well." As she had said, Yurimi resumed her march towards the stadium before engaging in conversation. The crowd opened a sizable gap for the lilies to step through, courtesy of Yuri's Enchantment.

"Being more knowledgeable of this village and its shinobi than I am, I will expect good commentary from you, Hyuuga-san."

"Ah…" Hanabi waved her hands hurriedly. "I…I don't really know that much…but I will do my best!"

She tried her best smug face as the group walked past her father, just so he would see that she was in such good terms with this most regal of families.

But he was staring at that woman's gigantic breasts, the bastard.

* * *

"Huh…" Kiba muttered at he carefully watched his teammates on either side. "Why do I feel like I've been missing on a lot lately?"

"A-Ano…what…what do you mean, Kiba-kun?"

They were already in the stadium, looking for good places. Apparently Hinata had mostly recovered and had no problems attending the village's largest event.

"Gee, where do I start?" Kiba rolled his eyes for good measure. "How about the katana? Yes, Hinata. Tell us about the katana."

The heiress shot an uneasy glance at her Last Word, strongly strapped to her waist like any decent katana is supposed to be.

"I was actually wondering about that myself," Shino admitted. It worried him because he had seen that katana before.

It belonged to that buxom swordswoman, Kotonoha.

Not unexpectedly, Kiba had failed to make the association.

"U-Um…it was a gift…from a friend of the clan…"

"Uhh…dunno…" Kiba perched his hands behind his head. "Kenjutsu doesn't really suit you…"

Then again, there was no combat art that seemingly suited the shy girl.

"And you," Kiba continued, turning to Shino. "What's with the scrolls? You don't carry scrolls."

Truly, scrolls poked out of the pockets of Shino's thick coat.

"I have devised new techniques. They are necessary for these new techniques." A most succinct explanation. "Look, I have more inside."

Hinata shrieked when Shino abruptly opened his coat. A few seconds later, when she opened her eyes, she was not met by the unthinkable: the boy was properly dressed underneath.

And armed to the teeth.

"Holy crap," Kiba mumbled. Even Akamaru whined at the sheer amount of steel and paper within the multi-pocketed insides of the boy's unassuming coat. "How do you even carry all that stuff?"

"I am the slowest of us three for a reason," Shino calmly explained.

"Oh, finally acting on your calling, Flasher-kun!"

Shino snorted quietly before turning to greet the Night Lily; his coat still wide open.

Yurina shrieked.

"…why do women keep doing that?"

"Gee, I wonder," Yuriyo laughed, and then whistled at the boy's equipment. "Now that's a hell of a lot of sharp and pointy things."

"I am shinobi," Shino declared as he closed the coat. "I am paid to carry sharp and pointy things."

"No, you're not," Kiba deadpanned.

Hinata, however, was more interested in her little sister's presence.

"Hanabi-chan…"

"Onee-sama."

Yurimi and the others did notice Hinata's blade. "So Kotonoha has given you her blade…"

Hinata and Yurimi exchanged glances, and Hanabi seized the chance to make introductions.

"Onee-sama, this is Yurimi-sama. Kotonoha-sama is Yurimi-sama's bodyguard."

"Bo-Body…?"

"Vassal would be a more appropriate word," Yurimi sharply stated. "I am Higashiyama Yurimi, Matriarch of Higashiyama-ke." A curt bow.

Hanabi's eyes were pretty much sparkling. She was actually their leader!

"A-Ano…I…I'm…Hyu-Hyuuga…Hinata. It's a pleasure."

On the other side, Hanabi found her sister plainly disappointing. Not even the fact she now carried a kick-ass sword helped her image.

Yuriyo leaned closer to speak in her sister's ear. "She's like a pathetic and uncute version of you."

"That's rude, onee-chan!"

We could excuse Hinata for being a bit uneasy. It was not just Yurimi in front of her. While her little sister's look of adoration at the admittedly pretty young girl miffed her a bit, Hinata was a lot more bothered by the whole entourage of beautiful girls and women behind Yurimi. And for God's sake, were those really breasts? They were huge! Bigger than Kotonoha's!

Yuri held back a sigh, and Sayoko affectionately patted her best friend's back.

"Kiiiiiiiiiba-kyun!"

"Gah, wai-ghogeboh!" It's like the asphyxiating boundary of heaven and hell.

Nobody tried to help Kiba, though, and Shino quietly wondered why he was not 'Shino-kyun'.

Ignoring Yurine's greeting hug, Yurimi proceeded to dish out instructions.

"Very well. Now, we shall find adequate seats. I do not wish to miss an instant of Master's manly exploits because of such things as a bad angle or bothersome sunlight."

"Ufufufu, as you wish, Yurimi-sama," Yuri responded, and the lilies of Higashiyama followed their leader.

Hanabi just had to open her mouth.

"Umm…who is 'Master'?"

Kiba and Shino made identical 'oh crap' looks.

"As a participant, I believe I should be down there, at the arena. If you may excuse me…"

"Break a leg or two!" Yuriyo called before the boy in sunshades snuck away.

"Wai-no! Fuck you, Shino, FUCK YOU—mmmgblgarble!" Kiba was not very happy by the turn of events.

"Muuu, nasty words are a no-no!" Yurine, with all her limitations, tries to be a good mother from time to time.

Yurimi perked up, as if looking forward to answering Hanabi's question. A proud slave, she is.

"Master is Yurimi's master, the man Yurimi belongs to."

"Waaa…" Hanabi was impressed. Yurimi's Master had to be a really incredible person.

Yurimi blinked as she remembered something.

"Oh, if I remember correctly, he is fighting a member of your clan, isn't he?"

A strange sound caught everyone's attention.

It sounded sort of like "shrrrkchuhk."

"Wha-what was that sound?" Yurisa wondered, unaware of the way her little daughter was shaking her head in exasperation.

"S-Scary…" Yurina whined, leaning on her sister for safety. Yurine further squeezed her canine friend (?).

"It sounded like something broke…" Hanabi mused.

That something would be Hinata.

* * *

Unnoticed by the bustling village before her eyes, Kiyoura Setsuna watched Konoha in motion while perched on top of the Fourth Hokage's gigantic stone face.

She was not wearing her usual clothes, but the guise of the terrifying super villain, Doctor S.

Uchiha Madara, aka Tobi, flickered into existence a few steps behind the small femme.

"So?"

Tobi grinned behind his mask. "Orochimaru has done exactly as you expected, mistress."

"So Kimimaro…?"

"In fighting condition," Tobi completed. "The bodyguards have also taken the infusion."

"I see…" the Doctor's mantle swayed under the summer wind. "And Orochimaru himself…"

"He has completed _**Edo Fumetsu**_. As for _**Edo Tensei**_…I believe he will perform as you intended him to."

The Doctor snorted.

"It's easy to manipulate even the most cunning…you just have to make it so that it seems like he's making the choices himself." Setsuna finally turned to face her minion. "Yet, we must keep an eye on that man. He is not one I would like to fight."

"Regardless…" Turning yet again to look at the sprawling village below, Setsuna smiled. "This village…will become quite messy very soon, won't it…? Kukukuku…"

"Yes, Mistress. Everything is according to plan."

"Yes…"

Tightening her tiny hands into tiny fists, Setsuna forced the rage she had contained for decades deep within her soul, allowing it to simmer just a bit longer. She would have to go to the stadium in a manner of minutes, but she wanted to revel in the feeling of accomplishment she was experiencing for a bit longer.

"It ends today…"

* * *

There was something awfully…wrong. Uchiha Sasuke could not tell exactly what it was, though.

Oh, sure, he noticed the broken faces of two of the four Hokages on the mountain (and the army haircut on a third one), and he could even infer they were not a consequence of the earthquake the day before. He did not ask around to confirm this hypothesis, however.

Uchiha Sasuke does NOT ask around.

He is also not a festival person, which explains why he remains oh-so-blissfully ignorant.

But, as he stood there amidst the other finalists in the middle of the arena, he could not help but feel something was AWFULLY WRONG.

And where the hell was Naruto, anyway? For the likes of him to miss on the finals, surely he could not be that stupid!

Sasuke frowned.

It…it was not like he cared whether the idiot made it or not, anyway!

He could not discern any individual voices amidst the surrounding crowd, but he knew a lot of attention was on him. He had heard many comments on his way to the stadium. It was to be expected, he guessed.

He focused his attention on the other aspiring Chuunin. Nara Shikamaru looked bored, as usual, like he'd rather be anywhere but there. Aburame Shino was as unreadable as ever. If he made it to the final match, he would have to be careful.

Hyuuga Neji exuded calm and confidence, as expected. There was absolutely no doubt in his mind he would win his first match.

Then there were the Suna trio. They all looked…twitchy, albeit for different reasons. He could not imagine that Gaara feeling nervous, after all.

…wait, they were missing someone else besides Naruto, weren't they?

Shiranui Genma, apparently the one in charge of the matches that day, calmly waited for the appointed time with eyes closed.

* * *

"Oh, but, how long are we going to wait for your missing child, Hokage?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen ignored the Kazekage's lazy taunt. From their selected spot, the highest places in the stadium, he could see the entire arena as well as the audience's seats. While distinguishing individual faces was nigh impossible from such a distance, the group he had his eyes on was unmistakable, even in their human guise.

He had seen Higashiyama Yuri's tall and elegant form when she took her seat on a front row to his left side. It was the first time he had seen the complete troupe with his own two eyes.

Oh, but that was not correct, right?

The swordswoman Jiraiya had described was missing. So was Naruto's little "fiancée". Then again, she had said she was not associated with her clan anymore, had she not?

He quietly prayed that accursed woman was not thinking anything funny. He would have enough problems to deal with that day as it was.

And where the hell was Naruto anyway?

* * *

"Where the hell is Naruto?" Yamanaka Ino unknowingly mirrored the Hokage's thoughts. Only three minutes remained before the appointed starting time.

"Sasuke-kun looks great in black, too…"

The blonde kunoichi shot a dead gaze at her friend. "You really don't give a damn about the poor guy, don't ya?"

The words pulled Sakura out of her wistful thoughts. "Eh? Did you say something?"

Ino held back the urges to do so many different things.

"Sakura, putting Sasuke-kun's hot new look aside…"

She never said she disagreed with the cherry girl. Pure black did suit the Uchiha survivor.

"…the first match is Naruto's. Your OTHER teammate. Remember? Blond? Moronic? Inexplicably surrounded by hot women?"

Sakura made a pained expression, followed by a sigh. "Ye-yeah…I…I really should support Naruto…"

"After your screw up, I would have to say you must." Ino shook her head. "Really, Sakura, you just don't say that to a teammate! No matter how much you believe it!"

"I…" Sakura dropped her head. Of course she knew that! But…she just did not understand…why did those words leave her mouth? "Ne, Ino…"

"What?"

"Do you think…Naruto can win…?"

Ino was not as surprised by the question as she should. "Honestly, a week ago, I would have said no. Now I'm not so sure."

Two pairs of eyes turned towards a row of seats to their left and ahead.

"Those girls…have done something to him, Sakura. He's just…different, somehow." She shrugged. "I don't know if he's become any stronger or anything, but somehow…I know…he's not gonna fart his way to victory this time."

Looking at the clan of women, they realized their looks were being returned by one Higashiyama Yurina. The pretty twin-tailed girl shyly waved a greeting to Ino, which the blonde human girl returned with a bright smile.

"What are you doing?" Sakura hissed. When she got a frown in response, the pink-haired girl insisted. "I…don't like them."

"Hoo…" Ino grinned wickedly. "Is someone overly conscious…?"

"Whe-where are you looking at?" Sakura shrieked, crossing her arms around her mostly inexistent chest.

Ino laughed. "Well, well, I…kinda get what you mean. They can get on your nerves…but Yurina's the sweetest girl, really."

"Oooooooooi! Blondie! Holy shit, is that pink hair?"

"Ugh…" Ino groaned. "Hey there, Yuriyo."

"What are you doing over there?" The Night Lily shouted from the distance. "Get over here! We have free seats!"

With a sigh, Ino groggily stood off her place. "We might as well…"

"Ino!" Sakura insisted.

"Ah, come on, the more the merrier!"

Fifteen or so seconds later, Yuriyo nodded to acknowledge the two's arrival. "Mornin'."

However, Sakura and Ino were looking at yet another young kunoichi seated on the row behind the lilies.

"Hinata," Ino uttered, visibly surprised to find her there of all places. The Hyuuga heiress did not stand up, only bowing curtly to acknowledge her colleagues.

"Ino-san, Sakura-san."

"I'm here too," Kiba announced, and Akamaru agreed.

"Yeah, yeah, we can see you," Ino replied between chuckles.

"Hey, blondie!"

"My name is Ino, damn it!"

"Okay, okay, then I'll call you 'Buta'."

"Bitch."

"Yeah, I get that all the time," Yuriyo snorted. "So! Who's that guy?"

It was obvious who Yuriyo was pointing at.

"Ah, that's Sasuke-kun."

"Hmm…" Yuriyo frowned and scratched her chin as she stared at the last Uchiha.

"So onee-chan likes that type…?"

"Eh?" Sakura and Ino gaped as one, and the half-Void obviously found this amusing.

"Maa, he's got looks, that's for sure," she admitted, but then she grinned. "But you know I don't like them so young."

"You talk like you were so much older…" Ino noted. Yuriyo grinned some more.

"Bu-but, then, onii-sama…"

"Ah, Naruto?"

Hinata perked up.

"Ah, that's just playing, playing~" Yuriyo explained in a sing-song tone. "He knows that and plays along, and that's why I like him. And other guys would try to take advantage; that gives him a lot of points, I admit."

"Master's very thoughtful when he wants to."

"Ha-haa…" What could Hanabi possibly say to that?

Hinata was seriously considering unsheathing her sword, when it happened.

The first to notice were the Hokage and his company, as the figure appeared straight in front of them, on the opposite side of the high stadium wall.

The aged Kage groaned…even if a part of him wanted to grin like an infant.

"The nerve of that boy…"

Amongst the group of ladies (plus Kiba), the first to notice was Yurine, and only because she was randomly looking at everywhere and nowhere. Her eyes gazed upon the dark figure in the distance, high atop the stadium wall, and her enviable vision quickly allowed her to identify the strangely-shaped newcomer.

"HAWA!"

That strange sound never fails to get everyone's attention.

"Hawawawawawawa…"

Yuri's eyes followed her five-tailed daughter's, and she just as quickly recognized the figure.

It made her sigh…and then giggle.

"Really…Hokage-san cannot possibly blame me for this, can he? Ufufufu~"

Sayoko whined cutely.

"Oh my…" These words escaped out of Yurisa's mouth. Her daughter had developed a strange tic on a corner of her mouth. Why would they do something so…?

Yuriyo was torn between looking perturbed and utterly amused. She went with amused in the end.

"That guy…he really knows how to entertain me!"

"Wha…" Ino winced to try to get a better view, as the people closest to the apparition recognized it for what it was and voiced their feelings in a rising tide of surprise, outrage and utter terror.

"What the hell is that…?"

It was Uzumaki Naruto.

Riding a black, three-tailed fox the size of a tiger.

* * *

Yuria just had to snort at the reaction. While most were only stunned by the inexplicable apparition, some parents were already hurrying to embrace their children protectively. Screams she could not clearly make out reached her long ears, and a trickling but growing trail of people was gradually inching away from them. She was not even close to the seats, for Inari's sake!

"I know I want people to fear my awesome powers, but this is ridiculous."

Calmly seated on her wide back, Naruto watched the exact same scene. Had Yuria turned her head back, she might have been interested in the strangely solemn expression on the boy's face.

"Ne, Naruto…"

The boy did not answer, but she knew she had his attention.

"I'm as much a fan of cool entrances as you, but…are you sure this is okay…?"

Yuria's neck muscles stiffened when Naruto's left hand placidly stroked them.

"You're my friend…and the woman I intend to marry, to boot."

Yuria still could not stop herself from blushing whenever that little fact was brought up.

"I want this village to acknowledge me…to respect me, to look up to me as one of their strong ninjas. I want them to accept me…completely."

He grinned, albeit a bit grimly.

"Even the fact I'm friends with a bunch of foxgirls…and married to one."

He shifted from stroking to patting. "This was going to happen, sooner or later. Might as well do it on my terms, huh?"

Yuria thought about it for a moment, and then she chuckled. "Heh. You know, you're scary when you're smart."

"Hey! I'm always smart!"

"…right." Another chuckle. "So? How does it feel to ride the Yuria?"

**Waaaaaai! So cool! So fast!**

"Uhh…" Nervous chuckles and a mild blush. "Honestly, it's pretty damn awesome." He paused. "In a purely non-perverted way."

"It better!" Yuria joked.

"Sayuri enjoyed the trip, too."

"Oh? Well, it's always an honor to serve Kyuubi-sama," Yuria replied sarcastically. After a moment's respite, she mused, "At least I have the solace that you know me well enough…I'm beginning to think this marriage thing would not be so bad…kind of like a sitcom."

"A what?"

"Nothing, honey. Now, let's get this show on the road!"

"About damn time, I say!"

Well, sorry for taking so long!

Thanks to the tree-climbing exercise she learned from her rider, Yuria had no problem sprinting down the wall and into the arena. The burst of speed elicited a new, stronger round of shrieks from the audience. She blocked them out, but she could not do the same with the troupe of six masked shinobi that flickered into existence around her and ran along with her.

"Don't mind them," Naruto reassured, and she trusted him.

Genma had quickly interposed himself in between the finalists and the approaching Kitsune. Yuria's mad dash slowed down to a brisk march, and she stopped three meters or so away from the group in the center of the arena.

"Ossu! Uzumaki Naruto, ready for action!" The boy made a hand salute. He had the decency to look a bit sheepish. "Umm…I'm not late or anything, am I?"

"Uh…no, not really," Genma cautiously answered. A second group of half a dozen ANBU made a wider circle around the newcomer.

Naruto was visibly delighted by his words.

"Awesome!" He patted his mount one more time. "You really did it, Yuria!"

"Well, of course!" The three-tails barked. "Now, get off me."

"Hai, hai."

As he jumped off his large ride, Naruto seized the chance to check their reactions. 'They' would be Hyuuga Neji and Uchiha Sasuke, of course.

He found their identical frowns and half-open mouths quite amusing.

_Jerks are all the same, indeed._

**Indeed!**

His eyes happened to meet Shino's…shades. Was the bug user actually smiling?

"A suitable entrance worthy of your greatness, Uzumaki-sama."

Uchiha's neck almost snapped when he jerked his head to gape at Shino. "-sama"?

Naruto's eyes widened and he laughed as he raised a hand to the back of his head. "For once I get what you're talking about!"

A large burst of oddly white smoke startled most of the group, as well as the ANBU and the audience surrounding them. When it dispersed, the fox had been replaced by the short girl. She had not bothered to hide her white-tipped black tails and ears, though.

Stretching her arms and legs, Yuria released a groan of pleasure. "Man, I gotta give you humans some credit: this form is just so much more convenient…"

"Prettier, too."

"That, too." Yuria shot a wink at her fiancée, acknowledging the worth of his flattery.

Planting her arms on her waist, Yuria's fiery eyes challenged the group in front of her. "So, who am I fighting first?"

Shikamaru groaned.

"Uhh, Yuria, dear, YOU are not fighting anyone."

"Oh, come on, but I just had such a nice warm-up!" She pouted cutely. "I'm in an ass-kicking mood!"

"Aren't we always?"

"Well, yeah, but…" Her eyes brimmed with a sudden thought. "Wouldn't it be pure awesome if we fought each other in the final match, buddy?"

Naruto was about to dismiss the thought, but inevitably found himself thinking about it.

"That…that would be unbelievably awesome, yeah." He immediately turned to Genma. "Hey, can she-?"

"Hell no."

"Mugyuu…"

**Wahaha, mugyuu!**

* * *

Meanwhile, the young Genin on the audience seats were experiencing an epiphany of their own.

"You know, if you keep staring at me like that I'm gonna get some weird ideas about you," Yuriyo pointed out to the paralyzed Ino.

The wicked grin on the Night Lily's face plus the apologetic expression on her sister's face easily confirmed the young kunoichi's dire thoughts.

The people closer to the Higashiyama lilies twitched nervously when Kotonoha flickered before Yurimi.

"I'm terribly sorry, Yurimi-sama. I could not convince them to—"

Yurimi made a dismissing gesture. "It is of no importance. Please take a seat next to Hanabi-san." Turning her head to face Kiba, Ino, Sakura and Hinata, Yurimi made a curt inclination of her head as if to excuse herself. "I hope we can avoid a scene, ladies…" She hesitated for a moment there. "…gentleman."

It was moments like these that made Yuri immensely proud of her second youngest. Sayoko also recognized this.

"She's just like Yuri-sama at that age. In both looks and attitude."

Yuri nodded in response to her best friend's whispered words.

"However…" Yurimi spoke again, this time in a softer tone. Only Kotonoha, who had personally educated and raised the young Silver Lily, could understand the meaning of her low tone and the way she chewed on the tip of her right thumb.

"Do not fret over it, Yurimi-sama," Kotonoha spoke while wearing a charming smile. "I am sure Naruto-sama will be willing to ride you very soon."

"There is a limit to my patience, Kotonoha."

"Oh, no, no, such an aggressive attitude will not do," the swordswoman scolded her former charge. "Just look what it did for my poor sister. Yurimi-sama is already a very important existence to Naruto-sama. It is just a matter of time."

"…very well. I will defer to your wisdom, mother of my heart."

"Your words honor me, Yurimi-sama."

Shrackerkruck.

"There it is: that weird breaking sound again…" Yurika mused, while her twin sister idly worked on her nails.

Kotonoha noticed Hinata on the row behind and greeted her with a curt bow and a smile. The young heiress, however, was a little too out of it to muster a response.

The four-tailed swords-mistress also greeted Hanabi when she took a seat just to the little Hyuuga's right. For no real reason, she patted the young girl's head affectionately.

"Fufufufu, you'll understand when you grow up a bit, my dear."

"Uh, no, I understand pretty clearly already…" The blushing Hanabi sweatdropped as she replied.

"This…this is insane…" Kiba muttered…and then he stilled. "Akamaru!" He hissed quietly, hoping the lilies would not listen. "You knew, didn't you? You can tell these things!"

The puppy whined an answer.

"Oh, don't give me that crap!"

* * *

At the Kage's stage, a masked ANBU appeared next to his leader, his very presence a request for instructions.

Sarutobi, too, dismissed the man's worry with a hand gesture.

"Just get Yuria-kun out of the way so we can get this started. I'll have a nice, long talk with Naruto-kun when this is over."

"Yes!"

When the ANBU left, Sarutobi turned his attention to his guest, who had been glancing at him for a while already.

"Is there a problem, Kazekage?"

"I did not expect you of all people to make allies of Kitsune."

Sarutobi chuckled. He could use this. "Does it bother you?"

The man in the white and blue robe did not respond.

"Honestly, I want them out of my village as much as anyone else, but as long as they behave there's no reason to risk moving against them, really."

The Kazekage's guards exchanged uneasy glances, and the robed man rested his chin on his left hand before pondering.

So far the aid received from Doctor S, while most welcome, was not necessary for the fulfillment of his plan.

The presence of a group (the Third Hokage's words had confirmed there was more than one) of Kitsune suddenly made the…"goods" he received from the tiny villain a whole order of magnitude more valuable and important.

_I guess I won't kill the little insolent just yet, after all, kukuku~_

* * *

While the Genin on the stands dealt with the revealed identity of the Higashiyama ladies, Naruto and Yuria exchanged a few last words before the girl left the arena.

"Don't let me down, boy," Yuria warned as they bumped their fists together in a rather manly gesture.

"Naruto…"

"Ah, don't worry, don't worry." Naruto winked. "You're not getting rid of me that easily. In fact, you should put some thought into what you're gonna wear for the ceremony. I expect you to look pretty for me, ya know."

Yuria laughed loudly. "Well, aren't you cocky?"

"Naruto."

Her grin became an animalistic snarl; the likes of which Kiba has seen on his mother's face many, many times.

"Good! I won't have my best friend be a loser! Now get over there and impress me!"

"You betcha!"

"Naruto!"

The couple turned to the new voice.

"Wah!" Naruto chuckled nervously. "Man, Sasuke, you've been away for sixteen chapters; I don't even notice you're here anymore."

"Don't think so highly of yourself, moron—wait, 'chapters'?" Sasuke shook his head, aiming his thoughts in the proper direction. "And who the hell is she?"

"Right back at ya!" Yuria barked back. "Who the hell are you and why should I give a damn?"

"Ah, ah, easy, easy, you two." Naruto presented Sasuke to Yuria. "Yuria, this is my other teammate, Sasuke the jerk."

"I'm not a—oh, screw you."

"Join the queue," Naruto muttered even as he shuddered. Bad joke, bad!

"Ah, so this is the pretty boy your supposed-to-be teacher decided to train instead of you?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Ah, that's okay, I'm not angry about that anymore." Naruto grinned. "I ended up with the best teacher, didn't I?"

Yuria's response was an expression of disgust. "You know, it's not too late to change your mind: you can forget about me and propose to your tsun-loli…"

"Wha-wha-NO!" Naruto began to steam. "I-I…it's not like…she's not…I don't…SHUT UP!"

"A most convincing argument," Yuria deadpanned. "Anyway, I'm off. Break a leg…or not. That would be bad."

"Just go already!" Naruto shot a dark look at the others around. "Don't look at me!"

To Yuria's feet, there was no longer any difference between floors and walls. So she calmly walked her way up to meet her former clan.

"What's up, Yurimi?"

"Good morning, Yuria-san. Did you enjoy Master's weight on your back?"

"Uhh…I wouldn't say I enjoyed it…but it was an interesting experience, being a riding mount. Got any free seats?"

"One next to Kotonoha's and a few behind us."

"Cool. Got snacks?"

"Ask Yurine."

"Got it." Suddenly, she paused. "Wait, I forgot!" She facepalmed and shook her head in astonishment. "Just what kind of mate am I? NARUTO!"

"WHAT NOW?"

"YOU'RE SO SLEEPING ON THE COUCH TONIGHT IF YOU LOSE!"

Sakura and Hinata almost choked on their own breathing air.

"WE DON'T HAVE A COUCH ANYMORE! YURIMI BURNED IT!"

The Silver Lily actually blushed at that.

Yuria frowned, pondering Naruto's answer.

"THEN YOU DAMN BETTER NOT LOSE!"

The Succubus Lily saw a chance and seized it.

"NARUTO! I'LL GIVE YOU ONE OF YURINA'S PUBES IF YOU WIN!"

Massive nosebleeding ensued among the male populace.

"ONEE-CHAN!"

"WHY WOULD I WANT SOMETHING LIKE THAT?"

"OH, DON'T BE SUCH A QUEER!"

"SCREW YOU, YURIYO!"

"IMPRESS ME AND I'LL THINK ABOU—OW! Yuria!"

"Not gonna happen!"

"And the caps were getting annoying," Yuri noted. Mayuri nodded at that.

"Do-do your best, onii-sama!"

"Naruto-kyun, fight-o!"

Kotonoha also cupped her hands in front of her lips. "Best of success, Naruto-sama!"

Yuri and Yurisa only waved at him.

"Seriously, those damn youkai…"

Naruto sighed outwardly, but, in his mind and heart, he was immensely happy.

They were a group of annoying, perverted weirdos, but they were his annoying, perverted friends. So he would show them proudly to Konoha.

His friends.

Turning to meet his to-be-opponents, he came face to face with Shino, who wordlessly planted a hand on his chest.

"…what are you doing?"

"Touching you, Uzumaki-sama."

"Uhh…yeah, I can see that."

"It's a charm for good luck and success with women. I don't carry money with me today, so I cannot give an offering."

"I'm not a walking shrine!"

The insect user clapped twice and bowed with his hands held together.

"Stop praying!"

* * *

"Aaah, that jerk…he could have at least waited for me…"

**That is why I suggested using Magical Shooter, my Master.**

"You be quiet."

That morning, Tenten was pretty much dragged out of her bed by Neji for a quick practice session previous to the finals. Then he had left for the stadium on his own without waiting for the girl to pick up the dozens and dozens of projectiles she pointlessly spent attempting to break through his "absolute defense".

So, she was not very happy. Still, she made it to the arena in time not to miss a second of the action. In her inner musings, however, she almost bumped into a notably taller shinobi.

"Ah, Kakashi-sensei, sorry about…"

The man with the concealed eye was not paying the slightest bit of attention to her or, if he was, he just did not care at all. It was easy, however, to tell just what had drawn the famous ninja's attention.

"Ugh. So they're here."

She could clearly see the clan of Kitsune ahead of her, on the seats closest to the combat arena. She did not see either the ramen girl or the adult Kyuubi, though.

Kakashi walked down the stairs and closer to the group of youkai. Most fortunately, he had a perfect excuse to make that strategic approach.

"Oh, Sakura."

The four Genin seated behind the lilies turned to greet the Jounin.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura exclaimed loud enough for the nearby rows of seats to hear clearly. "You actually made it in time!"

"Oi, that's a bit harsh…" The lazy man scratched his left cheek over the cloth.

Yuria decided to intrude in the conversation. "Oh, I remember you! So you're Naruto's sensei after all!"

Suddenly all attention was one these two. Kakashi nodded at the short three-tails, who had yet to hide her vulpine bits.

"Yes, we did meet yesterday. Can I ask you to get rid of those ears and tails? You see…"

Yes, she saw. Everybody saw.

The only reason the audience had not dispersed in a frenzied swarm of horrified civilians was because they were utterly confused. Where was the response from their ninjas? Why wasn't the Hokage doing anything about this? Why was the boy, Uzumaki Naruto, still standing in the center of the arena and grinning as if he had not arrived on the back of a three-tailed fox youkai?

Voices of protest had summoned the ANBU stationed within the stadium, and they were currently working to convince the unsettled audience to pretend nothing had happened, which was admittedly quite hard with Yuria's swaying tails there for the world to see.

"Ah…fine, fine." Like that, the foxy bits were gone.

"Sharingan Kakashi, I presume," a new voice from behind the Jounin made its appearance. "The one who discarded the brat's need for improvement to focus on the prized Uchiha."

"Waaaah!" Yurine grinned and waved gleefully. "Mistress-chan!"

"Oh, tsun-loli!" Yuria also greeted the newcomer.

"Shut your trap, Higashiyama sow." Setsuna has never been the kindest woman.

"Okay, one, I'm not Higashiyama," Yuria sternly declared. "Two, you're asking to get your ass kicked."

"Hmph," Setsuna snorted. "Empty words from an empty-headed brat."

The Loli Queen stepped past Kakashi and the Genin and reached the front row where the Kitsune were seated. Kotonoha smiled at her old acquaintance.

"Good morning, Setsuna."

"Rot in hell."

"Ara ara, how uncute. Will you sit to my right?"

"Hmph!" Indeed, she did. "Only because it's a good place, I will force myself to bear with the likes of you and your disgusting bags of fat."

"Hai, hai."

If she noticed, Kotonoha did not mind the wicked look Setsuna shot at the bag on her lap.

"Whoever you are, I'll let you know that I left Naruto under the care of a very competent trainer," Kakashi complained, and Setsuna laughed, not bothering to turn to face him.

"Really? Why was the boy so eager to come under my wing, then?"

Kakashi frowned. "You…you trained Naruto?"

"I turned him into a winner!" With a smug smirk, she looked down on Kotonoha. "Something, I believe, you were not able to do."

"Very true," Kotonoha admitted. "I do not know how much stronger he has become under your tutelage, but I do know you have made him immensely happy, Setsuna."

The reaction was instantaneous.

"Wha-! Do-don't say things in such an ea-easy-to-misunderstand kind-of-way!"

"Oh, pu-lease…" Yuria groaned with a bitter tone. "The brat pretty much worships you. I have no idea why, but…"

"Eh?"

Setsuna's hands reached for her cheeks. That…that was part of the plan, right? To make things easier for the time when she retrieved the Kyuubi…

Then, why was she blushing like that?

"Wor…wor…worsh…wah…we-we…well, well of course!" The stammering was quickly concealed by boisterous laughter. "He damn better! Kiyoura Setsuna expects nothing less from those blessed with her instruction!"

Yuria just made a face at that. It was then when she noticed the other newcomer.

"Ah, and you are…what was the name…Lum Lum?"

"TENTEN! TEN! TEN! It's not that hard!"

Almost immediately she felt the cold, penetrating stare of the heiress of the Hyuuga Clan. The weapons specialist raised an eyebrow.

"Ah, you're here."

"You…you know them."

Assuming correctly Hinata meant the youkai, Tenten shrugged and grimaced. "Unfortunately."

"You…know them," Hinata repeated in a soft yet sharp voice, as if those three words carried a heavier significance beyond the literal.

* * *

A smiling Naruto stood between Sasuke and Shino. The eight remaining Chuunin aspirants stood on a line before Genma, the proctor. It was a matter of seconds before the grand event finally began.

"Naruto…just what have you been up to this month?"

It was a perfectly valid question, the one asked by Uchiha Sasuke.

Naruto? Well, he grinned.

"…respect me."

"…huh?"

"Respect me. Yes, you must respect me, Sasuke!" Naruto's fist clenched with excitement. "I have taken huge steps towards adulthood! Yes, I have matured!"

His face leaned dangerously close to the Uchiha's.

"Look at this face! It's the face of ME looking down on YOU!"

**Waaaaaaaai, onii-chan!**

Wiggle, wiggle.

"You're an idiot."

"Maybe, but this idiot is so kicking your ass today." He paused. "Ah, but don't worry: I won't use Kitsune to win. That wouldn't be cool."

"Hmph." The perennial Uchiha smirk. "As if it would make a difference."

It was Shino's turn to lean closer to Naruto. "I can make my kikaichuu drain the heathen's chakra right now, Uzumaki-sama."

"You're creeping me out. Stop it."

"Alright, listen up!" Genma's voice resounded loud and clear enough to all but the people furthest from the center of the arena to hear. "First, the matchups have changed a little. Take a look at this."

Shikamaru promptly moaned his misfortune at having to face Temari straight away. Nobody cared.

Genma pocketed the sheet with the new matchups and unfolded a second one, which he promptly began to read.

"The rules are as you know them from the preliminaries. The match only ends when one participant surrenders or I deem him unable to fight anymore. In the latter case, any further aggression on the defeated candidate will be punished with the disqualification of the offender. I, the proctor, may interrupt the fights at any moment. In such a case, combat must be halted immediately. Understood?"

Naruto and Temari nodded, while the others remained still.

Genma's eyes scanned the following lines, which elicited a deep frown. What the hell?

Still, he read. These were the instructions written by the Hokage, after all.

"All weapons and ninja tools are allowed, save for the following: steamroller, nerve gas, land mine, midget, cat."

The aspiring young ninjas raised eyebrows as one being. What the hell?

* * *

A distance away, the disguised Orochimaru shot an odd look at his former teacher. What the hell?

* * *

Amongst the audience, a beautiful lily giggled demurely. "Ufufufufu~"

"Yu-Yuri-sama…" Sayoko was caught between gaping, sweatdropping or just shaking her head at the whole thing.

Yuriyo was a lot more vocal. "You know, it would be interesting to know just how you pulled that shit off, if it wasn't so unbelievably lame."

"Hmph!" An elegant lady's snort. "Well excuse me if my first decent prank in centuries is not up to you younglings' modern standards."

"Wha—NO WAY!" Naruto suddenly cried. "I have an Exotic Weapon Proficiency in Cat!"

"And, just like that, I've fallen for that boy." Yuri nodded to herself. "Good to know SOMEONE appreciates my subtle brand of humor."

"Master is so thoughtful and diplomatic…"

"Nah, nah, he's nothing like that…" Yuria quickly dismissed Yurimi's love-stricken words.

"You do?" Kankuro actually asked, and Naruto grinned as if grateful for the question.

"Yeah, got the Feat when I was seven. Funny story, remind me to tell you later."

The whole thing is a lie.

"A-Anyway…" Genma cleared his throat. "All but the first two contestants may now go to the waiting room over there. Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Neji, get ready."

"Alright!"

"Think you can beat Hyuuga Neji?"

Naruto's canines showed themselves before Sasuke after he asked that question.

"Think YOU can beat Gaara?"

"…hmph."

In a gesture of what passed for camaraderie from the last Uchiha, he weakly punched Naruto's left shoulder before turning from him and walking away. Naruto held back a chuckle.

"Don't get all buddy-buddy now of all times, teme," he said, but there was no way Sasuke could have heard those words.

"Oh, so we get the main dish straight away? Awesome!" Yuriyo declared before cupping her hands in front of her lips. "Come on, I want to see BLOOD! BLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!"

"Stop that," Yuria deadpanned right before finally taking a seat next to Sakura, much to the latter's chagrin.

"This match is only of interest to us," Kotonoha clarified. "To everyone else in this stadium, the result has already been decided."

Yuria's eyes glowed with suppressed anger, and Sakura tried to make herself smaller.

"Nobody in this stadium believes Master can win."

The humans listening wanted to ask what the deal was with that 'Master' thing, but it was not really the best of times.

"That's because he can't, Yurimi-sama," Hanabi declared. "Even Father acknowledges Neji-san's talent."

"As if an ignorant child's words carried any weight," Setsuna dismissed the little Hyuuga's statement, for which she got a glare in response.

"Like I said, my father—"

"Oh, gee, an udder lover!" Setsuna called. "Woe is me!"

"U-Udder lover…" Hanabi sweatdropped.

"And now, to make sure the moron doesn't lose his way…"

Some of the females around Setsuna were startled a bit when the small hybrid fiercely stomped her right foot on the concrete and slammed her hands on the rail that separated her from the arena below.

"BOYA!"

Naruto jumped on the spot. That voice…!

Even if they could not see each other clearly from that distance, it was good enough to know she was there.

She was there.

To watch him.

To support him.

This simple knowledge made Naruto happy in a way he could not fully understand.

It was with his biggest smile and his most joyful voice that Naruto responded to his beloved teacher's call.

"YES! MISTRESS SETSUNA—GAH!"

A leathery object collided with his face: the only throwable object within Setsuna's vicinity.

"MAKOTO-KUN!"

"D-D-DON'T SAY THINGS LIKE THAT WITH THAT KIND OF HAPPY TONE, I-IDIOT!"

"Uhh…Uzumaki Naruto versus Hyuuga Neji…you may begin anytime…"

* * *

**CHAPTER 17 - _To be continued..._  
**


	35. Invitation to the Party, Part Two

_**Naruto Genkyouien**_

_**- **__**ナルト**__**- **__**幻**__**脅**__**威宴**_

**Chapter Seventeen: Invitation to the Party (Part Two)**

* * *

Yuri slightly turned her head in Kakashi's general direction.

"Hatake Kakashi?" A raised eyebrow. "If I am not mistaken, it was you who assassinated Yumemigahara Mikado fifteen months ago."

The entire group of Kitsune suddenly looked at Kakashi with wholly different eyes. The Jounin could not say he appreciated the female attention, however.

"Hmm…fifteen…ah. Yes, yes, I remember…does it bother you, madam?"

"Oh, no, not in the slightest." Yuri chuckled, delighted. "In fact, you have my utmost thanks. I did not like him very much."

"They began!" Yuria suddenly exclaimed, and conversation ceased.

Yuria's statement was not correct. It was, in fact, Neji who made the first move, obviously not intending to let this match last more than it should.

"Naruto!" The fiancée called, as the boy was still rubbing his forehead and watching in Setsuna's general direction. Then again, he did not need his eyes to subtly step within the shoulder strap of Kotonoha's Sekai-bag.

Neji's assault was abruptly interrupted when an arcing leather bag almost ripped his nose off. He thought of resuming his attack, but Naruto's offending leg quickly went up until it was completely perpendicular to the ground, and just as quickly went back down, the infamous bag slicing the air between the two Genin, without touching the ground.

Naruto's arms were free to make hand seals.

"_**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**_."

Exactly 24 clones could be seen: sixteen in front and eight behind the original. One of the clones in front took the bag.

"So, like we planned, guys."

"Take your time," the clone with the bag responded sarcastically, before taking off for the audience seats.

"Hmph," Neji looked down on the increased numbers. "Bring out whatever desperate moves you have. I'll break them all."

"Just go already," the real Naruto spoke softly, and then made the Ram seal.

Fifteen clones rushed at Neji, while the remaining eight leapt away towards the stadium walls.

* * *

"Here you go," Naruto said as he handed over the bag to its rightful owner.

"Thank you very much, Naruto-sama."

Kotonoha and the clone exchanged placid smiles full of affection, as if another fifteen clones were not challenging a Hyuuga genius a distance away. Naruto's eyes quickly scanned the group behind the Kitsune.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei."

"Good morning, Naruto. As you can see, I have come in time to watch your fight."

"Yup!" The clone grinned. "Very thoughtful of ya. Thanks!"

Kakashi shook his head. There was really only the slightest trace of sarcasm in the boy's words. If he had been angry about leaving him for Sasuke, he had gotten over it long ago.

Maybe he had to give the young blond more credit.

"Shouldn't you be fighting over there, boya?" A rather twitchy Setsuna inquired in a low tone. Whatever anger there was on her face, however, dispersed the moment he looked at her.

It was that smile. That disturbing, unexplainable, unexpected and utterly sincere, affectionate and adorable smile that made her knees weak every single time he struck her with it.

"Thank you for coming, sensei. Really," Naruto's lips trembled as he held back tears of gratitude. Since when did he become so damn weepy? "Thank you."

Critical hit.

"Ah…aah…we-well, uhh…" the trembling, reddening four-tails stammered her way to a response. "Di-di-didn't I say I wouldn't miss this, you empty-headed brat?"

"Um!" Naruto nodded eagerly. "You said that."

"Kuh-kuuu…" _Do-don't look at me like that! You-you-you're just a brat! _"The-then! Wha-wha-what are you doing here, wasting our time, idiot! Go back there and humiliate that Hyuuga brat to please your Mistress!"

"Yes, mistress!"

It's super effective.

"Kah-kaaaa-ju-just, just get back there! Idiot!"

The clone jumped back into the arena, and Kotonoha smiled at her old acquaintance.

"It's a wonderful feeling, isn't it?"

"Wha-wha-what nonsense are you rambling now, udder woman!"

* * *

In the Chuunin candidates' box, a certain consensus was kneading into the young hopeful's minds.

"That boy…" Temari muttered. In the center of the arena, Neji waded through the horde of clones after him.

"Oi, oi, that idiot, Naruto…!" Shikamaru's hands were gripping the rail rather strongly.

Sasuke was not one to express his thoughts so bluntly, but he, too, had noticed. "That guy…"

* * *

"Hmm…" Behind the Higashiyama group, Hatake Kakashi muttered.

"That…that's not…" Kiba had noticed, too. Ino and Sakura glanced at the boy for a moment, unsure of what it was precisely that Kiba could see and they did not.

Next to Sakura, Yuria chuckled in approval. Of course she knew: Naruto had trained with her most evenings, and she had seen the extent of his change first hand.

Kotonoha, too, had seen it. It made her giggle in delight. "My, he's really taken to you, Setsuna."

The smaller Kitsune blushed, but held her head high and proud. "Of course!"

The swordswoman chuckled and shook her head. "Really…"

"...to think he can now move like that…"

* * *

There was something awfully wrong with this Uzumaki Naruto.

Nobody could see this more glaringly than Hyuuga Neji.

In the real world, in the case of a one-versus-many fight, nobody in his senses would place a bet on the lone fighter.

This is shounen, however, where the ability to breeze through hordes of admittedly lesser opponents is a staple—a requirement, even—of hardcore badassery.

If Neji handled that kind of lexicon, he would not hesitate to label himself a hardcore badass.

He had seen Naruto's fight with Inuzuka Kiba. Hence, he knew the orange-clad boy could spam the Shadow Clone Technique; an A-rank technique even experienced Jounin used with utmost care.

While this spoke pages of the boy's chakra capacity, it was not a considerable threat. With the pathetic way the boy fought, even a hundred of his clones would be little more than a warm-up to the likes of Hyuuga Neji, clan genius.

Then why was it that he had yet to destroy a single one?

Why was he fighting on the defensive?

A leaping Naruto attempted a flying kick, which he easily stopped with his right arm. His counterattack was blocked by a second Naruto reaching for his neck with a thrusting kick.

Neji took a step to the right and quickly ducked out of the way of a roundhouse kick. This third Naruto immediately turned his trunk downwards and the leg he had used to attack was then pointing up, so that a fourth, jumping Naruto could step on it as support to jump even higher.

The third Naruto supported himself on his right arm and back-flipped away from Neji. The young Hyuuga noticed four more clones surrounding him, a pair from either side, before the double-jumping Naruto struck with a powerful heel drop.

"_Hache_," Setsuna muttered from her seat. Kotonoha giggled.

Neji took a few steps back and the clone's heel hit the ground, releasing a cloud of sand and dust.

"Hmph!" The older boy exhaled, ready to break the first clone, until his danger sense kicked in and he quickly made a long leap backwards, away from two fierce thrusting kicks that would have crushed his head otherwise.

"_Rapière._" The little sensei in the audience's stands muttered.

Neji's doujutsu showed him there was yet another Naruto behind him, ready to bring him down with a low kick. Neji jumped backwards yet again, turning his body horizontally when he was above the crouching clone to swiftly slam his right hand on its forehead.

One clone down.

Using the same hand to get a hold of solid ground, he lifted his body vertically and spread his legs into a wide V-shape to parry the flying kicks of two more Narutos. Finishing the move with a sequence of three back-flips, Neji got back on two feet in time to receive the very first clone he faced, who for a change was going for a left straight.

"Don't do that, moron!" Setsuna hissed.

Neji slid his left foot behind and to the right of his right leg, gently driving the clone's strike to his—Neji's—left, using his right palm. The clone was then presenting his back to Neji, and the Hyuuga prodigy was ready to thrust his palm on the clone's back, until the same clone quickly turned his body clockwise at the same time he raised his left for a kick to Neji's waist, even as he apparently lost his balance.

The long-haired Genin broke his palm thrust to block the incoming kick with that same hand, but then the clone did something amazing.

Even as he fell, the clone harshly leaned his torso backwards. Just like moving one's pinky finger pulls along the ring finger, bending his body like that drove the clone's right leg upwards and over Neji's parrying arm. The kick aimed at Neji's midsection had become a high roundhouse kick.

"_Coupé_!" Setsuna exclaimed excitedly. Kotonoha giggled again, and even Yuri nodded approvingly.

The Hyuuga genius quickly stepped back to dodge and took a step to the right to avoid yet another Naruto aiming to trip him from behind.

His peripheral vision warned him of the same earlier pair of Narutos going for the same thrusting attack from both sides, which Neji dodged by taking yet another step backwards. This time, however, he grabbed the offending legs, eager to drop the number of attackers by a further two.

The captured clones grinned, and slammed their arms on the ground, twisting their bodies to bring their second legs upwards and together for a cross-kick. Once again, Neji stepped back, but still holding to the clones.

An airborne clone landed hands first on the clones' risen feet, using them as support for his gymnastics. The clone turned his entire body clockwise as it fell to make a double horizontal sweeping kick aimed at Neji's head. The white-eyed boy ducked and felt a breeze sweep over his hair before he thrust his palms on the two clones, promptly destroying them.

A second flying clone leapt way over Neji and reached the wall behind and from there down towards Neji, right fist pulled back. The taller Genin flipped forward and over the clone in front of him, noticing in midair that two more clones were on the way, and the clone he had just left behind was turning around to attack his back—no, another attempt to trip him.

One leg he captured between his left arm and forearm. The second he barely dodged before quickly seizing the offending leg with his right hand. He raised his right foot before the clone behind him could strike at it and then stomped the clone's gut, destroying it.

A fourth clone was high in the air, gathering momentum with a full turn before falling upon Neji with a heel drop: the improved version of _Hache_.

"_Faux_."

The impact was explosive in its might.

* * *

"Yes! He got the bastard!" Yuria smashed her fists together in her excitement.

Mayuri shook her head.

"No, he did not," Kotonoha argued, albeit regretfully. "Setsuna, do you know what the real Naruto-sama is doing?"

"If he gets that jutsu working, he'll gain a huge advantage," the Loli Queen responded, not taking her eyes from her student's still form. "But it still takes him time to properly shape the chakra. I always gave him a hell of a beating before he even managed to get it working."

"But, he's fighting _**Jyuuken**_ this time…"

"A single hit would be enough to disable him. That's what the clones are for: to hold the Hyuuga brat until the jutsu is ready."

"Then he should have made more clones to be safe," Yurisa pondered.

"If he intends to win the tournament, he'll have to fight twice more after this. He's being cautious," Kotonoha concluded.

"I believe in Master."

Hanabi shook her head. Her admiration for Higashiyama Yurimi had not waned in the slightest, but she could not comprehend what a lady as great as Yurimi could possibly see in the likes of Uzumaki Naruto.

She was too young to understand that love sometimes works like that.

"Uzumaki-san is…better than I believed, yes. But Neji-san has not fought seriously yet."

"The useless Hyuuga baby knows what she's saying for once."

Setsuna did not even bother noticing Hanabi's glare.

"Now that the Hyuuga brat knows better than to take the boya lightly…"

Kotonoha clasped her hands together.

"Now's when it gets tough, Naruto-sama. Please, do your best!"

Behind the foxgirls, Kakashi wondered. Like the Hokage, the ANBU and the Jounin who knew of Higashiyama's presence in Konoha, he suspected the Kyuubi sealed within Naruto was the ulterior purpose behind the Kitsune Clan's contact with Naruto.

However, looking at them like this, watching him intently and cheering for him, it made him think a little.

"Come on, Naruto!" Yuriyo suddenly called. "You gotta win this! Think of the euphoria! The glory! The acknowledgement! Think of my sister's pubes!"

"Onee-chan!"

"Hmm…"

Yurisa turned to her older sister, who had a cute pouting expression on her round face as she made an effort to think. "What is it, Yurine-onee-sama?"

"Hawaa…Yurine...Yurine's just wondering…"

She lifted a finger to point straight in front of her.

"There."

She moved the arm 45 degrees to her right.

"And there. And over there too."

Making a complete circle, eight Shadow Clones stood quietly on top of the stadium's wall. These were the eight which appeared behind Naruto when he created them. They had split and taken those positions around the perimeter of the combat arena, and they had yet to act after that.

Yurine's point was perfectly valid. What was up with those eight?

And that's when they moved.

"Hawa!"

Yes, Yurine, thank you for noticing.

* * *

"Hoo…" Naruto grinned at the sight of a crushed log. "So Hyuugas can do stuff other than _**Jyuuken**_, after all!"

Tenten gasped. Throughout the stadium, similar thoughts struck many of the people watching the fight.

Had she ever seen Neji using anything besides the Hyuuga Clan's taijutsu?

Well, there was _**Shunshin**_ for traveling, but…

In a way, Naruto had already scored a victory, by showing that Neji would need more than his clan's arts to subdue him.

Those who noticed this, like Tenten, Hiashi and Sarutobi, could only shake their heads at the sheer weight of this subtle truth.

Seven of the eight clones in the periphery threw kunai, and the one furthest from the original dispelled itself.

Naruto and the remaining twelve clones out of the fifteen he sent after Neji perked up.

Neji did not cease his dash, sprinting past the thrown weapons or parrying them with a kunai of his own, unrelenting on his path following Naruto's blind spot.

"You're not the only one with all-around vision, you know?"

The original Naruto leapt forward and away from his opponent, at the same time twelve clones rushed to meet the challenge.

"Tch."

"All-around vision with Shadow Clones," Kotonoha concluded.

"Good to know he at least takes lessons to heart," Setsuna mused.

"So he's learned that Shadow Clone trick…" Kakashi murmured. Should he get Naruto started on Elemental Recomposition, then?

"What?" Sakura inquired. "What trick?"

Teacher and student looked at each other for a long moment…and then Kakashi plainly looked away and back to the fight.

"I'll tell you later."

"Kakashi-sensei!"

Next to Ino, Hinata was amazed by Naruto's progress in the last moment. Her blushing face was the obvious expression of her feelings.

"Naruto-kun…you're fighting so hard…you're really…"

Sorry to disappoint, but he's not really doing this for you anymore, Hinata-san.

* * *

One clone was ahead of the others, so he obviously made it to Neji first.

As expected he went for a kick, sweeping her air with his left leg to reach Neji's head and stop his approach to the real Naruto.

Without skipping a step, Neji lowered his body to let the offending leg pass over him and unraveled the clone's form with a swift palm thrust as he dashed past it.

The other clones paused for a moment. Hyuuga Neji was moving faster.

This was it: the technique that overwhelmed Hinata, and the speed to match Rock Lee.

Eleven clones left.

The outer ring of seven clones threw a new volley of kunai, so Neji leapt forward and out of the way. Two clones leapt to meet him midair. One clone went for a sweeping right kick while the other simply put both legs forward hoping to ram the Hyuuga prodigy.

Neji leaned back so it was his left foot that met the first clones kick, striking the clone's heel with the sole of his foot to push it upwards and away, and then rotating his body clockwise to make it swing to the left and out of the way of the second clone.

As he turned to straighten his body, he also planted a palm thrust on the back of the clone he parried. Down to ten.

Of course, there were two more clones waiting by his landing spot, and a third one approaching from behind them. The two clones turned sideways to face each other and thrust their legs high to catch Neji before he landed.

The young prodigy of the Hyuuga branch house caught the two kicks with his hands and used them as support to set himself upside down one more time. The approaching clone tried a flying kick, then, but Neji bent his legs forwards as he made the flip, pushing his thighs against his belly to allow the flying clone to pass over him. With that obstacle gone, Neji opened his legs and rested them on the shoulders of the two clones, and then closed his legs again to smash the clones' heads together, promptly destroying them.

Eight to go.

"So, Hyuugas don't know how to use their legs. Right, Mistress?" The real Naruto, some distance away from the action, muttered with no little sarcasm.

**Mugyuu…onii-chan, let me burn him…**

_You're still here! I mean, NO!_

**Mugyuu…**

* * *

"Holy crap, that guy with the pretty hair is good," Yuriyo commented. "As in there's-no-way-I-could-beat-him good. Maybe Yurina can, but I'm a big no-no."

"Ah, no, Riyo-nee-chan, Yurina, Yurina's not that good…"

"My, I don't think I could deal with that kind of technique myself…"

"That's because you're not much of a fighter in the first place, Yurisa-obaa-chan."

"When you say it somehow makes me feel horrible, Yuriyo-chan."

"Yurine would lose too!"

"Don't say it with such a happy tone!" the half-Void daughter was quick to tsukkomi.

Yuri sighed. Sometimes she really, really, missed the old Yurine.

"Will-will onii-sama be alright…?"

"He hasn't given up, has he?" Setsuna growled. "So shut up and watch."

Kotonoha could not hide her amusement at the way the small girl with the large red ribbon bit her lips after saying that.

"…what?" Setsuna spat after noticing Kotonoha's attention.

"Oh, nothing, nothing at all~"

* * *

_Sayuri, disconnect right now!_

**Bu-but, Sayuri wants to watch—**

_Sayuri! Please!_

**Muu…okay…**

Naruto winced. But he knew he would eventually get hurt, and he would not forgive himself if Sayuri also experienced his pain.

The ring of clones up the wall had begun throwing kunai in a sequence instead of in bundles of seven. It made absolutely no difference against Neji's _**Byakugan**_, though.

The six clones ahead of Neji split in groups of three and moved to separate sides, then one from each group rushed to challenge him. The two other clones he had left behind were also approaching carefully, looking for the proper chance to enter the fray.

The clone to Neji's left opened altercations with a left roundhouse kick. Neji easily circle-danced clockwise along the same path as the sweep, easily avoiding it with superior speed. With his back to the clone, Neji was ready to bury his elbow in the clone's torso with a backwards thrust, but the canny chakra construct leaned back to allow itself to fall, opening room for the second clone to attack with a flying kick.

Neji bent his body backwards in a one-handed bridge, and reached for the flying clone with his free hand, but suddenly found it pushed aside by a leg.

It was the first clone he had just evaded, having also put his weight on his hands and used the same sweeping left from before to block Neji's thrust.

The Hyuuga Genin rolled to his right before this parrying clone would simply stomp his gut with its heel. Then he had to roll again to get away from a third clone's flying stomp. He easily verified this was one of the clones he had left behind earlier. The other one was still behind him, and the other four clones were making an ample square around him.

It was obvious their intention was to keep him away from the real Naruto, who was still gathering chakra for something.

It mattered little, though.

This taijutsu the Uzumaki boy had learned relied heavily on kicks, acrobatics and evasive maneuvers, obviously attempting to stay out of his arms' range.

However…

"You're just too slow!" Neji hissed right before going for the offensive again. He went for the clone he had just avoided, which took a step back and assumed a stance. Neji noticed the clone behind him beginning to move, and the four clones surrounding him were…reaching for their pockets?

The defending clone leaned back into a bridge, dodging Neji's thrust. Then both his legs shot upwards, aiming for Neji's chin.

"_Catapulte!_" Setsuna called out with a grin of delight.

Kotonoha did not lose her smile. This Setsuna was just too cute.

The Hyuuga prodigy leaned his head to the right, smirking at the clone's open back.

"You're mine-!"

The clone was suddenly much shorter. Having switched to supporting his weight on his shoulder blades and upper back instead of his hands, the clone allowed Neji's strike to pass between his thighs…which he then squeezed shut.

"Guh!" Neji grunted in surprise and pain. What astonishing leg strength! For a second there, he thought his wrist was broken!

The clone behind him was rapidly approaching, and the clone holding his wrist was reaching for his weapons pouch, so Neji did exactly the same, drawing a kunai and flicking it towards the approaching threat. Not expecting something like that from the Hyuuga, the incoming clone took the kunai straight between the eyes. Then, clenching the restrained hand, he fiercely swung the whole arm down the gap between the clone's legs, striking right at the crotch.

"Oooooooh…" the male audience's, plus Yuriyo's, general reaction.

"Why are you even wincing?" Yuria mumbled.

"Hey, I might not have a dick, but even I know that fucking hurts."

Six clones left.

"Oi! Neji!" the real Naruto called from a distance away. "What part of that just now was _**Jyuuken**_?"

He even got a few laughs from the experienced shinobi in the audience with that. The civilians were still pretty much freaked out by the whole fox-rider thing.

The two clones from before attacked together one more time. The one of the left this time held a kunai in his left hand and went with a slash to the face, while the clone on the right went for a low kick at Neji's right foot.

Neji sidestepped the latter and parried the former, driving the armed hand gently upwards with his own left hand. Then a foot rushed up to get his neck, forcing Neji to jump back and away from the duo.

He had to acknowledge: it took some serious practice to pull off a thrusting kick like from such a close range. That and lots of flexibility.

From his perspective, he now had the kunai-wielding clone in front and the tripping clone standing behind. It was this second clone which attacked next, sliding from behind his copy to fling three shuriken. Neji easily ducked and then stepped aside to dodge a few more kunai from the clones on the walls. Did the loser really think he would not see those?

The clone in front crouched down, and the clone on the back used him as a platform for a very high jump. At the peak of his ascension, he rained Neji with apparently every single projectile in his pouch.

The older Genin dodged and blocked the shuriken and kunai easily, and just in time to step aside before the earthbound clone buried his left foot on Neji's face.

"Idiot!" Setsuna hissed. "His back is open now."

Indeed, it was, and Neji was fully aware of this. He went for his eleventh clone-kill that morning, but the clone which had jumped chose that moment to land.

On his hands. On the other clone's extended left leg. With his back to Neji.

But that last detail would change pretty soon.

"_Faux _again," Kotonoha declared right before the tremendous heel drop shook the ground Neji had just been standing on.

"Aaah, so close, so close…" the real Naruto lamented.

The familiar sound of a clone being destroyed echoed twice from within the cloud of dust lifted by Naruto's Scythe technique. It was Neji, then, that emerged from the explosion site, leaving behind only a second ruined log. Not wasting a second, he went after the real Naruto, but he soon found the four remaining clones blocking his path.

"…annoying."

"Oi! Neji!" the real Naruto called again. "I see you really rely on those eyes of yours!"

As per the agreed upon cue, the four clones threw four identical cloth bags, and pierced them open with kunai the moment they reached the spot exactly above Neji.

The air above the young genius glittered with all the colors of the spectrum.

"Is that…?" Yuria mused.

"Glass dust," Kotonoha stated.

"Hawawaa…pretty…sparkly…"

"And evil," Yurika added. "I think I like this guy."

"He could call it the Twilight Strike," her sister idly commented.

Mayuri slowly shook her head. She knew what was coming.

"Gargh!" Neji grunted, quickly closing his eyes to protect them from the avalanche of sparkling color. The sun was already high enough to have its rays strongly scattered by the cloud of transparent dust.

How annoying.

Did that brat really think his eyelids were an obstacle for his _**Byakugan**_?

Still, four clones were rushing to attack him, and the seven clones in the periphery were already readying weapons to throw…

Firmly stomping his left foot on the ground, he began to direct his chakra all over his body.

A spherical cyclone of chakra blasted Naruto's clones away. Seven kunai bounced harmlessly. The glass dust, being nothing but a shadow copy of real bags of glass dust the real Naruto held, also disappeared with the clones.

Neji's rotation stopped, but his hair danced a second longer than the rest of his body.

* * *

"_**Kaiten!**_" Setsuna shrieked. "That bed-wetter Hyuuga knows _**Kaiten**_!"

"Ano…he's a little too old to be still wetting his bed, Setsuna-san…" Yurina mumbled.

"That's…Father's technique…"

Nobody really paid attention to Hanabi.

"Neji-nii-san…"

Or Hinata, for that matter.

"It…sorta looks like _**Ectoplasmic Cyclone**_, but…that was raw chakra, wasn't it…?" Yurisa pondered.

"A technique that evenly distributes and releases chakra through all the body's tenketsu, guiding it into a spherical shape by means of full-body rotation," Yuri described. "It's the kind of technique no Kitsune will ever be able to imitate. And to use it as such a tender age…what a fascinating young lad, ufufufu~"

"Shotacon," Yuriyo muttered.

"What a shotacon," Yuria joined in.

"Fat-depot shotacon."

"Does Kiyoura-san have a death wish, I wonder~"

"For a branch family member to know _**Hakkeshou Kaiten**_…" Kotonoha mused. "He must have developed it himself from watching Hiashi-kun…how impressive and admirable. He is truly a genius among the Hyuuga."

"Shut up."

Sakura inched away from the three-tailed Kitsune sitting next to her.

Yuria looked positively furious. Yet tears also threatened to escape her eyes.

"He will win! He must win…!"

She gripped her seat's armrests until they cracked.

Sakura was pretty much on Ino's lap by now.

"It's over."

All eyes turned to Kotonoha, who had her eyes fixed on Neji.

"That stance."

Indeed, Neji had shifted to a unique offensive stance.

"What is…?" Yuria and Ino inquired at the same time.

Setsuna's eyes widened in alarm. "No…! No-no way! He can't possibly-!"

"_**Hakke Rokujuuyonshou**_."

All heads turned to the extreme left of the row, and the least likely person anyone would have expected those words from.

"…hawa? Why's everyone looking at Yurine?"

* * *

"Wha…what the hell was that?" Naruto was still trying to make something of what just happened when Neji shifted his stance.

"You're within the range of my divination."

"Huh…"

Neji frowned. He would remove that placid expression of his face. He would teach this delusional loser the truth of reality.

"It's over."

A burst of speed.

* * *

Many voices rose as one. How could anyone doubt that they truly care about this 'lowly' human?

"Naruto-kun!"

"Naruto!"

"Onii-sama!"

"Naruto-sama!"

"Master…!"

"…eh? Ah, ahh…umm…bo-boya!"

Damn it, Setsuna.

* * *

"_**Hakke! Two strikes-!**_"

That was it.

Astonished, Neji's all-seeing eyes looked for something that was not there.

His fingers struck nothing but air.

And then came laughter.

Heartful, joyful laughter; the laughter of a person who has just listened to a fantastic joke.

Neji turned his head upwards, and there he was.

Laughing, smiling, celebrating.

Having fun.

Looking on from above.

Looking down on him.

"_**Banshou Tanho**_, success~!"

* * *

"Hawaa!"

Yurine was clapping excitedly.

"Dodged it! Dodged it! Awesome! Ahahahah!"

"No…no-no way…just…no…how…huh?"

"So…" Yuriyo smirked at Hanabi. "Are all Hyuugas as eloquent as you, or you're just that special?"

"Yes! _**Banshou Tanho!**_" Setsuna cackled in delight. "God damn it, boya, you really did it this time! Look at that, Koto…" Her voice dropped the moment she turned to gloat. "…no…ha…"

She was radiant.

"He…he really…oh my…"

It was a fascinating, that feeling. Just like when her daughter took her first steps, said her first words and learned her first jutsu.

Such an unbelievable feeling of accomplishment.

She was not the one who trained him. She was his bodyguard and his maid. He was the boy Yurimi had chosen.

Yet he had wormed his way into her heart…so easily…so ridiculously, so worryingly, ridiculously easily!

"My…my utmost apologies…I promise…" A choked sob. "…I will never doubt you again…Naruto-sama…"

"Damn it, Kotonoha! Don't ruin my moment of triumph!"

The taller fox-woman giggled and then sniffed. "Ara-ara, you are crying, Setsuna-san."

"Wha-?" The shorter fox-woman shrieked. "I-I-ah-ah-uh-I-I am most certainly not! As if I could possibly care about the achievements of an idiotic human brat! Worry about yourself!"

Kotonoha laughed; not her usual demure, collected, lady-like laughter, but an honest exclamation of joy that loudly and proudly announced itself to the sky.

Such happiness…to experience this feeling of happiness each and every single day…she would do anything.

"But, honestly…" the four-tails took a deep sigh. "I feared it would be over like that."

"Hmph!" Yuria tried to look gruff, but she was definitely smiling. "As if there was any doubt." Noticing many eyes on her, the three-tails shrugged and stated the obvious. "He said he would win, so he will win. Why would anyone think otherwise?"

"My, my, my…" It was Yuri's turn to giggle. "Such wonderful loyalty, Yuria-san."

And it was Yuria's turn to blush and stammer.

"It-it's not…loyalty! I…I…I just…" She pouted and looked away. "I wouldn't expect…a-any less from…my…my future hu…husband."

"Say wha-?" Sakura gaped.

"Kyaaah!" Ino and Yurina shrieked together, clasping their hands together like the silly little girls they were.

"I've always wanted to attend a human wedding!" the half-Celestial confessed.

"It's gonna be great!" the blonde kunoichi ascertained.

Kiba facepalmed.

Shrrrchkhkrachk.

Yuria frowned. "What the hell was that?"

Yuriyo shook her head. "We've been trying to figure it out for a while already."

Kotonoha shook her head. This was just too much fun.

"But, really…to think he's made it this far…Setsuna, thank you so very much!"

"Ah? Aa-aaah…a-as if I needed praise from the likes of you! Udder woman!"

Kakashi did not know whether to laugh or facepalm like the Inuzuka boy.

"Bu-but, what exactly did he do?" Kiba intervened. "I mean, that was no _**Shunshin **_or _**Kawarimi**_."

Mayuri shook her head. That was obviously Spacetime Manipulation.

"No. That was obviously a Spacetime jutsu of some sort."

Well there you go. Thank you, Kakashi.

"Fuh-fuh-fuh…"

It was a really strange way to gloat.

"Ah, spit it out already, you damn tsun-loli," Yuria muttered with irritation.

"Silence, cow-chested strumpet!" Crossing her arms stubbornly, Setsuna challenged the rest of the audience. "Do I really need to explain it with apples and oranges? It should be obvious if you paid attention."

"Self-summono-sumomo-sunomi…summoning! Self-summoning!"

"What the big breasted idiot said." Setsuna paused. "I mean, that big breasted idiot." She paused again. "Wait, what?"

Yuriyo shot an odd look to her mother.

"Did you eat something weird on the way here, mom?"

"Yurine doesn't know~"

* * *

The main family of the Hyuuga Clan was blessed with luxuries, the greatest among those being the servitude of the entire branch family.

They also possessed the advanced techniques of the _**Jyuuken **_style.

Yet, in front of Hyuuga Hiashi's eyes, there was a boy who had developed two of those techniques without instruction of any sort.

Mastery of the Gentle Fist at the age of thirteen years old.

"Hizashi…your son…"

He hoped his daughters were watching and learning a thing or two about true talent and skill.

However…

There was also that boy…the fox child.

The Jinchuuriki had evaded _**Hakke Rokujuuyonshou**_.

It almost made him laugh.

"That child…is interesting."

He glanced at the Higashiyama group. His daughters were there, but that was not as surprising as it should be.

"And the Great Mother seems to favor him. How amusing."

His powerful eyes were inevitably drawn to the former Matriarch of the Great Spirit Clan.

"…damn, they're huge."

* * *

"That was self-summoning," the Kazekage stated. Sarutobi could only nod in agreement.

He had of course seen the full extent of what happened. Right before Naruto was struck by the Eight Trigrams Sixty-four Palms, the clone standing on the wall immediately behind vanished, and the real Naruto appeared on the same spot.

However, Naruto had not used the Replacement Technique to switch places with the clone. Neji did not destroy the clone; he hit nothing but air.

The clone summoned Naruto to where it was standing, using the chakra that made its form to perform the summoning.

"I had no idea Konoha had devised such a technique, Hokage. An intelligent application of _**Kage Bunshin **_and _**Kuchiyose**_…a bit too chakra-demanding, though…but an interesting variation of _**Hiraishin**_, nonetheless."

This was the problem.

Konoha had not devised such a technique.

"Naruto…you…"

* * *

"Oi, oi, oi, that…that Naruto…he's not supposed to be this good!"

A part of Aburame Shino wanted to laugh at Shikamaru's complaint.

But the rest of the Chuunin candidates had to agree. Everyone had improved a little bit after one month of preparation, but this was beyond 'improvement'.

Uzumaki Naruto was nothing but an idiot with lots of chakra! He won in the prelims with a fart!

Uzumaki Naruto was not supposed to move like this!

Uzumaki Naruto was not supposed to fight like this!

Uzumaki Naruto was not supposed to know spacetime ninjutsu! Especially not a self-summoning jutsu nobody knew of!

"Naruto…!"

Shino raised an eyebrow. The Sand monster, Gaara, was a little twitchy, yes, but it was Sasuke that took the prize.

And Shino really, really did not like the _**Sharingan**_. It filled him with an unexplainable sense of dread.

Hence, the wide-eyed expression on the last Uchiha's face, torn between outrage and excitement, was an expression Shino found absolutely disturbing.

* * *

Neji wanted nothing more than to remove the stupid grin from that ignorant blond's face.

He was looking down on him! And he brimmed with that impossible confidence!

How could somebody be so ignorant of their place?

At the top of the stadium's wall, Naruto quickly glanced around. The audience was very loud, but he could not distinguish individual words.

Were they impressed? Had he surprised them with his new skills? He wanted to know.

His eyes found the Higashiyama group. Were they having fun watching him?

He also looked at Sakura and the others. Did they still think he did not have a chance?

From that distance, Setsuna could not tell he was looking at her.

"…do I make you proud, sensei?"

He sighed. It was a sigh of satisfaction. He got really nervous for a while down there—Neji was really, really good—, but his clones performed wonderfully.

"Hyuuga Neji!"

With a glare, Neji responded to the call.

"It's ready! The jutsu I made just to beat you today!"

* * *

"Yes! This is what I was waiting for!"

"Ara, Setsuna, you're so excited…"

"Silence, Udder Woman! Watch and witness the result of my superior skills!"

"Hai, hai…"

* * *

"Hmph." Neji sighed. "Tell me something, Uzumaki."

Naruto's arms shook for a moment. He had been just about to break his ram seal. "What?"

"Why are you trying so hard?"

"There!" Naruto immediately called. "There's the reason I want to kick your ass!"

"Hmm?"

"We fight and fight and you still look down on me!" Naruto chuckled bitterly. He was feeling poetic. "You're the last in a long list of people…who have called me loser."

"The way you look down on others…the way you assume there's no way I can defeat you! That really pisses me off!"

Neji snorted. "You are like the child who bawls when his mother won't buy him sweets."

"What the hell?"

"But I can excuse you for being so ignorant."

Naruto growled. It was really hard not to just forget the jutsu and get down there to punch Neji's face.

"I'll show you, then…" Neji declared as he reached for his headband. "The merciless weight of an inescapable fate."

And Neji then spoke at length. He spoke of the division of the Hyuuga Clan, of the separation between Main and Branch families, and of the Cursed Seal: the Sword of Damocles hanging over the Branch Family and rendering it a thrall of the Main Family. Of how his father was killed for the sake of protecting the Main Family.

"My father's destiny, and mine, were decided the moment Hiashi-sama was born first. It is as simple and as fundamental as that. It is the same here. You are to bow in defeat before the clearly superior might of the Hyuuga clan's techniques. A nameless, worthless child like you has no reason to aim for greatness."

"So? Do you understand now? Has the truth rendered you speechless?"

"LESS TALKING, MORE BLEEDING!"

"Riyo-nee-chan!"

Naruto exhaled rather loudly. "Look, I never had parents, so I really cannot say I understand your loss…but to decide something like that is stupid! You can't just decide everything is decided beforehand just because something bad happened in your past!"

"You know nothing about fate!"

"Neither do you!" Naruto roared. "Only one person I know can give me fate speeches, and it's most definitely not you!"

For some reason, Mayuri blushed at that.

Sasuke nodded sagely.

"It's not you either, teme!"

"What the hell!?"

"Tch…ignorant brat…why can't you simply accept your loss…?"

"There's no way in hell I'll lose to the likes of you!" Naruto shouted fiercely.

"You tell him, Naruto!" Yuria whispered. Her heart was blazing with pride.

"There's no way I'll lose to a coward who uses 'destiny' as his excuse to stop trying!"

"What do you know?" Neji shouted back, as his ire rapidly increased.

"You say you're a servant of the Main Family! You say you can't fight against that Cursed Seal! But that was exactly what you did in the prelims, Neji!"

The Hyuuga genius trembled.

"When you attacked Hinata, you were striking at the Main Family! You were striking at the Cursed Seal! You were challenging that 'destiny' you hate so much!"

"What do you know…?"

"But you still feel miserable, so you just decided there's nothing else you can do but whine and sulk and be a jerkass, because it's your goddamned 'destiny'!"

"What do you know…?"

"Against a coward and a quitter like you, there's **no way in hell I will lose!**"

"**What do you know, ignorant! Insolent!**"

Naruto winced. "Damn, he speaks just like Setsuna."

"People are born burdened with a destiny they cannot oppose! You could never understand what it's like to be burdened with a symbol you could never rid yourself of! To be treated as a second-rate existence! To have your entire life defined by a damning brand you never asked for!"

Neji's furious shouting had rendered the stadium silent. It was the anguish of generations of Branch Family Hyuugas, finally revealed in all its bitterness. It was an open secret; something Konoha and the entire continent knew, but conveniently ignored.

Hiashi ignored the many glances aimed in his direction.

"Neji-nii-san…"

"My, humans are so passionate, even in their misery. Don't you think so too, Sayoko-san?"

"Yu-Yuri-sama…" the ancient Void Kitsune muttered in a rather pained tone.

But there were some among the audience who expectantly watched the boy on top of the wall. Sarutobi, Kotonoha and Kakashi above all, wondered what Naruto had to say about that.

His answer to Neji's harsh statements would define just what kind of person Uzumaki Naruto had become.

"…understand, you say."

It was actually the third time he said it, but the first time he said it loud enough for Neji to hear.

"…understand, you say," he repeated. "To carry a burden I never asked for; to be ignored, rejected and scorned for something I had no control over; to be treated as something less than human."

Naruto broke his hand seal, and a fluid construct of chakra emerged from his back.

Many individual, simultaneous gasps echoed as one throughout the stadium.

Neji frowned. The swaying blue…thing was visible even to the naked eye. "…a…tail?"

Sarutobi's alarm lasted but an instant. There was no trace of Kyuubi's vile chakra. For Naruto to make such a dense construct with his own chakra…

"There it is! The Tail Technique!" Setsuna exclaimed. "Crush that whiny Hyuuga, boya!"

"I'm not finished, Hyuuga Neji!"

"What?" Naruto's sensei cried out. That was new to her.

Like a blossoming flower bud, the thick chakra tail opened and split into three.

"Hawaa…pretty…"

"Uhh…I don't know about pretty, but…" Yuriyo mused.

Setsuna's hands were shaking.

"Three…he can make three…"

"NOT YET!"

Pumping more chakra into his seventh Gate, Naruto made the three tails grow thicker and denser like their 'progenitor'. And then, they, too, blossomed into three each.

Gasps, cries and murmurs filled the stadium.

"Hawaa…" Yurine and her blonde daughter muttered at the same time.

"Ho-hoo…" Yuri chuckled. "How…elegant, if a bit clichéd."

Neji took a step back.

"Nine…tails…"

"I understand, Hyuuga Neji! I really, really, really understand!"

Naruto's grin grew wider.

"I'll show just how much I understand! **After I break your face!**"

Grabbing for his black t-shirt with his left hand, he ripped off the front, revealing the spiral motif of Sayuri's seal.

"Whooo! Take it off, baby!"

"Riyo-nee-chan!"

"_**Kitsudo! Kyuubi no Jutsu!**_"

**Waaaaaaaaai! Onii-chan's got nine tails! They're PWETTY!**

Wiggle, wiggle.

"Saa, Hyuuga Neji!" Naruto roared, stomping the wall with his right foot. "Bring out your genius techniques!"

The nine chakra tails circled their master and creator; their swaying motions a wordless threat to any and all enemies.

"**I'LL BREAK THEM ALL!**"

* * *

There was a strange silence within the Higashiyama group for a second after that.

It came to an end when Yurimi suddenly got on her feet and began to walk away; that is, until her mother forcefully pulled her back to her seat.

"You cannot just go over there and jump him, Yurimi-sama," the former Matriarch declared with no little amusement.

"Master is at his manliest and I am at my dampest. I would say the conditions are optimal."

"Please do remember Naruto-kun is in the middle of something important at the moment."

Yurimi stared at her mother for a long moment, then at Naruto's distant figure.

"…very well. Nobody can claim Higashiyama Yurimi is not a patient woman."

The rest of the group could only gape at the young Silver Lily, while Kakashi found it extremely hard not to laugh and Hinata not to choke on air.

"Hawaa…" Yurina uttered in a rather wistful tone. "Onii-sama is truly manly right now…"

"Manly, you say?" Yuriyo exclaimed. "I expect his dick to rip free of his pants and start attacking hapless innocents any second now!"

"Onee-chan…"

"Uhh…" Yuria poked the Kitsune sitting in front of her. "Looks like the tsun-loli is broken."

"Nine…nine…he…made nine…uh-fufu…fufufufu….heh…heheheheh…"

"Ara ara," Kotonoha rested her right cheek on her open palm. "It looks like Naruto-sama has even surpassed his sensei's expectations."

"Heh…heheh…that…insolent…insolent, insolent, insolent, insolent, insolent, insolent, insolent, insolent brat!"

* * *

"_Ano ne, ano ne, Setsuna!"_

"_Mistress Setsuna for you, stupid brat!"_

"_Gah! Watch it with the sparks!"_

"_Hmph! It's the least you deserve! So, what do you want?"_

"_Um! Are you gonna teach me any cool jutsu? Like, the lightning bolts!"_

"_That question is stupid in so many ways I don't even feel like shooting lightning at you."_

"_Hey!"_

"_Stupid brat, even if I could somehow teach you all my techniques in a week, I wouldn't do it. No teacher would. Never underestimate the worth of keeping a secret or two in your hand, even from the people closest to you. The power of the unexpected can bring both friend and foe to their knees."_

* * *

"Setsuna, you are blushing again."

This time the small Kitsune paid no attention to her archrival's words.

"Stupid brat…" There was no way to remove the huge grin on her face. "To pay so much attention to everything I tell you…it's almost embarrassing."

He had held back in their latest practice sessions, never creating more than a single tail.

"But I'm still kicking your ass for making fun of me, boya."

* * *

_Oi, Sayuri…_

**What is it, onii-chan?**

_I thought you disconnected yourself like I told you…?_

**Sayuri lied!**

_Don't sound so proud of yourself!_

**Mugyuu…**

Naruto held back from face-palming.

_Really, Sayuri…_

**Muu…but I wanna watch onii-chan!**

_But it's a fight. It's a nasty thing Sayuri shouldn't watch._

Waaay too late for that, onii-chan.

Still, Naruto knew he really could not force Sayuri to do anything.

When you can convince them, distract them.

_Hey, my tails are awesome, huh?_

**Um! Awe-shum!**

Wiggle, wiggle.

Naruto nodded. _Yeah, but those behind you are even better._

**Ah, behind Sayuri—TAILS!**

"Thank the gods she's stupid."

Not a very nice thing to say, but the truth nonetheless.

"Alright, let's get this thing started!" Naruto declared to his audience while crossing his arms.

Neji took a step back and readied himself for anything.

"Extension. Double Spear."

Neji ducked and two of the nine tails pierced the space where his head had just been and then the ground behind him, impaling themselves like the stakes of a camping tent. The Hyuuga prodigy stared at the two chakra spears in muted disbelief, but then his White Eyes showed him Naruto was approaching, and fast.

Using the two tails he had extended as a powerful grappling hook, Naruto flew through the space between them pulled by the tails' shortening.

Neji jumped to his right before Naruto's flying kick could break his head. Even with his back to the older Genin, Naruto offered no weakness, as a third tail quickly lashed in Neji's direction. The long-haired boy had to step back, allowing Naruto to turn around and face him properly.

Neji took a step to the left and then to the right to avoid two kunai thrown from behind by clones on the wall. Two tails then caught the projectiles and threw them a second time. Neji dodged them again and jumped back before the other seven tails fell upon him like huge whips.

A clone descended from its vantage point on top of the wall. A second or two later, the real Naruto also rushed to the offensive. Neji saw this as his chance to step into Naruto's defense and rushed forward to meet him.

Neji had no _**Sharingan**_, but his eyes could still keep up with the incoming tails, and his body had the speed and agility to dodge them with precision.

The two longest fingers in Neji's left hand reached for Naruto's chest, but their target vanished before his eyes.

"Wha-ugh!"

It was like a sledgehammer on the back of his back. The proud ninja flew a few yards before falling flat on his face and rolling a few more yards for good measure.

"First blood!" Naruto declared. Indeed, Neji had yet to land a hit on the real Naruto.

_**Banshou Tanho**_, again.

"You're mine!"

Neji had to roll and get on his feet with desperate swiftness before the tails got to him. He lashed at one with a _**Jyuuken **_strike and cut it in half, but it was just as quickly restored to its full size with an infusion of Naruto's chakra. Another tail swayed through the air before attempting a piercing attack, and Neji charged ahead, headfirst into the forest of dancing chakra.

* * *

"Hmm…he's figured it out already," Kakashi concluded.

"What do you mean, Kakashi-sensei?" Ino was quick to inquire.

"The tails are like extra limbs," Setsuna explained before the Jounin could open his mouth. Not that he minded being relieved of commentator duty. "Nine tails may look intimidating, but Naruto can't control them all at the same time…at least not with precision."

"His brain's motor areas need to be trained before he can properly control those tails," Yurisa added.

Kitsune do not have to deal with such an issue for obvious reasons.

"The Hyuuga loser is already aware of this," Setsuna continued, once again ignoring Hanabi's glare. "And he believes his taijutsu can deal with a few extra angles of attack. Most unfortunately for my idiot student, the Hyuuga loser is probably right."

"_**Kyuubi no Jutsu**_ is not the overwhelming advantage Naruto thinks it is, at least not yet. He's just about to find out."

* * *

While pushing a tail up and away with his chakra-coated right hand, Neji took a step sideways towards Naruto and went for a left hand thrust to the blond's midsection. Naruto took a half-step to his left and tried a rising knee kick at such a short range. Neji was about to catch Naruto's thigh when he noticed a tail aiming for his left side.

They had been engaged in close-combat for no more than twenty furious seconds, but it was already enough for Naruto to become painfully aware of the difference in their taijutsu technique. Even with the extra threat of the tails, Neji could keep up and get dangerously close to him.

In response to the latest incoming chakra tail, the taller Chuunin aspirant chose then to turn counterclockwise, and the tail brushed his clothes. With his back to Naruto, Neji quickly struck the other boy's left foot with his left heel. With Naruto's right leg still reeling back down from the failed knee kick, this meant he had just lost his only support and consequently fell forwards.

Neji continued his turn, readying his right hand to freely strike at Naruto's tenketsu through his open back.

* * *

"_Boya!"_

_Naruto interrupted his stretching routine. It was the beginning of a new training session within Setsuna's eye technique, __**Izanami**__._

"_Hai, Mistress Setsuna!"_

_The enthusiasm with which he called her 'Mistress' struck her worse than any material gift any man could ever give her._

"_Aaah-guh-wha…wha-whatever! Listen up!"_

"_As even the likes of your insignificant brain must have realized by now, the taijutsu I practice relies heavily on the use of my legs. As a consequence, I am often in a disadvantageous position, either due to the acrobatics involved in my techniques or because an intelligent opponents aims to disrupt my balance."_

"_Therefore, learning how to regain your posture and recover from a fall is just as important as learning how to kick where it hurts. For the next 24 hours, I'll knock you down in every way imaginable, until that amazing—aaah, I mean pathetic! Pathetic! Until that pathetic body of yours can figure out how to get back up in a blink and how to defend against attacks while you're down!"_

"_Ah-yes! I'll do my best, Mistress!"_

* * *

Naruto's right foot barely touched the ground before he turned his body sideways, to let his right side hit the ground first.

Neji's fingers struck Naruto's left leg, which he had raised to press his thigh against his body.

The tailed Genin winced.

"_Prise de fer_," Setsuna called.

"That will still hurt, even if Neji-kun missed Naruto-sama's tenketsu."

Setsuna nodded. Kotonoha had a bothersome point there.

Neji ducked before a tail slapped him away. Naruto was on the ground on his right side, and Neji was kneeling right in front of him. The Hyuuga boy's left hand was eager to strike Naruto's torso.

"It's over."

Naruto blocked the incoming attack by crossing his arms, and Neji smirked.

Of course he expected such an obvious reaction.

"Then I'll just disable your arms-!"

_**Jyuuken **_failed.

"Wha…wha…"

Naruto grinned.

"Very tough leather."

A chakra tail sent Neji flying away.

* * *

Setsuna raised an eyebrow.

"What just happened?"

"Love happened."

The Uchiha Matriarch glanced at Kotonoha, but the smiling swordswoman said no more.

* * *

Upon hitting solid ground, Neji immediately rolled and got back on his feet, wary of an extended assault from more tails.

Naruto, however, was back on top of the wall, following a third use of _**Banshou Tanho**_.

"Running away?" Neji barked, and Naruto guiltily scratched the back of his head.

"Maa, well…sucks to admit it, but your taijutsu's way too much. There's no way in hell I'll win like that."

* * *

"Smartest thing you've done today, boya."

Kotonoha had to agree. Acknowledging one's own limitations was not a flaw.

"Damn it, Naruto! That's the way of the loser! Get down there and kick his genius ass!"

Setsuna shot a look of disgust at Naruto's fiancée. "Don't be ridiculous, boob-head."

* * *

"Besides, I did say I'm gonna break your genius techniques, didn't I?"

Neji bit his tongue. It would be hard to get into melee again.

"Trivia question! How many clones did I make at the very beginning of this match? By the way, watch out."

Neji's quick footwork allowed him to dodge a series of four kunai thrown by four of the five remaining clones. The fifth clone had a kunai in hand, but had chosen not to throw it for some reason.

"THIRTY-TWO!"

Hundreds of eyes—Neji's included—turned to the most unexpected source of a most unexpected answer.

"Naruto-kyun made thirty-two clones~!" Yurine exclaimed happily…before stilling. "Wa-wait…hmm…"

A few people face-faulted when Yurine began to count fingers. Neji almost facepalmed.

"Mo-mom…" Yurina's face looked almost as if she were in pain. "Thirty-two is a ways ahead of twenty-four…"

"How the hell did you notice that, Yurine-chan?"

The childlike five-tails gave up on counting and waved her arms randomly and gleefully.

"Yurine-chan's smaaaart~!"

Neji skipped a beat. There were really thirty-two? But, where…!

"The kunai!"

The four kunai he had just dodged reversed back to their original forms.

In an instant, Neji understood that Naruto had created sixteen clones behind him at the beginning of the match.

He understood that half of these 16 clones used _**Henge **_the very moment they were created.

He understood that the other eight clones held on the eight transformed clones this whole time, waiting for the proper chance.

The smarter people in the audience even understood that Naruto had willingly dispelled the kunai-clones held by the clones which had sacrificed themselves to use _**Banshou Tanho**_, solely to keep them a secret.

Underneath the underneath, or something like that.

Neji also understood he had no time to put up a defense. He could only spin.

Naruto smirked. _There!_

"_**Kitsudo! Kitsune-bi!**_"

Nine pyres of orange-red flame popped into existence on the tips of Naruto's artificial tails.

**Wah! Sayuri senses fire! Ah! Onii-chan! Onii-chan is aweshum!**

"Kitsune Fire!" Yuria exclaimed.

"It's the last thing I managed to teach him. It doesn't work three of every five times he's tried to make them, so I'd say he just got lucky."

Kitsune Fire is not very powerful as a weapon…unless you bother overloading the flames with chakra while forcing the flame to stay small.

It is not an easy thing to do, but Naruto had experience with shaping large amounts of chakra into small volumes. _**Kyuubi no Jutsu**_ is based on that very principle. So is Sayuri's _**Pwetty Beam**_.

So Naruto could do it. In fact, he found it harder to create the base Kitsune Fireballs in the first place. Once he loaded them with chakra, he was pleased to find out the results were very effective.

And very, very explosive.

"_**Nine Tails Fire Spear!**_"

Nine tails of chakra struck the dome of rotating chakra.

Nine explosions rocked Neji's absolute defense.

**Waaaaaaaaaaai! Fire! FIRE! And EXPWOSIONS!**

Wiggle, wiggle.

Sayuri was a very happy foxgirl.

"TAKE ME NOW, MY GOLDEN, FIERY STALLION!"

"RIYO-NEE-CHAN!"

Yuriyo was having a blast, too.

Pun not intended.

* * *

While the fight was most certainly interesting, Higashiyama Yuri was more interested in something else.

While she knew she was not the only one who had noticed—centuries of experience had taught her that nothing escaped her best friend's awareness—, she was obviously the only one worried enough to put the spectacle in front of her aside to focus in this strange, unexpected occurrence.

Very subtly, so as to keep her true focus of attention hidden, the former Matriarch leaned back and drove her pupils to her left.

She was not mistaken. She could not be mistaken.

There was something terribly wrong with Higashiyama Yurine that morning.

Then again, maybe 'wrong' was not the proper word to use. No, it was not the right word at all.

It was worrisome, yes. Intriguing, definitely.

Yurine's expression…was different.

It had evolved since early that morning, and this evolution hastened ever since they put foot in that stadium. She constantly fluctuated between her usual, childlike expression and this new one, as if shifting between different personalities.

New?

No, it was not a new expression. Just one Yuri or anybody else had not seen in almost 175 years.

That sharp, attentive expression, coming from those fiercely brimming carmine eyes. The eyes of the Seductress Sage.

The Dancing Youko.

The Mischievous Lily.

The Perfect Puppet Master.

Higashiyama Yurine.

Was she finally free from the dark chains that bound her identity so long ago?

And, in that case, why?

* * *

"You're not getting away."

Naruto's tails began to grow as he pulled them back to his position. As they grew, they turned and twisted around each other, forming a screw that grew in size by the second.

"That's…no way…" Ino muttered, trembling a little.

"How much chakra does he have…?" Kiba added, visibly awed.

"Moron…" Setsuna facepalmed. "Did he already forget he has more fights after this one…?"

Soon enough, Naruto had a gargantuan, vertical coalescence of chakra looming over him.

"Ha!" Yuriyo barked excitedly. "Gaze upon his humongous phallic instrument of doom, AND DESPAIR!"

"Onee…chan…"

* * *

Naruto looked down at the slowly dispersing cloud that followed the nine explosions he unleashed upon Neji's technique. He knew that the Hyuuga boy, regardless of his current status, was still inside that cloud.

"You're not getting away! _**Nine Tails Giant Hammer!**_"

He got that idea from the straw hat pirate.

"_**Kaiten!**_" Neji announced from within the cloud.

Truly, as if possessing an unimaginable mass, the pillar-like construct fell upon the arena with thunderous rage, shaking the ground and unleashing a fierce gale on impact. The terrible threnody masked Neji's choked cry.

Very quickly, Naruto pulled back his tails and readied a new round of Kitsune Fire. He wanted to see just how Neji was faring after all that, but he remained cautious.

He did not make a pretty sight, Hyuuga Neji.

"What now?" Naruto pointed out. "You look tired, Hyuuga Neji."

It was true. With the last two attacks, the Hyuuga prodigy had taken quite a beating, and it showed. He had also lost a considerable amount of chakra.

In this kind of situation, facing an opponent who used ranged attacks, Neji would rely on his Heavenly Spin while he looked for a chance to get close.

However, he now had an opponent who could literally overpower his 'absolute defense'.

Neji began to run. Straight at Naruto.

"Ha!" Setsuna laughed at her most mocking. "He's lost it! Blast him to oblivion, boya!"

"Setsuna, that's not very nice…" Kotonoha idly mused.

"Neji-san…" Hanabi muttered. It was rather sad to watch.

"What are you waiting for, stupid brat?" Setsuna lashed. "Finish him!"

But Naruto did nothing.

With a chakra-assisted leap, Neji covered the remaining distance and reached the tall wall of the stadium. The blond quickly shot two fireballs one after the other, but Neji swayed right and left to evade them. He then ran up the vertical surface just in time to avoid the twin explosions on his back, aiming for Naruto on top of the wall.

The two tails which no longer held Kitsune fire lashed straight at the long-haired boy, but Neji's sprint did not falter as he dodged them. The spear-tipped tails buried themselves on the ground by the base of the wall, and Naruto lunged down at his opponent in an instant, pulled by the hook-shot action of the chakra tails.

Naruto's fist met the beginning of Neji's defensive technique, and the orange-clad shinobi was blow upwards while the other young Genin spun. That is, until Naruto shot two more fireballs.

The newly 'freed' tails struck the wall behind Naruto at the same moment an even more thoroughly battered Neji dashed out of the explosion cloud.

"What the-?" The startled Naruto uttered.

"Damn you!" Neji cursed, and Naruto pulled himself away with the two tails.

"Guh!" A terrible current of pain rushed through Naruto's body when Neji planted his right palm on the younger boy's right thigh.

* * *

"Damn it!" Setsuna blurted out. "What are you doing, brat?"

"I don't even know who you're yelling at anymore…" Yuria muttered behind the Loli Queen.

"Neji-kun has abandoned the collected, precise methods of the Gentle Fist," Kotonoha remarked. "He just wants to hurt Naruto-sama."

* * *

"I may be tired, but you just lost a leg, fool."

It was true: Naruto could no longer feel his right leg. Neji had shoved a whole lot of chakra into Naruto's muscles, blood vessels, nerves and chakra pathways.

_Damn it, that frigging hurt._

**Muuu…it huhts down theh, onii-chan…**

_Why are you still here!? And just where is 'down there'!?_

"Yeah, yeah, it's taking too long…" Naruto conceded. "We should finish this, Hyuuga Neji."

The white-eyed boy twitched. "Why do you keep calling me like that?"

"Maa, I guess I just want you to call me by my name. You know, instead of 'fool', 'loser' and whatnot."

Winching when his right foot fell on the wall's surface, Naruto lowered his body into a stance.

"Try it out: U-zu-ma-ki-Na-ru-to. The name rolls off the tongue…"

Naruto's body suddenly took to the air, closing in on Neji's position in a moment.

"…to kick you in the face!"

Neji moved aside and tried a second palm thrust, which came to an end when it met one of Naruto's tails. Tails and fists were exchanged on the vertical surface of the stadium's wall.

"Argh!" Setsuna was in the mood to pull her hair off. "Why did he switch to Taijutsu again? Why is he such an idiot?"

"He wants to prove a point," Kotonoha calmly stated.

Behind the two, an excited, grinning Yuria followed the exchange as she were the one trading blows with Neji.

Naruto had a clear disadvantage, being unable to move his right leg. Neji quickly capitalized on this and pushed the tails aside long enough to step into the blond's defense. Naruto avoided having his thoracic cage stuffed with foreign chakra by dispelling his hold on the wall and falling straight down. Neji ran after the falling boy, who quickly sent five of his tails to get in the Hyuuga's way. Naruto's remaining four tails prevented a rather nasty impact with the ground, but Neji's astounding speed once again surprised Naruto: the young prodigy waved through the five attacking spears and struck Naruto's left shoulder with his right hand.

"Gah!"

**Mugiii!**

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata muttered sadly.

"He totally deserved that," Tenten bluntly stated, and Hinata glared claymores at her.

The two contenders fell on the ground, and Neji rolled away before the wildly swaying tails could get him.

Neji panted as he slowly got back on his feet. Naruto did not look nearly as dirtied or battered as his opponent, but Neji had not lost use of two of his limbs.

"Left arm is out…" Naruto winced. "This kinda sucks…"

**Onii-chan…**

"That's enough, boy," Neji threatened. "Even with that jutsu, you cannot fight me without an arm and a leg."

"WATCH ME!"

Two tails made two right-angled turns before piercing the ground like spears, meaning they had small horizontal portions near ground level. To the public's amazement, Naruto stood on top of this 'holders', and the tails then grew until Naruto's form loomed a good half a meter over Neji's head.

"Stilts!" Yuria exclaimed, holding back the urge to laugh at the sight.

"Let's end this, Hyuuga Neji!"

The Hyuuga genius sighed tiredly. "At least we agree on something."

Seven tails lashed after Neji. Naruto's stilts worked by swift, continuous extension and contraction, leaving holes on the ground as their spear-tipped ends pierced it in their advance. With most of his attention focused on controlling the chakra-stilts, the seven tails' attacks were haphazard and easily predictable. What Neji did not predict was Naruto using his left stilt to make a blade-sharp roundhouse kick from medium range.

"Now he has his back to Neji-kun," Kotonoha pointed out.

"He's too far," Kakashi said almost at the same time. Indeed, Neji could not use the gap on Naruto's defense. Furthermore, for the duration of the spin, Naruto did not need to put attention of his 'legs'—they are just spinning, inertia takes care of that—so he could make a decent attack with the seven tails.

Step to the right, step to the right, duck and jump to the left.

Neji put the tail spears behind him and made a high leap for Naruto's back.

A Shadow Clone on the wall dispersed.

The chakra stilts slipped off Naruto's feet, sending him straight down to the ground.

"Information feedback," Kakashi muttered.

"What—no!"

Neji's whole body flew over the fallen Naruto…and two chakra tails quickly grabbed the airborne Genin's legs.

"Alright!"

And Neji spun.

It was a little bit silly, listening to Neji's shriek while the tails made circles over Naruto's head.

"Haa!"

No log could save Neji from flying straight into the wall at frightening speed. Many winced at the sight.

"Guh…ugh…ah!"

The Hyuuga Genin was not granted the privilege of falling to the ground. Nine long chakra tails quickly reached him and slithered around him, seizing him in a complicated hold.

"Oh-oi! What the…?"

"Oooh, this fight has taken an interesting twist!"

"Riyo-nee-chan, that's disturbing…"

After entangling themselves around Neji's body, the spear tips struck the wall behind, finishing the capture.

"Ku-kuh…damn it…"

"We're done, Neji. I have way more chakra than you."

The stadium went awfully silent. By placing his hand in his pants' pockets, Naruto declared this battle to be over.

"Why…how…how did this happen…?"

"Tch." Naruto rolled his eyes. "You're still wondering?"

"You're the super talented Hyuuga genius! You're smart and strong! You have the jutsu, the talent, the skills and the freaky eyes! Prodigies like you can do all sorts of awesome stuff! Then why the hell do you give up that easily? Why the hell?"

Naruto threw his opponent away from the wall. Tired and defeated, Neji hit the ground and rolled to Referee Genma's feet.

"I will not lose against cowards like you!"

Neji gritted his teeth, milking out whatever sliver of hatred remained in his exhausted body and heart.

"You…you still don't know…about fate…"

"Fate," Naruto spat. "What is this 'fate' crap, anyway?" Looking away and scratching the right side of his head, he expanded. "I'm stupid, so I only understand stuff I see." He walked—more like stumbled, actually—towards the fallen prodigy. "Right now I see you, on the ground, beaten. By me. The village idiot. Worst grades at the Academy and all that. Can't make a decent _**Bunshin**_ if my life depended on it, and I've already given up on understanding girls. Or youkai. Or youkai girls. Those are the worst."

**Mugyuu...Sayuri doesn't get it, but onii-chan's been a mweanie…**

"So, Hyuuga Neji?" Naruto crouched over the long-haired boy. "What is this 'fate', then?"

"Guh…" Neji sighed. Everything hurt. "Why…did you become so strong…?"

"Because I really, really wanted to beat you. Because there are people over there who wanted to see me win. Because I'm tired of being called a loser. Because I trained harder than you. You pick."

The orange-clad boy then chuckled.

"Maa, and because I didn't want to disappoint my cute sensei, of course!"

A certain place among the audience's seats became considerably redder.

Naruto laughed, and the victor was announced.

"Winner! Uzumaki Naruto!"

* * *

**CHAPTER 17 END**


	36. Party Start, Part One

_**Naruto Genkyouien**_

_**- **__**ナルト**__**- **__**幻**__**脅**__**威宴**_

**Chapter Eighteen: Party Start (Part One)**

* * *

"Winner, Uzumaki Naruto!"

There was a long interval of silence following the announcement, as if the world needed a moment to digest the most unbelievable of statements.

"He…won…" Ino muttered very slowly and very softly. Sakura nodded dumbly.

"Onii-sama…" Little Yurina's cheeks were awfully red, mostly out of holding back the tears gathering in her eyes.

She's emotive like that.

"Well," Naruto began, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "I think that proves my point…whatever it was. It got all fuzzy at some point with all the KICKASSERY!"

"Narutoooo!"

Looking up, the blond quickly noticed Yuria's airborne form…so he stepped aside.

The Higashiyama Clan winced when their former member fell flat on her face.

"I've said it before, but you REALLY gotta work on your landings."

"WHAT THE HELL, NARUTO!?" Yuria cried the moment she pulled her face off the dirt. "Why didn't you catch me!?"

"Huh, I was supposed to catch you…?"

"WHAT KIND OF FIANCÉ ARE YOU!?"

"I still don't feel my left arm! I'm hurt here, you know!"

"I refuse to marry a wuss like you!"

"Oh, really!" Naruto's voice also went up in tone. "I need two hands to carry you, but I only need one to kick your ass!"

"How can you kick someone with your hands, moron!?"

"I'm just awesome like that!"

They went silent after that, staring at each other with poorly concealed grins.

"You won."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Was there any doubt?"

"I know!" Yuria exclaimed pointing at her former clan and Naruto's acquaintances. "Those idiots over there kept swaying between 'oh, he's so cool' and 'oh, he's so dead'…it was annoying!"

"We were not," Yurimi softly muttered.

"Their lack of faith is disturbing."

"I know!" Yuria insisted.

"Only you believed in me, Yuria; you're a true friend."

"Well, duh!"

**Muuu, Sayuri too! Sayuri knows onii-chan's aweshum!**

"Ah, right, right, Sayuri too. Sayuri's the best."

**Te-hehe…**

"But, you know, you have two more fights after this. Think you can handle it?"

"Yup! No biggie!"

"Hoo…"

Naruto could not prevent Yuria from trapping him in a headlock.

"Well aren't you cocky, you puny human brat! Rub-rub-rub-rub!"

"Gah, knuckles…stop that! Ow! Yuria!"

* * *

Some distance away, Sarutobi Hiruzen watched the two's antics with a bittersweet melancholy. The feeling he got when he met Naruto and Yuria in his office had come back, full force.

The realization that Naruto was about to step into a path of his own.

_Naruto, are you sure you want to go there…?_

"…to the world of youkai…"

"Excuse me?"

Honestly startled, the Third Hokage offered a strained smile to his Sand Village counterpart.

"Ah, no…it's nothing…" He tried to divert the Kazekage's curiosity. "But, really, for Naruto-kun to have progressed so much…as the Hokage, I'm very proud of him."

"Humm…but, well…" The man in the blue and white cloak turned his gaze to a specific zone in the stadium. "Well, if he has the favor of youkai, it's not such a surprise…"

"Now, now, please give credit where it's due, Kazekage." Sarutobi's smile was genuine this time. "It was just thirty days. To learn so much in so little time is commendable. And those were not youkai techniques, save for the Kitsune Fire."

"Yes, yes…" The Kazekage rested his right arm on the armrest and placed his chin on his right hand. "That space-time technique is a simple self-summoning, using the identical chakra patterns of the Shadow Clone Technique to replace a seal or a contract…it's more like, Naruto-kun creates a contract with himself every time he creates a Shadow Clone. It's such a simple concept I'm almost astounded it has not come up before."

"Well…it's not a very chakra-friendly jutsu," Sarutobi admitted. "Someone probably has thought about it, but sacrificing a Shadow Clone like that is not something just anyone can afford to do."

"Yes…but it's that 'Nine Tails Technique'…that one is surprisingly creative. Large, stable chakra constructs like that…just from the chakra expenditure, it's A-rank, easily. But, really, that stability…it must be rotation?"

"Yes."

There was a tiny, needle like reconstruction of Naruto's Tail Technique 'pouring' out of Hiruzen's right index.

"To keep such a large chakra construct from dispersing upon release, he has to keep the chakra in constant motion. Continuous, ordered rotation is the most efficient way to go at it. It's somehow similar to the Fourth Hokage's _**Rasengan**_." The tiny, drill-like needle of chakra dispersed soundlessly. "But, then, how did Naruto stand on it? The rotation would have…"

"He stopped the rotation halfway, and made the rest of the 'tail' by densely packing his chakra together. That includes the horizontal potion of the 'stilts' of course." The Kazekage chuckled. "A most unorthodox, inefficient and unstable method."

* * *

"Yoo-hoo~"

With identically odd faces, Naruto and Yuria turned to the audience seats. It was Yuriyo, calling out to the victor while fluttering a white piece of cloth with her right hand, not unlike the damsel granting her favor to the victorious knight after a joust.

"What's with her?" Yuria muttered.

"Saa…"

The half-Void then flung the piece into the arena, and Naruto swiftly caught it in his right hand.

"Uhh, thank you, I gue—what the!?"

Yuria grimaced at the rather risqué article of female underwear in Naruto's hand. "Just how shameless can a person be…?"

"Wait a second!" Naruto suddenly exclaimed. "Yuriyo! Where the hell did this come from? You don't wear panties!"

Yuriyo sweetly smiled to the gaping shinobi and kunoichi behind her. "He knows me too well." Her smile quickly turned into a devilish grin, true to her nickname of Succubus Lily. "E-very-nook-and-cra-nny~"

Kiba passed out due to blood loss and obstruction of breathing pathways. Hinata's reaction should not even be mentioned at this point.

"I don't know that much about you!" Naruto retorted. "I don't want to know that much about you!"

"Hey! That's rude!"

"Gyaaaaaaaaaah!"

All eyes turned to Higashiyama Yurina, who had suddenly pressed her thighs awfully close together and wrapped her arms around them.

"O-Oi, don't tell me…" Ino muttered.

"ONEE-CHAN!" The teary-eyed half-Celestial moaned. "How did you even do it?"

Yuriyo wriggled her fingers in a rather suggestive way. "I've got maaaaa~gic hands~"

Naruto glanced at the lovely white panties, and then shoved them into Yuria's hands, all the while blushing madly.

At the contestant's room, a group of young boys and a girl were rather appalled by the whole thing. They could figure out the facts from the loud voices and Naruto's actions in the arena.

"I must learn that technique. Perhaps I should start calling her 'sensei'."

Uchiha Sasuke very smoothly leaned away from Aburame Shino.

* * *

Three separate jutsu, each invoked by one of the three ladies.

The three jutsu completely different from each other, but regardless, when layered together they were the ultimate concealment.

The top most seats in the stadium were covered by a wide yellow roof. It was on this roof where the three ladies from a different timeline watched the Chuunin Exam Finals invisible to all.

"Waaah, that was so wonderful, onii-danna…" Higashiyama Sayuri uttered in a dreamy tone.

"_Demon Husband?_" Uzumaki (former Higashiyama) Mayuri mused in a flat tone.

"O-niiiii-danna!" Sayuri quickly corrected. "And why are you talking to me?"

Mayuri shrugged and turned her gaze to the arena.

"Hmm…typical Naruto." The voice came from the Empress of All Youkai, just before she smacked her fists together. "But that bastard, to ride me like a common animal…I'll kick his ass."

"_She did not seem to mind…_"

"Keep at it and I'll kick your ass too, Mayuri."

"The witch has a point, though," Sayuri insisted. "You may be the Empress of All Youkai, but that girl over there is the soon-to-be Uzumaki Yuria, onii-chan's fiancée."

"Fi-fi-fhwa…what!?"

"_You're blushing, Empress-sama._"

An unexplainable force pulled Mayuri's face into the path of Yuria's left fist.

"_Ow._"

"I don't make empty threats, Mayuri." She then glared at the nine tails standing to her right. "Do you have any witty remarks you'd like to make, Sayuri?"

"Ah...uh…nah, I…I'll just go hang out with the little me, if you don't mind…"

Sayuri disappeared in a blossoming swarm of tongues of flame, harmlessly dispersed in the morning breeze.

"Tch! Seriously…" She turned back to Mayuri, who was rubbing her sore cheek. "So? Any comments on the fight?"

"_The only reason I am standing here is because you forced me to. I have no interest in that tournament._"

"Damn, you're boring. Worst person to watch sports with ever."

"_Does that mean I can leave now?_"

"Like hell you can! I won't have you killing another Naruto! No way in hell!" Yuria fiercely clenched her fists. "When I remember breaking your doll last night, I…"

She shuddered. Even if she knew she was doing the right thing, killing her greatest friend was always hard.

"_I don't see why you care so much about that soul. It belonged to a monster._"

"How can you say that?" The outraged empress protested.

"_That thing ceased to be human long before I slew him…the protagonist of 'Chuunin Exam Day'._"

Silence filled the mostly deserted rooftop. The summer breeze played with Mayuri's colorless hair and Yuria's deep black.

"…Mayuri," Yuria finally spoke, turning to the arena below.

"_Hmm?_"

"…good job."

"_I do try. From time to time._"

* * *

"Yurimi-sama?"

The Silver Lily had stood off her seat and taken exactly two steps when her mother called her name.

"I would like to use the lavatory; there is no need to fret." Noticing a hint of motion further away, she continued. "There is no need for bodyguards, either, Kotonoha."

"Ooh, ooh, me too, me too!"

"Don't say it so excitedly, Riyo-nee-chan…" Yurina pouted, still doing her very best not to show more than should be shown in public.

Yuriyo entangled her right arm with Yurimi's left, as if they were best girlfriends. "Whatever, Yurimi-sama and I are going to have some real nice girl talk now, so see you around!"

While the two two-tailed foxgirls left, Neji was being taken out on a stretcher, and Genma commanded Naruto to leave the arena to allow the next fight to begin.

"Ah, sure. Right away, referee-san." He looked at Yuria. "You heard the man. Get back up there."

"Huh? You not comin'?"

"Ah, I want to see Sasuke before he gets down here." Leaning closer to his friend, he then whispered. "I'm a bit worried he has to fight that Gaara now."

Yuria's eyes sharpened. She could see Naruto's point.

"I'll be with you and the others in a minute, okay?"

"Hmm." The three-tails nodded. "Sure thing. Just be careful."

"Ah."

Like that, Yuria made her way back up the wall to reach the audience seats. As for Naruto…

"Extension."

Using the 'reeling grappling hook' technique he had shown during the fight, Naruto pulled himself towards the wide window in the contestant's room.

"'sup, everyone." A grinning young blond greeted the other Chuunin aspirants.

Shikamaru groaned and scratched his hair. "Man…you can't do things the normal way anymore, can ya?"

Naruto's closed-eyes grin widened a bit. "Ah, sorry, sorry." Not the most sincere apology.

"A magnificent victory, Uzumaki-sama."

"Ugh, were you watching the right fight, Shino? I almost got my ass kicked down there."

"Naruto."

Our protagonist came face to face with his teammate. The black-haired boy, however, seemingly only had eyes for Naruto's swaying constructs.

"What the hell are those?"

Naruto almost rolled his eyes at the question. "What do you think they are? Tails!"

**They're pwetty!**

Wiggle, wiggle.

"Are you going to keep them out like that? It's kinda creepy…" Shikamaru commented.

"Ah, well…you saw how long it takes me to get them out on the first place…" Naruto explained. "I don't think Sasuke or Gaara would be so nice as to let me make them all over again during our fight, so I'll just keep them out with as little chakra as possible."

"Hoh…smart."

"He-heh!" Naruto is a sucker for simple praise.

He then noticed the important absentee.

"Eh? Oh-oi, Tamale!"

"TEMARI!"

"Whatever. Where's Gaara?"

She frowned at the question, but answered nonetheless. "He's already on his way down."

Naruto frowned. The frown deepened when Sasuke began to make way to the room's sole entrance and exit.

"Oi, Sasuke! I'll go with you."

"…I don't need an escort."

"Who would want to escort you?"

* * *

"There are no toilets this way," Yuriyo stated in a light joking tone.

"Hmph," Yurimi was unfazed by the accusation. "You are perceptive in the most annoying way."

"Nah, I'm pretty sure grandma knows too."

"…maybe. It is of no importa—!"

They were both stunned into silence, as they were exposed to something they had little experience dealing with.

Raw, primeval killing intent.

With the sheltered lives they had lived since they gained their second tails, there was no way they could be acquainted with such undiluted thirst for blood and death.

Yurimi clasped her hands in front of her chest and took a step back, fighting against the powerful instinct to flee. Her eyes widened a little when Yuriyo stepped in front of her.

"Yuriyo—"

"You're the Matriarch and I'm the elder, so let me do what I have to do."

"…you are shaking."

"So are you, so shut up."

The half-Void's hands twitched nervously, and voices in her head snickered at how pathetic she looked in front of a threat she could not even see.

_Just what the hell…_

Her thoughts were blocked by two screams of unmistakable terror, which were themselves interrupted by loud crunching sounds, fascinating in their crudeness.

* * *

"Sasuke, that Gaara is dangerous."

"Hnn."

There was an understanding between them, an awareness of the threat the Suna Genin represented. However, Naruto knew Sasuke remained unaware of the whole extent of Gaara's threat. How was he supposed to tell Sasuke the red-haired boy had a demonic tanuki sealed in his body?

How could Naruto make that sound any less ridiculous?

And then they, too, heard the succession of screams and nasty crunching sounds. Exchanging glances, the two hurried their steps, and arrived to a most unsettling scene.

Tendrils of sand danced around Gaara's form and two roughly human-sized blocks of hardened sand squirmed and shuddered disturbingly as they squeezed the blood out of the Jinchuuriki's latest victims. A disgusting splattering sound followed the stream of the darkened vital liquid as poured out of the sand and fell on the floor.

**Waaa…nee, nee, onii-chan, nasty water's coming out of the sand…**

This is Sayuri, the youkai who has never bled.

And on the opposite side across Gaara…

"Wa-shit! _**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**_"

Half a dozen clones came into existence around Naruto. Sasuke stared at the blond with a "what are you doing?" expression, but our protagonist had no time to explain.

"Go!"

Gaara's automatic defense kicked in immediately, and clone after clone were impaled to oblivion by the spear-tipped sand. However, Naruto only needed a single clone to make it to the other side, and one did.

"_**Kuchiyose!**_"

Like that, Naruto stood in front of Yurimi and Yuriyo, his large chakra tails stretched to become a protective wall.

And that was when Sasuke figured out Naruto's 'teleportation'.

"You will not touch them, Gaara."

The redhead returned Naruto's glare with a cold stare that promised nothing but pain and death.

"Do you…not fear me anymore?"

Naruto shuddered for a moment there. It was there again, the doubt that plagued him.

"Keep moving."

It was Sasuke, still standing behind the Suna Genin.

"First you will fight me. Out there."

The group was swallowed by silence for a long six seconds. When Gaara began to walk forward, Naruto hurriedly pushed the foxgirls to make them step aside. Still he protected them with his tails, hoping to keep them out of Gaara's reach…or interest.

"I will kill you," the One-Tailed Beast's host declared as he stepped past Naruto.

"I guess you're free to try."

**Sayuri will pwotect onii-chan.**

It is certainly true: Sayuri is most definitely the ultimate bodyguard….when she's paying attention, that is.

Gaara's sand spear had not moved three inches before it was pierced a second spear of inky darkness. Then a second, and a third, and a barrage of overkill just to break a simple attack Naruto could have avoided in the first place.

The source was, of course, the same source of the heavy breathing Naruto heard behind him.

"Like this…like this…!"

Gaara turned his head to look back when he heard a fist slamming the nearby wall.

"To be afraid…of a mere human…how…shameful…how…**preposterous!**"

Yuriyo's left hand poorly covered her face. Gaara and Naruto in front of her could see her white-less left eye, stained by the same vile-colored ink of her shadowy spears.

"Guh…aah!"

Yuriyo's left hand soon followed the right on smashing the wall, and the two where then followed by Yuriyo's forehead.

"Tch…so…annoying…" Turning her head slightly to her left, she was met by Naruto's worried expression and Gaara's expressionless stare. "What the fuck are you looking at?"

Naruto only winced at the reckless pulse of killing intent, the first Yuriyo had ever released. To Gaara she might as well call him names. Deeming her below his notice, Gaara resumed his slow-paced march to the arena.

Sasuke and his teammate exchanged looks, and Sasuke shortly glanced at the half-Void.

"Just go in there and kick his ass. I'll have you instead of him as my opponent any time."

"That kinda bothers me for some reason…"

"Just go."

"Hmph."

Naruto waited for Sasuke to be out of sight and hearing range to address Yuriyo. She was being tended to by her Matriarch.

"So you can touch the Void after all…"

"Whoop-dee-fucking-doo…"

Gently rubbing the older kitsune's back was the best Yurimi could do.

"So I guess that's the Void…"

"This?" Yuriyo chuckled darkly. "This is just a children's game. The Void is…God, I want to throw up…"

"Sheesh…"

Naruto joined Yurimi and added his right hand to the massaging. Yuriyo had to admit, even without any technique, the two's intentions made the whole thing mildly soothing.

"What are you two doing here anyway? Really…making me worry like this…"

Now that brought a smile to Yuriyo's sickly-looking face. She turned around to lean her back on the wall.

"Now that's a very good question, Naruto, my dear. Yurimi-sama, will you tell us why we are here?"

"Eh? Yurimi? What is it?" Noticing Yuriyo stumbling a bit, Naruto was quick to grab around her waist. "You okay there?"

"Mighty fine. Just don't let go."

As for Yurimi, she had just been caught out of her groove. "Ah…umm…" For the very first time in this story, she actually needed to ponder her next words. "Master…well…I…I wished to express my congratulations on your success."

"Ah, ahaha…" A blushing Naruto scratched the back of his head with his free hand, unaware of Yuriyo very subtly slithering closer to him. "Ah, but it's just the first fight, I still have two more to go, so it's not time to celebrate just yet!"

"I see…" The seconds Naruto gave her by speaking were plenty enough for Yurimi to reset herself. Slave systems go. "But, Master, regardless…it is…a commendable achievement."

A familiar feeling struck Naruto in that moment. And no, it was in no way related to Yuriyo having latched herself to the left side of his body a little too intimately.

"Yurimi…" Naruto narrowed his glance as those words came out.

"This slave…honestly believes…" She moved a step closer to her chosen male. "…that commendable achievements…deserve rewards."

Naruto quickly let go of Yuriyo so she would not be dragged down by Yurimi's pounce. It was surprisingly thoughtful and very quick of thinking considering the circumstances.

"And that would be the reason we're here," Yuriyo concluded. Not that Naruto was paying much attention, and the half-Void certainly noticed. "You know, I don't like to be ignored." She grinned. "And guess what? I suddenly feel a lot better."

It was not really true: her eyes remained murky pools of darkness, and her nails looked like they belonged to a goth.

Still, she pounced.

**Muuu, not fair! Sayuri wants to chuu-chuu toooo!**

At least she did not set anyone on fire this time.

* * *

By the time Naruto arrived to the audience seats, Sasuke's fight was well underway. Kakashi was the first to notice his arrival, if only because Naruto approached from his general direction.

"Oh, Naruto, it's good to see…hoo…"

"Whatever you're thinking, stop," the blushing boy retorted with a bitter tone.

It was easy to understand Kakashi's strange pause in his sentence. Naruto looked, well, he looked like he had just stepped out of a few rounds in a tumble drier. Both his hair and clothes were a wrinkly mess, and his face, neck and what was visible of his chest revealed a set of rather conspicuous marks.

A serious Yurimi and a grinning Yuriyo stepped around him and back to their respective seats.

"Ara…" a mirthful former Matriarch began. "How fortunate of you two to have met Naruto-sama on the way here."

The younger lilies stared at their former leader as if daring her to say that like she believed it.

Yes, even Mayuri.

"Yes, most fortunate indeed," Yurimi agreed.

"Na-Naruto-kun…"

"Don't look at me, Hinata." Naruto covered his face with his hands. "Nobody look at me. I feel so violated."

**What's 'violated'?**

Yuria glared at her half-Void niece. "What the hell did you do to him?"

Yuriyo grinned, patting her twin sister's thigh for good measure. "Nothing but healthy, adult entertainment."

**Chuu-chuu-rub-rub-squishy-squishy!**

_What the hell's 'squishy'?_

Apparently many wet noises were involved.

"Ho-hoo…"

"Stop that, Kakashi," Naruto insisted.

"O-Onii-sama…" Yurina's twintails bounced cutely when she stood up. "A-Ano…con-congratulations on your victory! It was most impressive."

"I've seen better," Yuriyo muttered.

"No, you have not," Yuria countered. "I'm fairly sure this is the first non-practice fight you've ever seen…well, with humans."

"Ah…" Naruto smiled. It truly felt good to be congratulated by such an honest person. "Thank you, Yurina-chan!"

"Ah! Waa…" The adorable lily burst bright red; that boy's smile was just too radiant!

"Naruto-kyun!"

"Waa-mgrmglrgrmbrlgle."

Yurine spun Naruto's hapless body around in an extremely dangerous way, even as his face remained deeply buried in her bosom. Kakashi did not know whether to envy him or worry for his life.

Eventually, she stopped, and Naruto was allowed to return to the world of the living. When he looked up at his merciless captor, he was met by a strange smile. It was Yurine's honest, sweet smile, but…were her eyes always that sharp?

"I'm very proud of you, Naruto-kyun."

Naruto blinked. This feeling…it was the feeling he often experienced with Kotonoha. And speaking of Kotonoha…

Yurine let go of the boy, presenting him to the two next people in line to greet him. Surprising everyone present, Higashiyama Yuri had stood off her seat to address the victorious young Chuunin aspirant. Yurimi's former attendant followed her just behind.

"My most sincere congratulations, Naruto-sama. It was admittedly a most entertaining match."

"Ah…" Still a bit uncertain of how to act around the might seven-tails, Naruto responded with a nervous close-eyes grin. "Umm, good to know you enjoyed it, yeah."

"Ufufufu…"

A few pairs of eyes widened when the tall Kitsune leaned forward to plant a chaste kiss on Naruto's left cheek.

"Keep an eye on your Hokage."

Naruto stiffened for a moment at the sudden words Yuri whispered to his ear. His eyes briefly drifted to the distant stage when the Third was seated, but he saw no reason for alarm.

The former Silver Lily returned to her seat, and it was Kotonoha's turn.

"Naruto-sama."

"Hey." The boy grinned. "I won."

The top-heavy swordswoman dropped to her knees. "You did. Are you well? Does anything hurt?"

"Ah, maa…I took a bit of a beating down there…" Naruto scratched the back of his head, and then glared at the front row of seats. "And Yurimi and Yuriyo did not help matters much."

"Master did not seem to mind."

"What she said," Yuriyo quickly added.

Naruto ignored her and turned his attention to Kotonoha. "But I'm fine! Give me a few minutes and I'll be ready to go!"

**Hehee, Sayuri can heal onii-chan with her aweshum chakwa.**

_I thought the older you said that was dangerous?_

It is. Very much so.

Somebody stop her.

**It is.**

There you go. And thank you.

**I'll keep her in check, onii-chan.**

…_how come I never notice when you get inside me?_

**Ufufu, that would be because I'm the mighty, beautiful Kyuubi and you're just a puny human, onii-chan.**

_Don't say that with that happy tone!_

"Are…are you sure?" The woman looked almost bashful. "I…am not very skilled with healing techniques, but I can maybe…"

"No, no, don't waste your chakra like that…" Naruto responded with an amiable voice, ignoring the two Sayuris inside him. "Thank you for caring, though."

Kotonoha planted her hands on Naruto's shoulders. "I am so very sorry Naruto-sama…to have doubted Naruto-sama's dedication, to have doubted Naruto-sama's victory, this Kotonoha, simply cannot forgive herself…!"

Naruto smiled. It was a tender smile, filled with respect and affection. "Thank you, Kotonoha-san." Noticing the woman's blatant confusion, he explained himself. "You were worried about me, right?"

"O-Of course! I would never…wish for Naruto-sama…to be badly hurt…"

**Sayuri will pwotect onii-chan, so it's okay.**

The boy shrugged. "If it happens, it happens. But I'd rather have Kotonoha-san cheering for me, okay?"

The four-tails' jaw trembled, but she kept the tears inside. "Of course, Naruto-sama!"

"Good."

Kakashi and the other humans watched in utmost silence, the strange relationship between Naruto and the fox youkai.

The blond's clear blue eyes suddenly brimmed with excitement and anticipation as they caught sight of a very special person.

"Good job, boy," an unfamiliar voice interrupted him, however.

"Hum. That was actually a little bit fun," a voice identical to the first one followed.

Naruto looked to his right, to the source of the two voices.

"Ah, thank you; thank you, Yuriko onee-chan, Yurika onee-chan."

Yurika blinked, visibly surprised. "How…did you tell us apart?"

"Eh? Nah, just a lucky guess, hehe…" He paused. "Wait, I think this is the first time we exchanged words."

"It is," Yuriko agreed, and her sister pouted, obviously displeased with this.

"Why don't we get more screen time?"

"This is not an anime, you know…" Yuria muttered.

"The author has acknowledged that he has too many characters. You just happen to be the least interesting and less involving in the overall plot."

**Sayuri's the pwoght…pwuth…pwotha…pwotagonist!**

Yurika winced. "Such harsh and direct words, Yurimi-sama…it's kinda hot…"

"Since when did you become an M?" Her sister wondered.

Next to the twins, Higashiyama Yurisa greeted him with a gentle smile.

"Congratulations, Naruto-san."

"Um! Thank you!"

Naruto was happy. Even if he did not get the ovation from the nervous public, this was more than enough. It did bother him that a family of foxgirls treated him better than the people he had lived with for years, but what could he do about that?

And then our hero met the Time Kitsune.

"And that, Mayuri-chan, is how you kick 'Fate's' sorry ass. I hope you learned something."

The pout he got in response was definitely the very first truly childish expression he saw on Mayuri's face since the day they met.

She had to admit that none of her visions in which Naruto defeated Neji matched the actual events she had just seen. Then again, the possibilities were infinite; to see them all before the event in question actually happened was fundamentally impossible, even if she could see multiple visions at the same time (which she could) or if she could fully control her visions (which she could not).

Naruto crouched down to properly meet her eyes. So as to not touch her directly, he grabbed the wide sleeves of her kimono shirt.

"You really need to learn to believe, Mayuri-chan. If you still can't believe in yourself, then believe in me."

**Sayuri believes in onii-chan that believes in Sayuri that believes in onii-chan.**

That was pointlessly repetitive. And an awful anime reference.

The ageless Kitsune showed an extreme sadness in her suddenly aged expression. Sadness at what? At herself and her hopelessness? At Naruto and his naivety? At the world and its mercilessness?

We might never know.

"I believe in you, Mayuri-chan."

Patting her right knee over her hakama, Naruto stood back up, leaving a troubled young foxgirl immersed in many thoughts and a quiet audience pondering the cryptic, one-sided conversation.

Finally, Naruto reached the last person. The one who had yet to address him, his fellow Genin excluded. And, in all honesty, the one whose approval mattered the most.

"Mistress."

Speaking of the Genin, those who had yet to raise eyebrows did it at precisely this point.

However, the mistress did not respond; her eyes fixated on the scene in front of her. Naruto, then, insisted.

"Mistress."

Setsuna idly waved a shooing hand.

"Don't bother me now, brat, I'm watching the Uchiha's fight."

Kakashi physically and very visibly recoiled at that, hissing at that most terrible sequence of words.

Naruto…remained astoundingly still.

"He actually has some decent moves; unlike the unsightly, haphazard thing you called 'Taijutsu' before we met."

**Can I burn her?**

Kiba winced and looked away. His sympathy went towards his blond colleague.

"Hmm…he's got the basics…and a good body. He could actually learn my style, instead of the bastardized version you so insolently came up with."

Most of the others present gaped at the rude and insincere woman; clearly remembering just who was the most interested in Naruto's newly learned legwork throughout the whole fight.

Naruto remained quiet, but not for much longer. When his voice came out, however, it was strained and very mild.

"Hmm…so Mistress is also interested in Sasuke…"

Like that, Naruto stepped around Setsuna's seat and towards the row behind, where Yuria was seated.

"Oh…my…God…"

Naruto frowned.

"What is it?"

Yuria did not know whether to look amused or disgusted.

"You are **so** jealous."

"Huh?"

"You are jealous of the tsunloli paying attention to the black-haired pretty-boy. Oh. My. God. Naruto, **please**."

Naruto's facial muscles trembled as blood rushed to his cheeks.

"Wha-wha-wha—**me**!?" His voice shot half an octave higher. "Jea-Jealous? Me? Pfft!" He looked away with a strained expression. "Li-like I co-could possibly care who—who that violent, f-flat-chested woman is interested in! Hmph!"

It spoke lengths of Setsuna's concentration, the fact that she did not hear her student's rude words.

Yuria had settled on looking disgusted at this point.

"Naruto…that was disgustingly tsundere."

"Shu-shut up!"

**Tsun-nii-chan.**

Naruto obviously learned more than combat techniques from the Loli Queen.

* * *

"Onee-chan,"

Yuriyo glanced at her sister. "What?" She spoke in a quiet tone because Yurina had done the same.

"Your nails…"

They were black.

While the taint in her eyes had disappeared at some point while she was making out with Naruto, her nails had not lost the unsettling color.

"Yeah…"

"Let me—"

"No." Yuriyo did not allow her sister to take her hands into her own. "I can't depend on your chakra forever, Rina." Still, her comforting smile came out bitter and sparsely nervous. "This…has to happen sooner or later."

Yuriyo knew. She had read the Codex, after all.

Very soon, she would have to confront the Void.

"So…" A sulky Naruto spoke to all in the vicinity. "What have we missed so far?"

There was an important fight taking place, after all.

"Ah, well…" Yuria took pity on her fiancé and did not tease him anymore. "Pretty boy can actually run laps around tanuki boy and his sand."

"Tanuki boy…?" Ino wondered, and Naruto perked up. Even he could tell it was a bad idea to suddenly reveal Gaara's vessel status.

"Ah, ah, it's just a silly nickname…ahaha…"

Kakashi shot a glance of suspicion to his student.

"But, those moves…pretty boy's, I mean. They sorta remind me of Gai-sensei, only more…um, acrobatic?" Yuria admitted.

"That would be because he is using my precious student's Taijutsu, Yuria-kun."

Most of the group turned their heads to see the newcomers, the exceptions being Setsuna, who was focused on the fight, Mayuri, who had seen them coming about half a minute ago, and Yuri, who simply did not want to bother.

"Oh, Gai-sensei!" Yuria exclaimed. "And Lee!"

"Oh my God, what the hell is he wearing?" Yurika unconsciously jerked away from the green-clad apparition. Her sister only chuckled nervously.

This was the first time the conscious Lee met Yuria, so he was obviously surprised the short girl knew his name. Gai wrapped an arm around his shoulder; an endearing gesture that also helped the boy in crutches keep his balance.

"Yes! My student wished to see today's battles!" Gai patted his prized student's shoulder. "Lee! This is Naruto-kun's most youthful friend, Yuria-kun!"

"Ehehe…" Yuria swallowed the praise with embarrassed chuckling.

"Naruto-kun!" the eccentric Jounin continued. "While it is my student who lost, you still deserve my most sincere congratulations!"

"Um! Thank you, Gai-sensei."

"How come he gets the 'sensei' and I don't anymore…?" Kakashi muttered childishly.

"And you, Kakashi…" Gai expression took a more serious undertone. "To teach young Sasuke-kun Lee's moves to this extent…that Sharingan is truly fearsome."

"Sharingan!" Naruto suddenly exclaimed. "Of course! So that's why…"

He shot a short, wistful glance at his tiny sensei.

"What is this 'sharingan'…?"

Yurine quickly noted everyone was looking at her. "Ah…if I may ask…?"

Her half-Celestial daughter frowned. She knew very well that her mother always spoke in the third person. She usually did the same, after all.

Noting Gai was only staring at her; Yurine blushed a little and bowed curtly. "Higashiyama Yurine, Yuria-chan's sister."

"Um. A pleasure." Gai returned the bow rather hesitantly. He could not just extend the same courtesy he offered Yuria to other Kitsune. "The Sharingan is the Bloodline Limit of Konoha's Uchiha Clan. It allows perfect memorization of techniques…among other things."

"Even youkai techniques?" Yurine wondered.

"So we've abandoned all pretense of subtlety, huh…" Yuriyo muttered. "Can I take my tails out?"

"Please don't," Naruto deadpanned.

"Well, yes, but many youkai techniques are a little too straining for humans to use, so it's generally not worth the effort to copy them," Kakashi answered in Gai's stead, as Konoha's foremost Sharingan specialist.

"Hmm…how about Sage Techniques?"

Kakashi blinked. "_**Senjutsu**_...? Only if the Sharingan user knows how to create Sage chakra, I guess. The Sharingan does not provide that skill."

"I see…"

The gray-haired Jounin frowned. "How do you even know of Sage Techniques, Yurine-san?"

"Ufufufufu…" Yuri chuckled quietly.

"Ah, maa…ahahaha…" Yurine chuckled nervously and struggled to dodge the question.

**Sayuri's a sage, too!**

This is, in fact, a mistake. Sayuri can use nature chakra, but she is no Sage. Many people do not make this distinction, but in the strictest terms, Higashiyama's only Sage is Yurine. Then again, the techniques of Kitsune are completely different in fundament and form to those of Toads, so the term 'Sage' may not even be truly appropriate.

"Mom…?"

The Harmonious Lily looked down at her blonde daughter. With a gentle smile, she stroked the half-Celestial's soft hair.

"What is it, Yurina?"

"Mom…"

Yuri frowned. Had Yurine not even noticed…?

"So Pretty Boy copied Lee's moves with this 'Sharingan' thing?" Yuria concluded, and Gai assented.

"Kakashi saw Lee's fight versus Gaara in the preliminaries using his own Sharingan."

"Gai…" Kakashi muttered in his 'do not reveal my secrets to the dangerous youkai' tone, only to remember the tall, voluptuous one already knew who he was.

"It's a shame that boy Gaara cannot make his sand move quicker…" Yurisa commented.

"That sand moves on its own. The boy has no control over it."

"Eh?" Yurisa looked at her older sister. "How…is that true, Yurine onee-sama?"

"Um." Yurine nodded. "You can tell by looking at the boy: how he behaves, and his reaction to the Uchiha boy's performance."

"You have a good eye, Yurine-san," Gai admitted, and the five-tails smiled curtly.

"Ah…I, kinda like this kind of thing…" Her smile smoothly took a bitter undertone. "I'd prefer children were not the participants, though…it bothers me. It bothered me to watch Naruto-kyun and his opponent hurt each other." She sighed. "But I guess this is your 'way of the Shinobi'?"

The adult Jounin did not respond to the subtle jab.

While the others exchanged words, the convalescent Rock Lee quietly watched the battle taking place in the arena. Sasuke was proving he had no reason to fear Gaara's sand-based attacks, to the redhead's growing frustration. The sand could not keep up with Sasuke's high-speed Taijutsu, and the Uchiha survivor was landing hit after hit after hit, slowly eroding through Gaara's Armor of Sand.

He had achieved the same thing in his prelims fight. However, for Sasuke to reach his same level in one month…it was incredible. Unbelievable. Unfair.

Would it always be like this? Short-lived moments of accomplishment and fulfillment, quickly shadowed by the so-called geniuses surpassing him almost effortlessly?

But, then again, Naruto defeated Neji…

"But…" Yurine continued her Sharingan discussion. "Even if you can memorize a fighting style…to reproduce it faithfully, it cannot be so easy…"

"Oh, no, not at all," Kakashi admitted. "Sasuke won't be able to keep that pace forever. He doesn't have Gai's or Lee's, or even Naruto's build."

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura suddenly complained.

"It is true, Sakura," the Jounin calmly stated. "Sasuke has not properly trained his endurance, and one month is not nearly enough for his muscles and bones to adapt to that kind of exertion."

"Fuun…" Yuria crossed her arms haughtily. "Then he's not such a big shot." Grinning, she looked at the humans besides and behind her. "Lee would totally kick his ass! Right?"

"Huh?"

Rock Lee was not used to girls smiling at him like that.

"Of course!" Gai was more than willing to answer for his student. "Kakashi, your student is fortunate my excellent Lee is not able to defeat him with his superior Taijutsu! Right, Lee?"

"Uh…" After blinking a few times to digest the words, the young boy's expression brightened. "O-Ossu! Yes, Gai-sensei! As soon as I dispose of these crutches, I shall challenge Uchiha Sasuke one more time!"

"Yes, Lee! Show everyone your youthful power!"

"Ossu!"

"They are weird," Yurika muttered.

"Extremely so," Yuriko agreed.

"Ahaha, but…" Yuria grinned at the two humans' antics. "That weirdness is kinda cool, you know."

"We don't know you anymore," Yurika stated.

"You are no sister of ours."

"Rot in hell, you damn lesbians."

"Oh!"

Yurina's sudden exclamation drew the group's attention back to the fight.

Gaara had resorted to hiding within a compact shell of hardened sand.

"Well, that does make things more difficult," Kotonoha mused.

Naruto, too, was musing on this new situation. So far he had not seen anything he could not handle from either, now that he had his new techniques.

Inside Naruto's seal, two Sayuris were also discussing tactics.

**So, Sayuri, how would you deal with that sand shell?**

**Burn it!**

**Well…yes, but, it would take a while for it to burn the conventional way.**

**Pwetty Beam!**

**Are those your only answers to everything!?**

If it works, why change it?

Naruto grinned. _Sayuri, I love you._

**Eh? Ah-aaah, o-onii-chan…saying such a thing all of sudden, I…**

**Onii-chan said it to Sayuri.**

**Little one, I'm quite sure those words were aimed at my beautiful self.**

**Mugiii! The Sayuri onii-chan wuvs is Sayuri!**

**It's me! ME!**

**It's Sayuri! Mugiiiiii!**

"Uhh…don't hurt each other, girls…"

* * *

There were two very simple reasons Kiyoura Setsuna was so focused on the current fight.

She was truly interested in the Uchiha survivor, for she wanted to know whether the boy could become a useful pawn. He was her direct descendant, after all. Maybe she could even get him to hunt the Tailed Beasts for her, in parallel with Akatsuki's efforts. Of course, that would be a rather…long-term project. The boy undeniably had talent, but he needed proper instruction. If what little she learned about him from Naruto was true, he would also need to be knocked down a peg or two.

Children must be taught to respect their elders, after all.

She still wondered, though. Just why did Itachi let him live that night? Was Uchiha Sasuke solely the last sliver of Itachi's compassion? Or was there an ulterior motive only the rogue Uchiha knew?

It did not bother Setsuna substantially, but it was worth pondering it a little whenever she had the chance.

The second reason was that she was trying to do her best to ignore her heart, and mostly failing.

"_Maa, and because I didn't want to disappoint my cute sensei, of course!"_

"…_my cute sensei, of course!"_

"…_my cute sensei…"_

"…_my cute…"_

"…_my…my…my…"_

Setsuna frowned. That was not right.

"…_cute sensei…"_

"…_cute…cute…cute…"_

Yeah.

Her body trembled, her lips quivered and her small hands nervously squeezed her cyan sundress, all this while she scolded herself with the same old arguments.

_Do-do—don't be stupid, Kiyoura Setsuna! To revel in the praise of a worthless human child! It's like Makoto all over again!_

"_Yes, Mistress!"_

Her ever-thoughtful heart pumped more blood to her cheeks.

Itou Makoto never looked at her like that. With eyes like those.

_No…no…no! This is stupid! He's a stupid child with a stupid crush on his teacher! It doesn't mean anything to me! When I build the World of DFC, then…then I…_

Then what?

Setsuna came to the realization of just how little thought she had put into life after the birth of a world of nothing but lolis. And then she moaned in frustration.

How many mating seasons had she skipped again?

"Are you alright, Setsuna?"

An automatic reflex drew the small half-Kitsune to glare at her self-appointed nemesis.

"I won't have the likes of you worrying about me, Udder Woman!"

"Ha-haa…" The swordswoman could only make a strained smile in return. "The-then, how about your cute student behind you?"

Setsuna's vertebrae complained when she turned her head, to find herself less than two inches away with a worried-looking Naruto.

"Mistress…" He tilted his head to portray his question. "Are you alright?"

He might as well have proposed to her on the spot.

With such a close up of his brimming eyes, his slightly parted lips and his cautious tone, Setsuna took a direct hit of Naruto's devotion and concern towards her.

"Ah…wha…nnn…I…I…no…wuh…kuh…kaaaa…"

Naruto's eyes widened in alarm when Setsuna began to tear up. "Mi-Mistress!"

The word only made things worse, as it filled Setsuna's troubled heart with flowers and puppies and all sorts of nice, pleasant feelings.

"Nnn…no…noooo!"

"Buh!"

After pushing Naruto away by smashing her hand on his face, the small half-Kitsune ran three steps before flickering away.

"Wha…" Naruto quickly shook his head and jumped to his feet. "Where did she go?"

"It's fine, Naruto-sama, please sit down," Kotonoha's mild tone seemed to dispel the strange mood.

"But, she was…"

"She'll be fine, she's a big girl," Kotonoha insisted before patting the seat Setsuna had emptied. "Would you sit with me, Naruto-sama?"

"Ah…um. Okay…"

"That was sad," a strangely moody Yuria commented.

"Really? I thought it was amusing," Yuriyo mused.

"I don't hear you laugh."

"Setsuna has always been a very maidenly lady," Kotonoha commented, no with little amusement in her tone. "She would rather not be, but you cannot avoid being who you are."

On the battlefield, Sasuke was still testing Gaara's new shell of sand. His latest involved scattered shots of _**Housenka no Jutsu **_for whatever reason.

**Muu…wimpy fire is wimpy.**

For some reason Naruto found that sentence extremely amusing.

"Hmm? Naruto-sama?"

"Ah, sorry, sorry, Kotonoha-san…" Naruto ceased his quiet chuckling. "Sayuri said something funny."

"I see." The four-tails then mock-pouted. "I thought I told Naruto-sama to stop using honorifics."

"I thought I told Kotonoha-san to stop calling me Naruto-sama."

The woman decided to cut that topic short.

* * *

Standing on the thick branch of a tree near the stadium, Setsuna panted heavily and clutched that most annoying blood-pumping organ. Shaking her head, she struggled to keep the tears inside, feeling that, if she allowed those drops to escape from their confinement, she would lose.

Lose what, or to whom, she did not know. But she would lose. And Kiyoura Setsuna does not lose.

"I don't…!" She barked at herself in a restrained tone. "I don't, I don't, I don't, I don't, I don't!"

"_Mistress…are you okay?"_

"I don't…care…about you…"

But her mind reminded her of his words, of his smile, of his concern, of the attention he put to every single one of her words.

"I don't…!"

But her body reminded him of his touch, of the feel of his lips, of the warmth of his toned, hard body and of the electric delight she felt when he challenged her.

"I don't…that is just…!"

Desperation. The pathetic complaints of a body which has not found satisfaction in decades.

Yes, that excuse would work…for a while.

"Granny-buh!"

Setsuna's knee kissed Tobi's face at comedic super-speed, which obviously overpowers Tobi's space-time defense.

"Measure your words! _Enfant stupide!_"

Tobi was sent flying away, but he managed to land safely on another branch.

"Ugh…owie…"

"What do you want?"

"Uuu…just…it's almost time."

"Do you think I don't know that?"

"Well, but, I just thought that you were having so much fun with Naruto-kun and his friends, so maybe…"

The masked man was stunned into silence by the tremendous spear of killing intent Setsuna unleashed upon him.

"Be silent, Madara."

Setsuna's Copy Wheel Eyes spun furiously, fueled by anger. At herself, at Tobi, at Naruto, at Itou Makoto, at Kotonoha, at the world that refused to grant her happiness.

Having 'fun'?

She was not a child anymore. She did not 'have fun'. She did that once, and it only brought her regret and misery.

"Let's go."

"Ah, yes!"

They disappeared together using _**Shunshin no Jutsu**_. Setsuna would refuge herself in her alternate identity. She would crush those bothersome feelings and focus on the only thing that mattered.

It was so close, just beyond her grasp.

Her vengeance.

The stadium suddenly trembled with a wave of awed voices.

The battle had just taken a dramatic turn.

* * *

"Umm, you know, I hadn't brought it up earlier, but I'm really kinda curious."

Kotonoha promptly turned to address her dear Naruto-sama. "What is it, Naruto-sama?"

The boy pointed at the shortest person present.

"What's with the chibi Hyuuga anyway?"

Hanabi twitched.

"Ah, Na-Naruto-kun…" Hinata was trembling for some reason. Most likely the fast succession of traumatic events. "She…tha-that is, my sister, Hanabi-chan."

The small girl only offered a curt nod of her head. Naruto blinked.

"I became acquainted with Hanabi-san some days ago," Yurimi further explained. "We met on the way and I invited her to join me, an offer she most graciously accepted."

"Hmm…"

"Please do not stare at me like that. It's disturbing."

Naruto tried a conciliating grin. "Ah, sorry, sorry…you just don't look much like Hinata. Except for the eyes, of course."

"I do not look much like Sayuri-sama either, Master."

"Hmm, true, that."

"Thank Inari for that," Yurika muttered, and her sister nodded in profound agreement.

"Hmph."

Frowning at Hanabi's attitude, Naruto turned his attention back to the battle. Sasuke was busy dodging the latest wave of sand blasts. It was getting harder for him to get close to the sphere Gaara had used to protect himself.

"What's with her?" He did, however, complain quietly. Kotonoha heard this and giggled.

"I believe Hanabi-chan does not have the best opinion of Naruto-sama," she explained without bothering to speak in a quieter tone.

Hanabi did her utmost best to look haughty. She was surrounded by youkai who apparently liked the guy, after all.

"Fuun…" Naruto chuckled and shrugged. "No big news, then."

"Master should not look down on himself like that."

"Mah, it's okay." The orange-clad boy grinned widely. "I have you to make me feel good about myself, Yurimi."

The young Silver Lily blinked…and then blushed. "Of…of course. I am more than willing to do that." She nodded. "In fact, please allow me to share a number of ideas I would like Master to try on my most willing anatomy—"

"The conversation ends here, Yurimi," Naruto promptly deadpanned.

"…I understand. As you wish, Master."

Yuriyo snickered while her sister chuckled nervously.

"I believe I will have you answer a few more questions after the finals are over, Naruto." Kakashi tried to sound serious, but his face cover could not conceal the mirth in his tone.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "I can imagine."

"Ugh…I'm bored!" Yuria suddenly exclaimed, jumping off her seat to address the two combatants. Not that they would mind her, though. "For Inari's sake, do **something **already!" She fell back on the seat. "What kind of fight is this? 'Oooh, nobody can see me in my ball of sand!' 'Oooh, I can jump around like Sayuri!'"

**Sayuri's not Bunny! Mugiiii!**

"You guys SUCK!"

Lee's cheeks and lips trembled in strongly-restrained laughter. It was not youthful to make fun of others' combat prowess, after all.

Kiba and Naruto were not as well-educated.

"You're too good for me, Yuria," our protagonist confessed between snickers.

Meanwhile, the adult Sayuri continued her commendable attempt at convincing her younger self that bathing her opponents in nuclear fire was not always the answer.

**Maa, maa, Sayuri…dear, listen to me. Sometimes you can't just burn someone. You have to use tactics, find their weaknesses and exploit your advantages.**

**Muu…Sayuri doesn't get it.**

**What's so hard to understand?**

**But, but…I'm a nine-tails! I can burn things! If it burns, it burns; if it doesn't burn...no, it ALWAYS burns!**

_That makes an awful lot of sense to me._

**Onii-chan! Don't encourage her like that!**

**See? Onii-chan gets it! Waaaaaai!**

Wiggle, wiggle.

A roar of excitement drowned out Naruto's inner voices and brought him back to the fight in front of him.

A thousand birds chirped as one.

* * *

Within the darkness of his sand shell, Gaara of the Desert…rambled.

"Insect…like an insect…Mother, do you really want to eat the insect…?"

Uchiha Sasuke was truly like an insect. A fly that refused to be swatted.

"No good….he's no good, Mother. The other one…the other one might be better…"

His Third Eye revealed Sasuke's latest strategy. After the black-haired boy had jumped all the way up to the top of the wall, Gaara had stopped chasing him around with his sand. It was getting boring, really.

He knew now that the amount of sand he had at the moment was not enough to capture his prey. He needed to overwhelm the Uchiha with a tidal wave; a barrage of sand whips, spears and hands.

But, well, he needed more sand.

"Grow, Mother…we need sand to grow…"

Falling to his knees, he gently placed his hands on the hard soil.

"Grow…"

* * *

Sasuke began to run.

"A frontal attack! That's ridiculous!" Kiba cried.

Naruto quietly watched his teammate and his new jutsu. Sakura and Ino held to their seats tightly.

"With Sharingan it is possible," Kakashi stated.

"It will not work."

Yurina turned to look at her mother. Yurine was frowning, and her left foot tapped the floor impatiently.

"Mom…?"

The five-tails did not bother to look at her daughter. "Yurina-chan, Yuriyo-chan, please hold on tightly."

"What?" Yurine's half-Celestial daughter blurted out.

Sasuke reached ground level and immediately took aim for Gaara's shell of sand. The chakra in his left hand chirped eagerly. There was no reaction from the sand.

And then, the stadium shook. A single beat of overwhelming violence.

"Gah!"

The ground trembled under Sasuke's feet, making him lose his balance and tumble down, the crackling chakra promptly dispersing aimlessly.

The audience screamed in alarm, many of them sliding off their seats. Gai hurried to grab his student, who was in a clearly disadvantageous position to resist the sudden quake.

Yuri, who apparently had not been affected, glanced to the other person calmly seated to her left.

"Thank you very much, Sayoko-san."

The Void Kitsune only nodded.

Yurine shot a fond smile at the person who had protected her, even if it was not really necessary.

"Thank you, Naruto-kyun."

She was not the only one. Yurina, Yuriyo, Yurimi, Sakura, Ino, Hinata, Hanabi and Mayuri all had a big chakra tail strongly embracing them.

"Hey! How come I don't get any help, you crappy fiancé!"

Naruto looked at Yuria's feet, strongly attached to the floor with chakra.

"Because I trust you and I know you can take care of yourself. Idiot."

Yuria was promptly blushing and speechless.

"Well, we can't take care of ourselves!" Yurika managed to blurt out before the stadium shook a second time, with prompt screaming response from most of the audience.

Yurine stood up while most were still regaining their bearings.

"You have to stop this fight!" She complained to Kakashi and Gai. "At this right, that child is going to—"

The stadium shook again. This time, tall piles of sand erupted like geysers all over the arena.

"What…sand!" Kiba exclaimed, making everyone notice the strange change in the stadium's geography.

Yurine pointed at the growing piles of sand around Gaara's spherical refuge. For some reason, her left foot had not stopped tapping the floor.

"Do you get it now? What he is doing?"

Sasuke was trying to get back on his feet when the ground shook a fourth time. He stumbled but managed to regain his footing, even as his feet sank into the sand.

"Sand…?"

It was then when he realized: the entire arena's ground had softened into fine sand!

"This chakra…" Yurisa, one of three acute sensor-types within Higashiyama (the others being Chiyuri and Yuri herself), muttered worriedly. "That boy…is he really human?"

"He's like Naruto," Yuria revealed, and the boy in question facepalmed.

"Yuria!"

"Wa-wait, what do you mean, like Naru-gyah!"

The ground shook a fifth and last time, interrupting Ino's inquiry and making her bite her tongue.

"Naruto-san, please hold my daughter tightly!"

Yurisa placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder…and it effortlessly pushed the little youkai to the side.

"Eh?" The blonde four-tails looked down at her child. "Ma-Mayuri!"

Those who could see her were shocked by Mayuri's appearance.

While her body slumped to the side, clearly disconnected from any conscious control, the small girl's eyes remained open; widely dilated in an expression of unspeakable terror.

"Mayuri-chan!" Naruto exclaimed. "Damn it, what the hell…?"

**The tail! Onii-chan, pull the tail away!**

"Eh?" He looked at the tail of pure chakra still strongly wrapped around the two-tails' tiny body. "Ah-damn it!"

Under the audience seats, in the candidates' waiting room, Shikamaru and Shino looked at each other, making sure the other was in one piece, before glancing at the Suna siblings, who looked like they wanted to be anywhere but in that stadium.

"GAHAHAHAHAHAHA! UCHIHA SASUKE!"

Gargantuan pillars of sand burst out of the ground, swaying and building bridges between each other, driving by Gaara's nonsensical whims. Sasuke looked in alarm at the sheer magnitude of this new threat, holding back on his second and last Chidori of the day.

Realizing he was still feet deep in extremely dangerous sand, he leapt away and back to the relative safety of the stadium walls.

"Sa-Sasuke-kun…" Sakura called weakly.

"This is insane…" Kiba muttered in mild shock. Gaara had truly gained an overwhelming advantage.

"Was that Doton?" Yuria wondered; a little miffed that, being a Mountain Kitsune she was unable to do such a thing.

"No," Kakashi explained. "He's sent strong pulses of chakra into the ground, compressing and then breaking it apart. To think he can do such a thing…"

"UCHIHA SASUKE!"

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura screamed when Gaara unleashed pandemonium upon the last Uchiha.

Sasuke was fast, and he could dodge the massive streams of sand that pounded the walls with fearsome force every time they missed him. However, as long as he stayed on the wall, his escape routes were limited and predictable.

"Ah!" Sasuke gasped when he found his right foot seized by a tendril of sand.

"He got'im!" Yuria exclaimed.

"No!" Naruto called out, but to no avail.

In the time of a blink, Sasuke was flung to the opposite end of the circular wall. His body smashed the concrete with tremendous force, and those in the audience who were still more worried about the battle than about themselves gasped in unison.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted. "Damn it, referee!"

Genma technically needed confirmation before making any announcements, but common sense told him that, even if Sasuke was still conscious—or alive—after that, there was no way he would be in condition to put up a fight.

"Wi-winner, Gaara of the—"

The stadium unexpectedly shook again, and Genma was brought down to one knee.

"UCHIHA SASUKE!"

"He's lost it!" Temari exclaimed. "Why is this happening?"

Half a dozen behemoths of sand swirled like gigantic desert worms around Gaara's shell, gaining velocity and spelling Sasuke's doom.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura cried for the aid of the first and only person she could think of.

"DISAPPEAR!" The berserk Jinchuuriki unleashed his colossal, shapeless sculptures after roughly Sasuke-shaped pile of sand attached to the wall.

"Damn it!" Kakashi cursed as he readied his chakra. There was no way he could make it…!

"_**AEGIS!**_"

The six irregular pillars slammed the wall with thunderous force, completely covering it in an ochre layer which rose like a tsunami past the wall's upper edge and fell upon the audience on that side like tropical rain, unleashing panic that far surpassed the reaction to Naruto's new powers. The impact was fierce enough to shake the stadium a seventh time. Almost everything on the impact side was sent to the floor.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura repeated. "Where is…?"

"WHERE IS THE BLOOD?" Gaara's vicious cry silenced the stadium. "WHERE IS YOUR BLOOD; UCHIHA SASUKE?"

"Amazing…"

Naruto's eyes sought Kotonoha. The busty swordswoman was staring at the impact point with the eyes of one who has witnessed a miracle.

"I had heard the tales…but I had never seen it…with my own eyes…"

The others also could see it: a glowing sphere of eerie, almost unholy silver light, seemingly undisturbed by the terrible attack it had just received. Strange figures, disturbingly anthropomorphic, danced over the sphere's surface, howling and moaning and cursing their dark fate.

"Wha…" The strange sight made Ino shudder. "What kind of jutsu is that?"

Kakashi and Gai slowly shook their heads. In all their dealings with youkai, they had never seen such a thing.

"A jutsu I would have never shown to you humans," Yuri admitted with a steeled voice. "And a jutsu only one member of our Clan can use."

She then looked at the one who had invoked that technique. Her left hand was still extended in that direction.

"I am terribly sorry, Mother," Higashiyama Yurine confessed. "But no child will ever die in my presence."

She then looked at Kakashi.

"Go get him! He is still covered by sand…"

Kakashi was about to do exactly that, when new unexpected event interrupted him and caught everyone's attention.

Pristine, white feathers rained upon the stadium.

Yuri could not stop herself from giggling at the sight.

"Ara, how cute."

* * *

**CHAPTER 18 - To be continued  
**


	37. Party Start, Part Two

_**Naruto Genkyouien**_

_**- **__**ナルト**__**- **__**幻**__**脅**__**威宴**_

**Chapter Eighteen: Party Start (Part Two)  
**

* * *

Pristine, white feathers rained upon the stadium.

Yuri could not stop herself from giggling at the sight.

"Ara, how cute."

She glanced at her daughters and grand-daughters, pleased to see they were watching the gentle rain with nothing other than mild confusion.

"Yurisa, dear, would you mind?" She paused. "Oh, and make sure to not dispel it completely; it will not do for the human cattle to go into a panic. Better to let them sleep."

"Ye…yes, mother. _**Spectral Counterforce**_."

Kakashi and Gai could only glare at the woman while they canceled the Genjutsu's effect on themselves. Sakura and Hinata showed commendable quick-thinking, grabbing Ino and Kiba, respectively, before using the standard dispelling technique.

"Ah…sleepy…" Tenten blurted out weakly. "Shtoopid…Gai-sensei…never taught me…Jushteesh…"

**Magical Dispel.**

Tenten shook her head to fully regain her bearings after a faint pinkish aura washed over her. "Thanks, pal."

She did her best to ignore Hinata's fearsome glare. Fortunately, the situation was such that nobody listened to the talking magical artifact.

Naruto, who was struggling to stay on his feet, suddenly found his mind cleared and two different people holding his hands.

"Please remind me to teach you how to deal with techniques like this, Naruto-sama," Kotonoha quickly pointed out wither usual gentle smile.

"Master, I'm so ashamed of myself," Yurimi, on the other side, sounded a little frantic. "I should have acted earlier—ah…"

Naruto tenderly caressed her right cheek, and Yurimi felt her knees weaken.

"Thank you, Yurimi. Really, I'm worthless when it comes to Enchantments."

Yuriyo would disagree.

"So, what's going on?"

"Such a crude attempt at Enchantment is obviously the work of a human," Yuri declared, and many people rolled their eyes.

"Actually, to cover such a wide area, and affect so many…is quite commendable…"

Gods bless you, Yurisa.

"Anyway, I will ask you to—oh, for Inari's sake."

A silver tail lashed at great speed, promptly impaling the Sound nin looming behind Naruto's loudly-snoring fiancée. Instead of blood or guts, however, what came out attached to the tail as it retracted was a vaguely humanoid construct of unfathomable energy. At the same time the lifeless body slumped down on the floor, Yuri examined the extracted soul with a bored expression.

"Not even worth my time. Better luck next life, dear."

Like that, the soul dispersed into the air, leaving the realm of the living to take the long trek towards the Sanzu River.

Before any of the humans present could comment on the undeniably horrific event they had just witnessed, a pillar of sand quickly claimed their attention.

"UCHIHA SASUKE!"

"Tch!"

Yurine exploded in motion, reaching the wall the barely conscious young boy remained attached to.

"_**Aegis!**_"

A normal (compared to the last one) spherical barrier of silvery chakra protected both Kitsune and human from the onslaught of sand. The former Silver Lily watched the clash impassively.

"Oh well." She turned to the sleeping foxgirl. "Would anybody please wake my depressingly inept and exiled daughter up?"

A second explosion, this time from the Hokage's stand, interrupted the current flow of events.

"Oh dear," Yuri mused. "No time, it seems. I must ask you to follow me, lilies. Please stay close together."

And then, she disappeared.

"_**Ghost Step**_," Yurimi inferred, then turning to her beloved. "Master."

Naruto was having trouble keeping up, but he paid attention. She had said so, had she not? To keep an eye on the Hokage…

"Please hold tight, Mayuri-chan," Yurisa instructed her daughter before following after her mother with the same technique. The three-tailed twins wordlessly flickered away. Sayoko had already disappeared and nobody had noticed.

"Please follow Mother and summon me once you make it there. I will wake Yuria."

"Ah!" He nodded eagerly. That was a plan he could follow. "Sure!"

"Kotonoha," the young Matriarch continued, and the four-tails nodded.

"I understand," she declared before making a half-seal and departing with the "mundane" _**Shunshin no Jutsu**_.

"Summon us too!" Yuriyo quickly added before he left. "We can't use _**Ghost Step**_!"

"Got it."

Fixing his eyes on his destination, Naruto pumped chakra into his artificial tails.

"Extension!"

Fire tails as spears crossed the air and impaled themselves on the rooftop mere yards away from where he could vaguely see the Third's figure. He was surrounded; what the hell were the guards doing?

* * *

The sand receded, revealing Yurine's unharmed figure. Her left hand's fingers wildly drummed on her left thigh for no apparent reason. Reaching outwards, she felt the boy, Uchiha Sasuke's chakra. It relieved her to know he was still alive. The problem was, then, the redhead on the middle of the arena.

Defeating him was not really an issue; Yurine simply refused to raise a hand against a child, even such an obviously unhinged one. However, she could not help but wonder about the strange feeling of his chakra. Yuria had said this boy was like Naruto-kyun. Did she mean…?

"Youkai…" she muttered, just before pulling Sasuke out of the pile of sand that held it to the wall and jumping away from the giant hammer of sand aimed at them.

An unnatural sandstorm rapidly filled the arena. Wild cyclones of sand streamed the air like hungry dragons dancing in mad revelry. Yurine did not fear them. If anything, forcing her to keep dodging only made her stronger.

* * *

At the same time Naruto shot to the air, pulled by his chakra tails' hook-shot effect, Yurimi poked her older sister's forehead, injecting a minimal amount of chakra to disrupt the foreign influence acting on her brain.

"Uhn…ugh…"

"It seems Yuria-san does not respond to the standard procedure," Yurimi suddenly stated. "I shall proceed with harsher measures."

"A-Ano, I think Yuria-san's waking up just fine…"

Yurina's words did not stop Yurimi from slapping the three-tails. Hard.

Yuriyo snickered.

"OW! Wha-what the fuck!?"

Yurimi's lips trembled. Just a little.

"Oh my. It appears my original assessment was incorrect. My utmost apologies, independent Kitsune Yuria-san."

"I'll 'assess' you just fine, you little—"

The four foxgirls disappeared, and suddenly Hyuuga Hanabi was the only one standing on the front row.

"What's going on—kyah!" Ino's shriek was interrupted by Gai blowing a Suna nin away with his mighty Leaf Whirlwind.

"As you can see, we have entered a combat situation against the united forces of Oto and Suna," Kakashi calmly explained as he stood guard to the left of the young Genin. Some distance away, a trio of enemy shinobi pondered their options. "Hyuuga Hinata-san, I must ask you to guide your sister to the shelters."

"Ah, of-of course!"

Hanabi remained silent. She did not like it, but she knew it was the proper course of action.

"She can't possibly go alone. I'll go with them."

"Yosh!" Gai stood on guard to Sakura's right, in case an enemy tried anything funny with the young rookies. "Tenten, I'll leave Neji-kun's young cousins to you!"

"You three," Kakashi then addressed Sakura, Ino and Kiba. "Get Sasuke and hide him. He's in no condition to do anything right now. We'll clean up here and then we'll do something about Gaara."

"Ye-yes, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura stiffly stood up. Ino and Kiba nodded; the former visibly more nervous than the latter. The sounds of explosions reached them from beyond the stadium's walls, telling them that the battle was quickly spreading throughout the village.

At the same time the children moved, the two experienced Jounin exchanged nods and moved to the offensive.

* * *

"Ufufufufu~"

Sarutobi suppressed the strong urge to groan.

Like a wraith stepping through the boundary of the material and the ephemeral, Yuri stepped out of the ether and stood next to the Third Hokage. Yurisa, Mayuri, Yuriko, Yurika, Sayoko and Kotonoha appeared a moment later.

The panoply of twenty-three tails made Orochimaru and his minions flinch noticeably.

Naruto was a living arrow soaring through the air. Other than the Third, there was another person near him. And those four around him…what was the deal with those?

A trio of ANBU was also approaching, but he would make it first.

The Snake Sannin quickly regained his cool.

"What are you waiting for, fools?" He lashed at his guards. "Raise the barrier, now!"

Naruto made it to the rooftop just before a violet wall of chakra isolated it from further physical entry.

"Naruto…!" The Third called.

"_**Kuchiyose no Jutsu!**_"

Nine more tails joined the panoply.

"Hmm…so, the Kyuubi boy has truly embraced his demonic power. I really should have killed you in the Forest of Death."

"Pfft." Naruto snorted. "If Kyuubi is a demon, then I'm a ballerina."

"A damn good one," Yuriyo promptly added.

Our protagonist then tilted his head in confusion. "And who the heck are you?"

"Mr. Gonna-Get-His-Ass-Kicked, that's who!" Yuria barked excitedly, cracking her knuckles with utmost eagerness.

"Why are you even here?" Hiruzen asked quietly, to which Yuri responded with mock hurt.

"I come this far to show my appreciation for your hospitality and this is what I get? Gosh, you humans are so ungrateful."

"So…what's the deal now?" Yuriko intervened, before addressing Orochimaru. "Um, no offense, mister; I am sure you are most talented in the villainous arts and extremely skilled in all sorts of fancy ninja techniques. The point is, well…this is kind of overkill."

"Well, what about this barrier thingy and those four?" Yuriyo proposed. "They look kind of bad news; look, that mask guy got burned."

Indeed, just outside the barrier, two ANBU pointlessly tried to aid their third member who did not bother stopping when the wall came into being.

"I'm sure Yurisa can break this barrier just fine," Yuria proposed.

"Ah, I…I don't know…" the four-tails mused. "It's a Combination Technique, and there are four of them…"

"Oh, stop it with the fake modesty, it's disgusting," Yuria countered.

"Alright, so Yurisa breaks the barrier," Yuriyo agreed. "Then I pick freaky six-arms guy! He looks funny!"

"Onee-chan! That's awfully rude! And you're not a front-liner…"

"Okay, so **you** get freaky six-arms guy."

"Wha-no-no! Yurina…Yurina doesn't like fighting…"

"The twins can get the Twilight auction reject—"

"Eeeh?" Yurika was quick to complain. "No way! Can't we have the chick?"

"Nope!" Yuriyo immediately denied their request. "She's obviously the weakest, so she's Yurimi's."

"I'll show you weak, you syphilitic cunt!"

"See? She's perfect!"

"How exactly?" Yuria muttered.

The half-Void finally pointed at Jiroubou. "And Yuria, of course, gets fatass over there. You can play sumo together or something."

"Har har."

"What about their boss, then?" An honestly curious Kotonoha inquired. She had some knowledge of who was who in the Shinobi World, and she had recognized Orochimaru.

"Ah, well, he's the Big Bad, so we leave that fight to our Big Damn Heroes," Yuriyo calmly explained, before shooting odd looks at Sarutobi and Naruto. "Then again, here we have an old coot…"

"Oi."

"…and a brat who won't have sex with me…"

"OI!"

"…so maybe you can give them a tail or two…?"

Kotonoha stifled a giggle. "I'll do my best."

"Hmm…" Yurimi meditated on her nephew's suggestions. "…maybe I should consider you for the role of Master Strategist of Higashiyama."

"I live to serve the clan—OW!" Yuriyo declared most solemnly before she was smacked on the crown of her head by a chakra tail.

"Read the goddamned mood already!"

Nice tsukkomi, Naruto-kyun.

* * *

The end of this miracle, like all miracles (well, not really), came with a headache.

"Guh…!" Yurine faltered for a second, suddenly struck by a very strong migraine; an action that almost cost her hers and Sasuke's life. Still, she managed to jump away from the latest assault from Gaara's animated sand.

"Is…Is this it, then?" She muttered forlornly.

Of course she had noticed. She knew, however, that this miracle, whatever the cause may be—though she had a good idea why it had happened—, would not last forever. That is why she feigned ignorance of her "change".

It would not do to break her daughters' hearts so viciously.

"Yurine-san!"

Kiba, Ino and Sakura landed behind her.

"Kiba-kun."

"We'll take Sasuke! We'll get him away from this place."

The fox-woman nodded. "Sounds like a plan—"

"DISAPPEAR!"

"_**Aegis**_."

Once again, a fierce tempest of sand clashes against Yurine's _**Aegis of the Soul**_.

Even while the barrier stood firm against the onslaught, Yurine took the time to turn her back to it and put Sasuke on Kiba's arms.

"Get away the moment he stops attacking. I'll cover you."

"Um!"

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura was visibly worried by his mangled appearance.

"Damn, he took a nasty blow…" Ino stated the obvious.

That was when the sand relented.

"Move!"

But that was also when Temari and Kankuro landed on the arena, opposite from Gaara.

Yurine almost moaned in frustration while her fingers drummed on her left side. Where were the evil super villains? She could deal with those!

Shino and Shikamaru then dropped in front of the other Genin.

"Shino to the rescue."

"Shino-kun…" Ino muttered in amused exasperation.

Baki and Kabuto then appeared behind Gaara's siblings, and Yurine's expression brightened.

Evil-looking adults! About damn time!

Then Kakashi and Gai landed in front of Shino and Kiba, and she almost face-faulted.

She really wanted to ask why they stepped into the pincer attack, but she knew it was not the best of times.

"Take Gaara and get away from here," Baki declared.

"Why don't you just ask us to kill ourselves?" Kankuro growled back. "If anything, it would be less painful."

"I thought the plan was letting Gaara loose in the middle of Konoha…?" Kabuto pointed out.

"Not like this," Baki countered. "We'll only die like this; he has to calm down."

"Maybe, if we could get him out of that shell, he would listen to us…?" Temari proposed.

"And just how do you plan to do that?" Her brother was quick to argue.

"I can."

Everybody focused on Yurine, who absentmindedly punched away a sickle of sand aiming to decapitate her.

"If it's just breaking the shell…" Her left hand's fingers still drummed on her waist, while her right hand aimed an Aegis behind her to stop another massive wave of animated sand. "I think I can do it."

* * *

"That's…that's pretty damn creepy, alright…"

Such was Yuria's opinion after Orochimaru was kind enough to reveal his finished immortality jutsu. They were no longer being challenged by an evil-looking man, but by an evil-looking, porcelain-faced young girl.

"Damn, she's kinda hot."

"I'll pretend I did not hear that, Yurika," Yuri muttered halfheartedly.

Two steps behind the others, the ever inconspicuous Kurosaki Sayoko perked up when a placid voice filled her mind.

* * *

"_It seems I won't be able to stay myself much longer, Sayoko-san…"_

Yurine hopped from side to side as if trying to warm up her body. She knew she was getting odd looks from the children, but such was the prize of power. Sometimes you just have to make yourself look like a fool.

"_When the time comes…I beg you, please protect my family."_

She knew there would be no answer from the ancient Void Kitsune. She had done everything she could afford to do at that moment. She might as well make her exit.

"Don't waste a moment and do what you have to as soon as I break that shell," she demanded.

Kakashi and Gai nodded. They knew they could break through Gaara's defense themselves, but they could not just leave the children unguarded with Kabuto and the Suna nin right in front of them. If the fox-woman was willing to make the chakra expense, who were they to complain?

Not Baki, that's for sure.

"Stop! Like we'll let you do whatever you want—"

"_**Kokuyoureirou**_."

The Obsidian Spirit Prison Higashiyama Yuri had used on the adult Sayuri some days earlier captured the enemy group of four faster than they could jump away from it. The surprise element helped a lot, of course.

"Well, now that's awfully convenient," Kakashi admitted, glancing at the dark chakra cage before turning to Yurine. "So, how long it will take for you to…?"

"_**Shinzoku**_."

The air exploded.

* * *

The battle in the stadium was paralyzed when a deafening shockwave rippled through the entire structure and past it into Konoha proper. Sakura and Ino shrieked, fearing their eardrums had shattered like brittle glass. Kiba had to hold his pup so it would not be blown away.

**Waaaaai! Expwosion!**

_Not now, Sayuri._

The resulting sound burst startled the large group on the rooftop, even.

"What the hell was THAT?" Yuria exclaimed.

"I would say…" Kotonoha mused. "That was the speed of sound being broken."

"Sonic boom," Yuri stated clearly.

Sarutobi grimaced as he tried to get a view of the arena. "What's going on down there…?"

"Oi, Rina…" Yuriyo leaned closer to her sister. "Mom's still down there."

The half-Celestial's smile came out somehow bitter. "Mother will be fine."

"Until she trips on air, yes!" Yuriyo hissed. It was strange of her to be the one worried about their mother for once.

"Mother will be fine," Yurina repeated, wondering why she felt so ticklish in her corners of her eyes.

Gaara…was a little stunned.

You see, the cocoon of densely packed sand reinforced with chakra…was not there anymore. It had dispersed like cotton spores in the spring breeze.

Yurine was standing on the opposite side of the arena, having apparently moved its entire diameter at sound-barrier-breaking speed. She released a long exhalation as she felt the empowering effect of Sage Mode (Dancer Mode, in her own terms) wearing off. Then she inhaled…and looked around.

"…hawa?"

* * *

"HAWAWAAAAAAN!"

Yurine's voice climbed over the sounds of battle and filled the stadium with her pathetic bawling.

Yuri scratched her right cheek. "Oh dear. Naruto-sama, if you would be so kind."

The boy rolled his eyes. "You know I like you girls, but summoning the whole lot of you takes quite a bit of chakra…and by a bit, I mean I'm feeling kinda dizzy now…"

Still, he summoned her, and the white cloud was just on its way upwards when Yurine's strong arms wrapped around Naruto's waist. The five-tails was seated on the rooftop's surface, bawling and shaking the young Genin's body.

"Hawaaaan! Hawawaaaan!"

"Hai, hai, petting, petting~"

"Hawaaan~"

"So fast!" Yuriyo's outburst in response to her mother's instant mellowing.

**Mugyuu…**

_Yeah, yeah, sorry about that._

A deeper, more womanly voice echoed in Naruto's mind then.

**Mugyuu…**

_You too!?_

"Tch!" Orochimaru spat right before his arms began to move. Enough foolishness, he said!

Yuri's chakra perception gave her a troublesome warning. _This chakra…_

"Aegis, now!" She called out, pulling Yurimi close to her so that she, like the Third Hokage, would also be protected by her _**Aegis of the Netherworld**_.

A plethora of chakra barriers came into shape, all of them closely gathered together. Kotonoha was quick to protect Naruto with her own _**Rapidstream Aegis**_.

"_**Kuchiyose: Edo Fuumetsu**_."

Multiple wooden coffins emerged around the Snake Sannin, one for each of his potential enemies, and an innumerable swarm of eerie hands of purplish energy emerged from within the caskets to lash at the two humans and the Kitsune Clan.

Orochimaru's jutsu showed the clear difference between the different levels of Aegis. While those hands with came in contact with Yuri's barrier or Sayoko's _**Aegis of Oblivion **_disintegrated on contact, Yurisa's and Kotonoha's barriers were taking a pounding. The shadowy hands seemed to have a measure of intellect, some giving up on Yuri and her wards to focus on those that seemed like they might succumb.

"This…jutsu…strong!" Yurisa gasped even as she pumped more chakra into her defense. She would never, absolutely, let those things reach her daughter.

Yuriko and Yurika were fortunate. Their original _**Synchronic Aegis**_ was stronger than the mere sum of their individual techniques, and it stood strong against the onslaught. Holding hands to allow their chakra frequencies to resonate, the lovers firmly resisted Orochimaru's attack.

Meanwhile, Yurina and Yuriyo watched in subdued amazement the same barrier which had protected Sasuke just minutes before. Two-dimensional misshapen faces moaned their sad fate, their souls spent away to fuel the powerful barrier. This was Higashiyama Yurine's original _**Aegis**_ _**of the Damned**_, the one and only Aegis that can be centered on others rather than on the caster.

"Yurine's a good mama!" the grinning five-tails declared with a proud smirk, even as she was protected by Kotonoha's Aegis.

"Guh…do not…do not worry, Naruto-sama…I…" Kotonoha's left foot slid a few inches back. "I can…handle this…"

But Naruto was not particularly worried about himself. He only had eyes for the tragedy unfolding before his eyes, a tragedy the others noticed only when the sole victim of Orochimaru's jutsu fell on her knees.

"Geh…oh…"

**Yuria-nee-chan?**

**Onee-sama!**

Yuria, despite being a three-tails, does not know Aegis.

Sayoko gasped. She completely forgot Yuria had no means to defend herself!

Naruto had tried. He had sent his tails to make a wall in front of her, but the hands flew through his chakra constructs like they were not even there. Just what were those things, and why did the Kitsune's barrier work and not his?

A single hand pierced past Yuria's clothes, ignoring cloth, skin and tissue for something even more precious and fragile. Noticing they had a catch, more and more hands ignored the bothersome barriers and rushed to assault the easy prey. The foxgirl's body shook like a string-less marionette whenever a shadowy hand impaled her. Soon enough her entire body had been penetrated, and the remaining hands resorted to smothering her and binding her with their long, rope-like "arms" until she was completely covered in purple and black.

"Only one?" Orochimaru mused. "How disappointing."

"Yuria!" Naruto exclaimed when the gathering of shadowy arms began to pull Yuria's body towards Orochimaru and the coffins, but Kotonoha quickly got hold of him and prevented him from leaving her side.

"Naruto-sama! You'll be attacked the moment you step out of the Aegis!"

"I don't care!" The boy shouted fiercely, but Kotonoha refused to let go of him.

**Yuria-nee-chan? Ne, nee, Sayuri, what's going on? Yuria-nee-chan's gone blacky…**

**Sayuri, dear, please calm down.**

"It's a soul-ravaging technique, Naruto-sama," Yuri needlessly explained. "Not unlike some of our _**Reiton**_ Jutsu. You have no means to defend against such an attack…" She looked forlornly at the black and violet blob that engulfed her daughter's body. "And neither did she…"

Yurimi felt her mother's hand squeezing her right shoulder. It was painful, but she did not complain. She was the Matriarch of Higashiyama. Yuria was an independent Kitsune, banished from the clan.

She was not allowed to break down and cry. However…

"Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi, who had been quietly watching Yuria's body slowly being dragged away, quickly turned to the young silver-haired lily.

"I do not know what personal issues you have with this man," Yurimi began. "With all honesty, it matters little to me."

"That was the independent Kitsune, Yuria-san. An ally of Higashiyama…and my beloved sister."

Yurimi's small, frail-looking right hand clenched into a white fist.

"That moment that jutsu ceases to be, that man will perish by the hands and tails of Higashiyama. That…is an order."

A myriad of tails trembled and rose, responding to the call for righteous violence.

"As you command, Yurimi-sama," Yuri answered on behalf of her family.

Naruto would have eagerly agreed, had he bothered to pay attention to his slave's declaration. But he only had eyes for the featureless blob that smothered his fiancée's body.

"Damn it…damn it…" Gritting his teeth, he hopelessly struggled to keep his bottled feelings inside. Then he realized: why bother, really?

"YURIA!" he called. "Quit fooling around and get out of that thing!"

More than one person set their tender eyes on Naruto.

"Master…"

"YURIA! Get over here already! Get over here!"

Orochimaru shook his head and stifled a chuckle.

"Naruto-sama, please…" Kotonoha tightened her hold on Naruto, just in case. Half a dozen arms lashed at the boy, drawn by his loud voice, but they bounced against the swordswoman's Aegis.

The dark, shapeless blob, much bigger than the caskets were wide, was forcefully squeezing its way into one of the narrow containers.

"Damn it, Yuria, you're better than this!" Naruto insisted when the casket lid began to move to seal the fate of its new prisoner. "YURIA!"

Invisible to all, two Kitsune for a different world mutely watched the scene, their arms crossed. The Empress' fingers impatiently drummed on her left arm.

Naruto stepped out of Kotonoha's grip and out of her barrier, and the floating hands perked up.

"Show me why I believe in you, damn it!"

A hand grabbed the edge of the lid before it could close completely.

"Shut…up, already…you embarrassing fiancé."

The casket lid then flew away courtesy of Yuria's right foot.

The Empress made a gesture towards her struggling younger self. "Well, there you go."

"…_it would have been more interesting if she had died."_

The strongest youkai glanced at the Time Kitsune. "…you really want me to go Creation-Slaying Oblivion Kick on your ass, don't you?"

"…_please spare me."_

Even as the hands pulled her back in, the small three-tails forced her way out. Even as the hands gripping her soul squeezed and twisted inside her, she gritted her teeth and moved forward.

The flying hands intent on capturing Naruto spontaneously combusted.

**Nice, Sayuri!**

**Tee-hee!**

Naruto's nine tails streaked forward and grabbed Yuria's body, all within arm's reach of the silent Orochimaru, who could only witness something he had believed to be impossible.

"No…your soul...you should be dead already…" the rogue shinobi's eyes glowed with restrained rage. "Why didn't it work?"

A long and beautiful black tail lashed out at the Snake Sannin's head, but it was dodged fairly easily. Even as she made her way out of the coffin and ripped the vile hands off her body and her soul, Yuria could afford to shoot a fierce glare at the quasi-immortal human.

"Because **FUCK YOU!**"

Naruto finally won the strength battle against the remaining hands holding Yuria, and the girl was roughly pulled towards the group of humans and Kitsune. Naruto hurried to tend to his friend, and Sayoko moved faster than a blink, standing right behind him to protect them from further attack. The strange and dangerous floating arms, however, did not attack anymore.

"Hey…" Yuria greeted her bedmate with a grin.

"Damn it, Yuria, you're such a drama queen." Naruto was definitely not crying.

"Heh, you know me…"

"You alright?"

Yuria rolled her eyes. "I almost had my soul crushed from within. How do you **think** I feel?"

Naruto chuckled even as he cried. He let his forehead rest on hers. "Idiot."

"No more than you, honey." Her expression softened, only partially due to tiredness. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"You know for what, idiot."

They smiled at each other, though it was hard for them to see the other's smile, with their noses touching as they were.

(Former Higashiyama) Yuria never imagined it would feel so good, to have someone who believes in you.

"Orochimaru-sama!" Kidoumaru called.

"Keep the barrier!" the villain insisting, before gritting his teeth and readying his hands for seal-making. The shadowy arms flew back within the open caskets in an instant, and the containers promptly disappeared in bursts of white smoke.

"Mother!" Yurimi fiercely commanded.

"_**Edo Tensei!**_"

Yuri's tails hit a single coffin that emerged from the ground in front of Orochimaru.

"What now…?" Sarutobi took a stance. Kotonoha drew her backsaw, her other hand gripping her bag.

The lid tilted aside, releasing an ominous fog from within its shadowed contents. A hand most definitely of flesh and bone emerged from black depths of the coffin, seizing its edge to aid the hand's owner make his way outside.

A backsaw made an annoying clanging sound when it hit the rooftop's tiles.

Naruto and Sayoko looked behind them, at Kotonoha, whose dilated pupils and trembling lips made for a worrisome sight.

"No…no way…"

The person within the casket fully stepped out, into world of the living, for the first time in many, many years. Large eyes brimmed with curiosity, especially because of the curious location and the considerable welcoming party, almost entirely composed of complete strangers.

"No way…" Kotonoha repeated, falling on her knees and feeling awfully weak. Naruto's eyes widened in alarm, but he could not just let go of Yuria.

The newcomer's eyes met Kotonoha's, and the fox-woman's breath froze in her throat.

"…Kotonoha."

A weak, sibilant sound barely escaped the four-tails' parted lips.

"Where am I?"

Kotonoha gripped her trusty bag for dear life, as a visceral terror gripped her entrails.

"…Makoto…kun…"

It was, most definitely, Itou Makoto.

* * *

Tenten and Hinata watched little Hanabi's form disappear beyond the secret entrance. The two exchanged a nod with the Jounin in charge of guarding the access route to the shelter, and then the entrance was closed, leaving the two young girls alone, surrounding only by the distant cacophony of the warring streets. There were no traces of the enemy in that part of the village.

"She'll be fine now," Tenten stated.

After the "mysterious mountain-blasting incident" and Anko's following stunt, the Third Hokage very wisely deemed that the remaining shelters were unsafe, and ordered the realization of shelters under Konoha's streets. They were a rushed job, so they would not be precisely the epitome of comfort, but enough were made to allow the civilian population to be completely sheltered. Naruto's Shadow Clones contributed greatly to this task.

Hinata did not respond to the other girl's statement. She just stared mutely at the hidden entrance, barely distinguishable from the surrounding gray wall. Tenten was a patient girl, so she did not insist. Besides, she had a hunch.

Indeed, as if perfectly tuned to the other's thoughts, their necks turned to slowly glance at each other.

Metal flashed and pink blurred, and two magical artifacts met.

**Master, I was not meant to be used to parry bladed weapons.**

"Oh, shut up, Justice."

"It's all your fault."

Both girls jumped backwards, separating their weapons and creating a distance from each other.

Tenten rolled her eyes. "Very well. Let's hear it. What is exactly my fault?"

"You…" Last Word trembled in Hinata's hands. "You…and those women…with Naruto-kun…"

The older kunoichi facepalmed. "So that's how it is…"

"You…I thought you already had Neji-nii-san…"

"WHOA! Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, WHOA! Girl!" Tenten outrageously exclaimed, making hand motions as if to push Hinata away. "Neji? You serious?" She paused. "I mean, he's my teammate, sure. I respect him, lots. You could even say I admire him. Hell, I would trust the guy with my life. But, **love** him? Are you kidding me?"

She pointed in the vague direction of the stadium.

"Didn't you hear the angsty fate speech back there? Girl, seriously! I have **standards**!"

"Then…Naruto-kun…"

"**STANDARDS!**"

"Meep!"

Tenten's expression quickly darkened. "If I'm after that rotten little blonde, it will be to kill him with my own two hands…"

"Eh?"

"Yes, yes…" Neji's teammate had seemingly moved to a world of her own. "I'll wring his little neck…after I shove this worthless stick where the sun doesn't shine…"

**Please spare me.**

**Milady, that young lass frightens me considerably. **Last Word also expressed his thoughts.

**I would have to agree with Last Word here, Master.**

"Anoo…Tenten-san…"

"That brat! Everything is that brat's fault! Those annoying youkai! This stupid talking stick!"

**You hurt my feelings, Master.**

**My condolences, Heart of Justice.**

**Much appreciated.**

"And this ridiculous, stupid, **pointless** magical plot!"

Actually, that would be my fault.

"**POINTLESS!**"

Yes, I get it. Sorry.

"So it ends today!" The irate kunoichi declared, pointing her magic stick at Hinata. "First I'll kick your ass, then I'll **kill that brat!**"

The words flipped a switch in Hinata's head. It did not matter whether it was Tenten's fault, did it?

She was a scapegoat. Hinata could not touch the powerful youkai, but she could most definitely touch Tenten. And she was giving her a perfectly valid reason to oppose her, to boot! Isn't life convenient?

"I-I will not let you hurt Naruto-kun!"

And that was when half a dozen Sound mooks chose to show up. They surrounded the bickering girls, drawing weapons, grinning wickedly and acting generally menacing.

Tenten stifled a growl.

"Alright, change of plans!" She barked loudly, startling the mooks. "First we beat these guys, then I **kick your ass**! Then we have a good, long talk…"

**A plan worthy of Master, at last.**

She is NOT that magical girl, Justice-san.

"And then I'll kill the brat!"

"Never!" Hinata declared, in as heroic a tone as she could muster, meaning not really heroic at all. It was more of a whine. "Last Word, craft my raiment of power!"

**Magical Raiment, materialize.**

Needless to say, the Sound nin did not act for the duration of Hinata's astoundingly fanservice-y transformation sequence. That would be poor manners.

While the nameless soldiers gaped at Hinata's rather indecent getup and the girl's futilely tried to cover herself with her cool cape, Tenten had an argument with her own magical tool.

**She has an activation sentence. Why don't you have an activation sentence, Master?**

"I thought I told you to be quiet."

It was true, though, that Tenten did not want to be upstaged by Hinata. It was just as true, though, that she had absolutely no ideas.

"Ah…umm…ugh…how about…nah…hmm…we-wha…oooh, what the hell!"

She raised her wand to the sky, claiming everyone's attention.

"Mugyuu Power!"

**I can't believe you actually said that, Master. **Justice commented even as the transformation sequence began.

_I can't believe I actually said that, either. _Tenten admitted. _I think I got infected with something._

"I can't believe she actually said that," Katsura Kokoro, in her guise of Ichiraku Ayame, muttered from a nearby rooftop. "Now I owe Sayuri a day's supply of ramen!"

The village of Konoha was stopped to a halt when a tremendous bolt of lightning fell upon the stadium's highest rooftop.

* * *

Some of the younger lilies shrieked when the lightning bolt struck, filling the chakra cage with a thunderous sound and a blinding glare. In that moment, however, the Sound Four's violet wall shattered like brittle glass, allowing the lightning's conjurer to make her entrance.

"I am **DOCTOR S!**"

The super villain's mantle swayed elegantly in the strong wind.

Tobi next to her pounded a tambourine exactly twice.

Massive sweatdropping ensued.

"Uhh, o—kaaaaay…" Yuriyo responded.

Naruto facepalmed. "Damn it, what now…?"Really, it was hard to keep up with everything that was happening. "Who the hell are you?"

Setsuna grinned under her bulky wear. Her disguise was perfect!

Meanwhile all the other lilies quietly gaped at the boy who had wormed his way into their hearts. Yuriyo, Inari bless her, voiced her entire family's thoughts.

"What do you…don't tell me you don't…but she's obviously…I mean…come on!"

Yuria, while still prone, managed to lean enough to glance at the newcomers and Yuriyo.

"Yuriyo, are you okay? Did you forget to eat breakfast or something? And who the hell are you people?"

Yuriyo facepalmed.

Yuria raised an eyebrow at Doctor S. "…damn, you're tiny."

"Who are you calling tiny, boobs-for-brains?" the Doctor promptly barked back. The words made Yuria turn her face to Naruto.

"Damn, she's twitchy. Kinda like your tsunloli."

Setsuna went stiff.

"Naah, there's no way Mistress would wear such ridiculous clothes," Naruto declared, almost sounding proud of his sensei's fashion sense.

Setsuna twitched.

"Mah, I guess you're right. I mean, even tsunloli must have standards." She looked at the Doctor again. "So, who the hell are you?"

Setsuna twitched some more.

Tobi worked hard not to burst into laughter. He was already crying in amusement behind his mask.

"They're truly meant for each other…" Yurimi whispered softly, her voice mixing amazement with a tinge of envy. Yuri worriedly glanced at her most promising daughter.

"You know what? Forget it," Yuriyo finally decided. "We'll leave you to be happy in your ignorance!"

"Onee-chan…"

"Doctor S…" Sarutobi narrowed his glance. He thought Gai's mission reports were ridiculous, but, to think Doctor S actually exists…

"Doctor S." Orochimaru stepped forward. "Your presence is most unexpected."

"Oh, Orochimaru," the villainous loli saluted the traitor nin. "You have performed most magnificently; you have my gratitude. Now all the pieces are here."

"What does that…?"

"And you…"

Setsuna paused at the sight of Makoto struggling to hide his mirth. "…what's so funny?"

"You're really asking me **that**?"

"Grrr…"

Doctor S stepped in front of Makoto, looking up at his taller form with fierce eyes.

"It's been a while, Itou Makoto. Just over 150 years."

Makoto's eyes widened. "…a while indeed."

Setsuna raised an eyebrow. "You look awfully relaxed, considering the circumstances."

The young man scratched his right cheek nervously. "Ah…sorry to disappoint."

"Hmph. It matters not." She smirked deviously. "Today! Today is the day I let go of you! Today is the day I put my past behind!"

"Is that so…?"

"Stop right there."

Orochimaru held a thin kunai with a paper strip attached to it. "You. Become my weapon to destroy these annoyances, Conqueror of Kitsune!"

"Waaah…" Makoto made a face of mock-amazement. "That's a big title you just gave me. I mean, yeah, they fell for me and everything, but…conqueror is such a big word…"

"Huh…?"

Nothing's working for poor Orochimaru today.

"WAHAHAHAHAHA!" The half-Kitsune mastermind laughed boisterously. "Orochimaru! Knowing as I knew that you would not trust me, to think my plan would succeed to this level!"

"What do you…?" the Snake Sannin snarled.

"Even if you assumed everything else I told you to be lies, it mattered little as long as you believe in the existence of Itou Makoto, a human with the power to sway the emotions of youkai and put them under his heel!"

"Ugh…" Makoto leaned closer to whisper in the small woman's left ear. "Secchan, that's kinda…"

"Do NOT call me that, insolent!" Doctor S slapped Makoto away from her face before continuing to taunt Orochimaru.

"Did I not help you with Kimimaro? Did I not provide you with the blood of Oni you needed for your new concoction? As long as I helped you truthfully, you would only mistrust my keywords and not the scattered lore I shared in my story! I wanted you to believe in Itou Makoto's power over youkai! I wanted you to believe you could use Itou Makoto as your weapon! I wanted you to summon this worthless human before me with your _**Edo Tensei**_!"

Setsuna was trembling with excitement. At long last, her vengeance…!

Tobi smiled gleefully behind his mask. His granny was so cute when she acted all evil and stuff!

He would be a good boy and remain inconspicuous while she had her moment of glory.

"Umm, actually, about that…" Makoto muttered quietly.

"Ehh…" Yuriyo made a face. "Somehow we've been kinda forgotten…"

"Silence, Yuriyo," Sayoko of all people hushed the half-Void, all the while she kept her eyes on the undead summon.

"Do you feel it, too, Sayoko-san?" Yuri spoke quietly, so as to not attract their opponents' attention. Sayoko nodded.

There was something awfully wrong with this man, Itou Makoto.

"No…" Kotonoha whispered.

"And now…" Setsuna fixed her attention on Makoto one more time. "Here we are."

Makoto nodded and smiled. "Thank you for going so far as to bring me back like this. It's nice to feel loved."

To her credit, Setsuna did not blush or go tsundere. "Don't think so highly of yourself, maggot. I am not your little toy anymore."

"That…seems to be the case, yes."

The small half-youkai grinned wickedly, her right hand coated with vile Void Fire.

"Believe me when I say this will hurt you far more than it will hurt me, Ma-ko-chan."

"Wait! Setsuna!" Kotonoha cried, hurriedly reaching for her fallen weapon. "He's not who you think—"

But it was too late.

For Setsuna's eyes were already widened, her expression one of undiluted shock as her right hand reached and struck only air.

"Wha…?"

"My deepest apologies, Secchan, but I believe I will have to pass on that."

Setsuna was paralyzed. He was standing behind her! Just how did he…?

"_**Katon. Goukabashira no Jutsu.**_"

Not even the fearsome roar of Makoto's Hellfire Pillar Technique could drown out Setsuna's horrifying screams from within.

Reveling in the warmth that caressed the back of his neck, Itou Makoto chuckled in amusement.

"I didn't know you were such a screamer, Secchan."

**Waah…fire…**

Sayuri's amazement at her favorite thing in the world was somehow muted. The Sound Four nervously gazed at the pillar of flame, unsure of what to do now that their barrier was shattered.

Impressed by the fiery might of Makoto's jutsu, and secretly pleased by the ease with which he disposed of Doctor S, Orochimaru gripped his remote control kunai. This was the weapon he needed!

"Guh-grandma!" Tobi's Sharingan eye focused its rage on the undead. "Damn you!"

"No!" Kotonoha desperately called out.

Orochimaru and Madara made their move at the exact same time.

"No, you don't."

Makoto's words came out as he summoned a large black orb in Orochimaru's way. At the same time, both Madara's drawn tanto and the hand wielding it sunk into a two-dimensional hole in the air itself in front of Makoto's left hand.

The snake Sannin leapt away from the black sphere before it could capture him, but a second one emerged on the very spot he landed upon. However, his form disappeared in a burst of white smoke the moment his feet touched the roof, and the black orb captured only a log.

Madara pulled out from the strange hole Makoto used as defense. He could only grunt and hold the stump where his right hand had once been, until Makoto himself grabbed it.

"If you care for her so much, why don't you join her?"

Like that, he effortlessly threw the old Uchiha into the flame pillar. Even as he winced in pain, his body sought that of his ancestor and covered it in a protective gesture before activating his space-time technique, withdrawing Doctor S within the safety of an extra-dimensional space.

"Damn it!" Kotonoha hissed, grabbing her backsaw with her right hand and leaping into the fray, going for a high slash aiming at decapitating Makoto.

A second hole appeared on the path of the blade, but Kotonoha smoothly stopped her swing and spun counterclockwise, switching the backsaw to her left hand to try a rising slash. However, Makoto's right foot fell on the blade, impaling it on the tiles. He then tried to kick the disarmed swordswoman's face, but Kotonoha leapt away to relative safety.

The pillar created large shadows around Makoto and everyone present. It was from these shadows that dozens of tendrils of void-stuff sprouted out and attempted to capture everyone present.

"Gah! What the-?" Yuriko complained, but words did not help her much. To her left, Yurisa's silver Aegis spared her and her daughter, and the shadow ropes disintegrated before they could touch Sayoko's clothes, but the other lilies were tightly captured.

"Are you unhurt, Yurimi-sama?"

"Ugh…yes, Mother." Yurimi glanced at her mother, wondering why she put up no resistance to an attack she obviously could counter. "I just wish I could be in Yuria's place right now."

"What do you mean—oh…"

In spite of the circumstances, it was amusing. Naruto had been holding the prone Yuria when the shadow ropes captured him and pulled him down.

Yuria raised an eyebrow at the boy whose face was firmly pressed against her bosom.

"Having fun, darling?"

"Mmmghmmhrgrble."

**Muu…squishy-squishy puni-punii…**

"Hmm…" Makoto addressed the two strongest shinobi present, who had so far avoided capture by jumping around the whole place. So was Kotonoha, for that matter. "You cannot avoid your own shadows forever."

"_**Doton! Doryuudan!**_"

"_**Katon! Housenka no Jutsu!**_"

"Please."

Sarutobi's mud shots and Orochimaru's fire blasts were devoured by Makoto's _**Aegis of Oblivion**_. When the barrage ceased, the barrier dispersed, and Makoto flicked his fingers.

The entire area was bathed in blinding light erupting from the fire pillar, which then exploded, but Madara had long ago protected himself with his impregnable space-time distortion defense.

Unfortunately, stronger light only meant larger shadows, to the point that not even the two powerful shinobi and the talented swordswoman could get away from the onslaught of void tendrils. Still, even as they were captured, their minds set on the task of figuring out a way to free themselves.

"Kuh…" Kotonoha gritted her teeth in frustration. "Damn it!"

"Yurisa, stay still," Yuri warned her lone daughter. She and Mayuri had also been captured in the second round of Makoto's binding attack, but the blonde four-tails was just about to attempt to release herself with her _**Spectral Counterforce**_.

"Mother…?"

"Stay still," the tallest Kitsune insisted.

"You…" Makoto focused his attention on his old acquaintance. "When did you find out?"

"Too late," the busty fox-woman responded. "Sekai left a diary."

"Sekai, hmm…the most impressive human I've had the pleasure to meet. I take it Setsuna doesn't know. Very well, it matters not."

Naruto's heart skipped a beat when Makoto smashed his right hand on Kotonoha's face.

"Wai-!"

"_**Reiton. Rasenshinran.**_"

Kotonoha's body shook as if someone had shoved electricity through her muscles.

"Wha…" Yuriko shuddered. "What the hell is he?"

"Kotonoha!" Naruto cried.

The woman could not stop herself from smiling. He had not called her "Kotonoha-san".

Wait.

Why did the pain stop?

Makoto, too, appeared confused. "What…?"

"I will ask you to stop this at once, Itou Makoto-san, or whoever you are."

Makoto then looked at the violet-clad woman who had just spoken. "Who are you?"

"Please stop, Sayoko-san."

Higashiyama Yuri stepped forward, the dark tendrils fading as if they had never been there.

"You…" Yuri spoke loud enough for all to hear. "You are a kasha, are you not?"

"Eh?" Yurisa perked up. "A kasha? But, kasha are not…"

"A perceptive woman," Makoto thus addressed the oldest of the lilies. "Who might you be?"

"Higashiyama Yuri," the seven-tails flatly stated.

"The Silver Lily of the Netherworld. You…are not an opponent I would like to fight at the moment." His eyes turned to the oldest Kitsune present, who had somehow neutralized his jutsu. "Especially if you are the one I think you are."

"We will protect ourselves in case of attack. At the moment this protection extends to this village and its inhabitants, as well," Yuri declared. "Leave in peace and we will not chase you."

Noticing the expressions on Sarutobi's and Yuria's faces, Yuri allowed herself a tiny smile.

"I cannot answer for the humans, or the independent Kitsune Yuria-san here, though."

"Hmm…fair enough." He shrugged. "So, if you'll excuse me, I'll take my leave right now."

Orochimaru reacted at that. "What? Where do you think—?"

"Well, I've been away for so long…there's a world out there I want to see. Places to enjoy, meals to eat, women to savor…besides…" He patted his chest as he walked to the edge of the rooftop. "Even I can tell this fake body won't last long. I have to correct that. So, if you will excuse me—whoa."

Makoto managed to step back just before his face was impaled by a chakra spear.

"Not so fast, bastard."

Naruto had managed to turn his head so that it was not smothered by Yuria's breasts. He still looked utterly ridiculous on all fours and pinned against her, though. His constructs were not constrained by Makoto's bindings.

"Can somebody get him off me?" Yuria asked. "Really, this is embarrassing."

Sayoko blinked and hesitated, but did precisely that.

"Why the hell would you release only him?" Yuria quickly complained.

"Auuu…"

Ignoring the exchange between the Kitsune, Naruto stepped forward to challenge the undead.

"You think you can just show up and do whatever the fuck you want, huh?"

Makoto raised an eyebrow. "...and…just who might you be?"

Naruto's tails swayed menacingly behind him.

"You think you can hurt Kotonoha and walk away just like that?"

Yuri stepped behind Naruto and placed a hand on his left shoulder.

"Naruto-sama, it might be better if you calmed down…"

Naruto, however, pushed the hand away in a rather rude manner.

"Not. Now."

Yuri blinked, but stepped back. "Well, I tried…" She defended herself a bit lamely.

"Not very hard!" Yuriyo offered the tsukkomi this time.

"Hmm…" The dark-haired young man eyed the four-tailed swordswoman, who was still trembling a little bit after only a second of his Spiral Soul Turbulence jutsu. "Seems like your tastes have changed dramatically in the last fifteen decades, Kotonoha."

"Shut up!" Naruto howled. "I don't get what's going on, but you're that Makoto, right?" He made a gesture towards Kotonoha. "She loved you! She worshipped you! What the hell's fucking wrong with you?"

"No…" Kotonoha muttered. "It was…not like…I never…"

Makoto chuckled. "You…really don't get it, brat. Ask her to tell you the whole story. Now, really, I would like to leave—"

"You're not going anywhere!" Naruto shouted right as he lunged to attack. He could have used his tails, but he really, really wanted to punch this guy's face.

"No! Naruto-sama!"

**Stop, onii-chan!**

But a moment later, Makoto was standing on the opposite edge of the rooftop, and Naruto stumbled his way to the spot where the other guy had just been.

"Wha…where…?"

"I couldn't…follow his movement," Yurisa muttered.

Yuri swallowed. This man was significantly more powerful than any kasha she had met. Shinigami-sama's soul collectors, even with their ability to use _**Katon**_, _**Reiton**_ and _**Kuuton**_, were not supposed to be this strong!

A nasty squelching sound pulled everyone's attention to Naruto.

"MASTER!" Yurimi shrieked louder than anyone had ever heard her speak.

"Naruto!" Yuria gaped. "No…way…"

"Naruto-sama!"

"Hmph," Makoto snorted, rudely wiping away the blood on his fingers. "Just human."

"Eh? Wha…?"

As his vision got blurry and his balance faltered, Naruto could see his affliction: a large, vertical gash from his waist all the way up to his left shoulder. Blood freely poured out of the gap as clothes, skin, bone and tissue had been ripped open to unveil the fragile organs within.

"Ah…"

"Naruto…!" Sarutobi's face whitened. It had just happened…in an instant…

**Onii-chan!**

The lilies were close enough to see Naruto's heart beat once, twice…and then stop.

"Naruto-sama…!"

Naruto fell on his knees, and then forwards. Only the irregular surface of the rooftop prevented him from sliding off.

"Hawaa…wawawawawaaa…Naruto-kyun…"

"Onii-sama…!" Yurina fell her eyes tear up rapidly. Feeling light-headed, she leaned on her sister as much as the shadow ropes allowed her to.

"No way…Naruto…" Yuriyo muttered. Her eyes were somehow latched to the morbid sight…and the blood…all that blood…

She gulped, and resumed her struggles to set herself free.

Yet, even as such a scene unfolded around the fallen protagonist, there was one very confused little foxgirl.

**Munii? Onii…chan?**

**Sayuri…please…please calm down.**

**Onii-chan…it's dahk, onii-chan…**

**Sayuri, please…**

**It's dahk and cold…Sayuri's cold, onii-chan…it's icky…don't wike it…onii-chan, make it bwight again…**

**Sayuri…**

**Onii-chan…onii-chan, answer me…don't be a mweanie, it's cold!**

**Sayuri, please!**

**Why…nee, why don't I feel onii-chan anymoar?**

The pooled water within the cage that housed the nine-tails began to heat up and bubble.

"Sayuri…" the adult Sayuri leaned on the thick bars, cursing her inability to go in there and comfort the little nine-tails. "Sayuri, you have to calm down…"

"Sayuri…" Naruto's little prisoner was shuddering. Her fur bristled as if aroused by a chilling breeze. "Sayuri doesn't feel onii-chan anymoar…it's cold…and it huhts, here…"

Sayuri clutched her chest and winced. Columns of steam burst out of the boiling hot water. A mantle of bubbles released a symphony which echoed throughout the metaphysical cage.

"Onii-chan…where are you? It's dahk…it's dahk and it huhts…why won't onii-chan say anything?"

She slowly shook her head, as if the conclusion she had reached did not satisfy her.

"Onii-chan…Sayuri…Sayuri's afwaid…"

Sayuri fell on her knees. Her nine fluffy tails suddenly grew and discarded their fun, becoming gigantic orange and red constructs of chakra, not unlike Naruto's own jutsu. The tails recklessly and chaotically slammed the walls, the jail bars and the floor, making the room tremble and colossal sprays of scalding water rain all over the place.

"Onii-chan…I don't feel onii-chan…onii-chan won't talk to me…onii-chan's gone somewhere…"

"Sayuri, stop, please!"

"Someone's taken onii-chan away…away from Sayuri…onii-chan…onii-chan said onii-chan would never leave Sayuri alone anymoar…"

The older Sayuri looked around desperately. She had to do something, and soon!

"I don't wike this…" Sayuri shook her head. "No way, no way, no way, no way, no way!"

The pulse of chakra that followed made the other Sayuri stumbled several steps away from the jail bars.

"Onii-chan…onii-chan is Sayuri's onii-chan…where are you…? Why…why did you leave me alone again…?"

"Sayuri, don't!" The taller blonde called out in desperation. "I still can…!"

"Onii-chan…onii-chan…onii-chan…onii-chan-onii-chan -onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chan-onii-chaa aaaan!"

"SAYURI, DON'T!"

"**ONII-CHAN!**"

And the world became fire.

* * *

Everywhere in the village, the battle came to a halt.

Jiraiya, fighting the summoned giant snakes by the village walls.

Tenten and Hinata stopped the clash of their magical weapons.

Kiba, Ino and Shino, by the entrance of the shelter where they had dropped Sakura and the unconscious Sasuke off.

Shikamaru, who was on his way back to the stadium to find the most-likely-sleeping Chouji.

Temari and Kankuro, who had just made it to the edge of the forest around Konoha with an unstable Gaara on tow.

Of course, Gai, Kakashi and Genma, facing off against Kabuto, Baki and the Suna-Sound forces remaining in the stadium.

All of them, everyone in the village, stopped to stare in awe and fright at the pillar of flames that pierced the sky.

Makoto's Hellfire Pillar could not begin to compare. The youkai on the rooftop had to activate their Aegis barriers, not to protect themselves from the flames, which had only consumed Naruto's body and grown upwards, but to guard their bodies from the heat that would otherwise ignite their bodies.

Orochimaru and the Sound Four instinctively jumped away from the rooftop and away from the searing heat. Sarutobi and the two remaining ANBU were protected by Yurine's _**Aegis of the Damned**_, as well as Yuriyo and Yurina. Yuria was protected by Sayoko, and Yurimi by her mother.

Makoto's eyes trailed the blazing, roaring pillar upwards until it disappeared beyond perception.

"Wha…what is this? Who is that brat?"

All the present, and the entirety of Konoha, knew true terror when the pillar unfurled into nine colossal tails of flame, hovering over the village like the fingers of a furious god.

"Oh, this is bad…" Yuria muttered.

The tails had no self-control, and most certainly no care for whatever might stand in their way. Eight of the tails swayed aimlessly in the sky, evaporating all water content in the sky over Konoha and driving air currents upwards and away from the village, distorting the country's weather patterns for days afterwards. A lone tail gently fell towards the western side of the village.

"No!" Sarutobi cried, to no avail.

Tenten and Hinata reacted the moment they saw the tail moving roughly their way.

"Shit in a hole! Justice!"

"Waaah, Last Word!"

**Stardust Flyer.**

**Sonic Flyer.**

The roofs of countless buildings caught flame seconds before the gigantic tail came into contact with them. Glass and metal liquefied and incinerated everything it encountered in their path downwards. Every living thing in the area without the blessing of flight, burst into flame as their skin and fat ignited and their blood boiled within.

Everyone who did not make it away died and became ashes long before the tail hit solid ground. The construct of fire only destroyed inanimate matter, but it did a hell of a good job at it. The air displaced by the falling tail was hot enough to ignite the regions of the village adjacent to the impact zone, triggering an endless cascade of large fires that would gradually spread all over Konohagakure.

It was only a matter of seconds, but when the tail moved back up, it left nothing behind but charred land. A disturbingly straight black scar covered the Village Hidden among the Leaves from eleven to seven o'clock, and the rest of the village was cloaked in orange and red.

"Inari…blessed…" Yuria whispered within her bindings, rendered awestruck by the sheer magnitude of the power she aimed to overcome one day.

"No…" Sarutobi moaned. "The village…Naruto…"

Orochimaru should have been gleeful by the visage of Konoha's destruction, but his current circumstances were far from advantageous.

The origin of the tails was a sphere of flames the size of a merchant wagon; a miniature sun where Naruto had fallen.

And then the tails were pulled back.

What should have been a blessing was instead the trigger of another calamity.

"Everyone!" Sayoko cried out. "Aegis at full power!"

The tails retracted extremely fast, and the surrounding superheated air rushed to fill the void left by the gigantic manifestations of flame. The vacuum proved strong enough to pull anything not sufficiently attached to solid ground.

"The people in the stadium!" Sarutobi cried in alarm.

"_**Kuuton! Kage Shibari no Jutsu!**_"

Thousands of tendrils of darkness emerged from Sayoko's shadow. The trademark technique of the Nara clan, amped up to eleven. The web of shadows attached itself to everything and everyone in the stadium, rooting them to the ground.

"Sayoko-san…" Sarutobi's gratitude was clear in his expression, and so was his amazement. Sayoko was sweating heavily, being forced to dismiss her own Aegis to protect everyone.

"I'm terribly sorry, Yuria-sama…"

"Ah, no sweat," the three-tails joked, no longer protected from the searing heat by Sayoko's barrier.

"Yuri-sama!" the ancient Void Kitsune called for her best friend.

"I'm on it. _**Reiton: Yomidousha**_."

Yuri's Magnificent Netherworld Pavillion conjured a giant barrier of glimmering silver light that covered the entirety of the stadium.

Meanwhile, in the sky above Konoha, a third catastrophe was unfolding. The accelerated, chaotic flow of hot air caused by the tails' contraction created tremendous amounts of static electricity. Just as Yuri finished setting up her powerful barrier, the dielectric constant of Konoha's sky was broken and lightning rained upon the hapless village.

"We're gonna die!" Tenten screamed as she flew seeking cover. She and Hinata had managed not to get sucked in the vacuum thanks to their magical barriers, but the mother of all localized thunderstorms was a whole different deal.

There was no semblance of a battle anymore. There were only panicked ants, possessed by terror and struggling to survive the wrath of a goddess.

Meanwhile, on the strangely peaceful rooftop, a figure stepped out of the miniature sun that engulfed Naruto's body.

A small, unbelievable figure, which by any means could not possibly be there.

A small, unbelievable figure, wearing an expression nobody had ever seen her wear before. Her ever-smiling lips were a flat line.

Her large eyes were like rubies brimming with incandescent rage.

Sarutobi would have liked to rub his eyes. He had wondered for a moment if he was in the middle of a very bad dream, but the expressions on the youkai's faces told him the image before his eyes was nothing but the truth.

Higashiyama Sayuri, for the first time in almost thirteen years, stood free on the realm of the living.

* * *

**CHAPTER 18 END**


	38. Genkyouien, Part One

_**Naruto Genkyouien**_

_**- **__**ナルト**__**- **_**幻****脅****威宴**

**Chapter Nineteen: Phantom Menace Party – Festival of Violence (Part One)**

* * *

A ways from the great wall that surrounds Konoha, a young kitsune and his mother exchanged poorly-disguised looks of worry.

"Mother, that was…"

Yumemigahara Himawari returned her gaze to the distant village. The sounds and visuals of war were clear enough. And the display of power they had just witnessed…

"No doubt about it: Higashiyama Sayuri is in this village."

She had always known they would have to tread carefully, but the young nine-tails suddenly raised the bar to a whole new level. Even worse, she apparently was not in the best of moods.

"Yuuki. Have your girls locate Higashiyama Yurimi. Then we'll make our move."

"Alright."

While her son went to retrieve his two servants, Himawari released a host of kudagitsune and sent them to the village to gather intel. She hoped the circumstances would prevent Yuri from noticing them, or at least from intercepting them. While a part of her wondered how the Silver Lily of the Netherworld got involved in the affairs of human shinobi, the seven-tails was not one to look at a gift horse in its mouth.

She would have liked to wait the three years that separated her from her eighth tail, but this was an opportunity she could not afford to lose. Had she rejected her sponsor's proposal, that person would have just found someone else willing to do it.

No other clan but Yumemigahara deserved the title of Great Spirit Clan.

That day, Himawari would ensure the received what she so rightfully deserved.

What should have been hers centuries ago.

* * *

Sayuri deeply inhaled, filling her lungs with real oxygen for the first time in almost thirteen years.

She could perceive the world's smells through Naruto, but the real thing was something more…fulfilling.

Then again, the predominant scent in the air was that of smoke and burning things, which probably improved the experience for her.

Her red pupils flickered from left to right, scanning the scope of her surroundings in a moment. Then she looked behind her, at the large fireball which still roared near the edge of the rooftop. With the massive tails of flame gone, the heat irradiated by the fireball had dropped from 'potentially lethal' to 'exhausting but somehow tolerable'.

Naruto's body was barely visible within the flames.

"Onii-chan…" While her face showed little emotion, her voice was rich with affection and sorrow.

She still did not know how she made it out. She only knew the other Sayuri did something. It mattered little. She was out.

She was out, and she had things to burn.

It was Sayoko, of all people, who attempted a first contact.

"Sayuri-sama—"

"Sayuri is angwy."

And she proved her point by releasing her fearsome chakra.

"Guh-aaagh!"

"Hawa! Yurina-chan!"

The young Yurina was the first to succumb to Sayuri's aura of sheer might. The pulse of power shut the power off her legs and sent her sprawling down until her mother caught her. Yuriyo, too, fell on her knees, looking as if she were about to puke, which she was.

"Guh…I had forgotten…this disgusting feeling…"

"Mayuri-chan!" Yurisa promptly kneeled in front of her daughter. "Please be strong!"

The small Time kitsune nodded weakly while she covered her mouth. No amount of power over time and space protected her from the all-consuming might/rage/wish-to-burn in Sayuri's chakra. It was only the hardiness she had gained after witnessing countless endings which allowed her not to falter like Yurine's young daughters.

"Orochimaru-sama!"

The Sound Four, deeming it safe to return to the roof, appeared behind their commander, and immediately fell on their knees by the metaphysical pull of Sayuri's presence.

"Sayuri…is **angwy!**" the little girl repeated, this time focusing her burning glare on Itou Makoto, who was trying, and mostly failing, to make sense of the situation.

He could see nine tails. He could **feel** her power. But it did not change the fact that his image of "Kyuubi" and the scene before him clashed most horrendously.

It bothered him.

"Sayuri, dear," Yuri stepped forward. "I think it would be good if you—"

No more words were allowed out of Yuri's mouth after a golden tail smashed her face and blew her away at meteoric speed. The former Matriarch broke through her own barrier and stopped only when her back smashed the (admittedly already crumbling) wall of a burning building near the stadium, which promptly collapsed under the stress of the impact.

"Yuri-sama!" Sayoko's cry resounded over the lilies' shocked gasps.

Then, with speed that would have made Naruto feel extremely frustrated, Sayuri's blazing aura released a "small" stream of bubbles which rapidly gathered and compressed into a black orb of reckless destruction. With ease born of lots and lots of practice, Sayuri literally pinched the orb with the tip of one of her tails before aiming it in the direction of the collapsing building and unleashing the compressed chakra in the form of a blinding beam.

The stadium was showered with brightness for the most of five seconds.

"Yuri-sama!" Sayoko cried again, before turning to the small nine-tails. "Sayuri-sama! To attack your own mother in such a way—"

The air around Sayoko ignited into a glorious orb of nuclear fire. The shadow bindings on the stadium's audience disappeared the very moment Sayoko released the jutsu to save her own hide.

Sayuri's eyes had never left Makoto.

"Uhh…I take it we should stay quiet, right?" Yuriyo mused.

"Quiet and very still," Yurika agreed.

"Yes, that would be wise," Yuriko concluded with no little sarcasm.

* * *

"Onee-sama's gonna kill me."

Idly laying on the floor, a Higashiyama Sayuri from another world stared at the dark ceiling of her younger counterpart's prison.

The Death God's seal was extremely powerful, but its mechanism was fundamentally simple.

Imprison Higashiyama Sayuri.

Therefore, as long as there was **a **Higashiyama Sayuri inside the cage, the seal would not react in the slightest.

That is why, when the little Sayuri lost it, she pulled her out of the cage at the exact same time she jumped in. Because little Sayuri still does not know the possession technique or the variation that allows access to this metaphysical realm within Naruto, she was immediately sent back to reality.

It would not last forever. The seal was not truly disrupted, so the Dusk of the Silver Lily would not repeat itself, but the fact remained that the Sayuri released was only her yin. Whether her pitiful yang chakra was claimed by the Death God or remained somewhere else within Naruto, as she suspected, the issue was that Sayuri's current form was unstable, and sooner or later it would be pulled back into the seal. Most likely later, because of the little Kyuubi's tremendous power.

At the moment, that worked wonders for the older Sayuri.

The young nine-tails' rampaging chakra would have destroyed Naruto from within. It would have been like **that day**, all over again. Like hell she would allow such a thing to happen.

Without the disruptive presence of little Sayuri's yin chakra, she could get to work.

Gently releasing her chakra, Sayuri drove it to reconstruct Naruto's critically damaged body. She would heal her beloved, and then she would get her younger self back into the cage.

She could only hope the little one remembered that her precious onii-chan would be very sad if he woke up to a village reduced to ashes.

She also hoped she would get out of the cage before the Empress—or, gods forbid, that white-haired witch—figured out just how her younger self made it out.

* * *

"_And that is, I presume…_" You could actually **hear** the smirk on Mayuri's face as she spoke. "_…how the young Sayuri has made it out of the Death God's seal._"

"…I'm going to kill her."

"_I would be most grateful._"

"Gods, I think I liked you more when you stayed quiet."

"…_you thought I was a freak, I remember._"

"…shut up, Mayuri."

* * *

Orochimaru carefully and very hastily analyzed the situation. In spite of the sheer…ridiculousness of the whole thing, the oppressive presence that enveloped him and rendered his minions utterly worthless.

This was undeniably the power of Kyuubi.

For a split instant, he wondered what was of the seal he had placed on the young Jinchuuriki in the Forest of Death. At this point, however, he doubted it would have made a difference.

Makoto did not move an inch. Nobody did, really. But the recently awakened undead had it the toughest, for the little foxgirl's attention was focused on him.

The fireball that engulfed Sayoko was consumed into oblivion by the ancient kitsune's Aegis. Sayuri's left ear twitched when she noticed the hint of motion from her former caretaker, but she did not act.

Sayoko only wanted to check on her beloved friend, currently buried under tons of rubble.

Sayuri then took a single step, smoke hissing out of the gap between the sole of her foot and the roof tile below.

Makoto wracked his brains out figuring how to get out of this mess.

A pale figure flickered into existence behind and to the left of Sayuri, right arm poised to strike the back of her head.

His name was Kaguya Kimimaro.

Sayuri's left fox ear twitched again. Once.

Only a burst of steam and a loud hissing sound accompanied the unbelievable sight all the present were allowed to witness.

The young male, Kimimaro, was impressive by himself. Intimidating osseous spikes protruded out of his right arm, with the obvious intention of impaling Sayuri's head. But those spikes were no more.

The young prodigy from Water Country stared at where his natural weapons should be, and at the hole on Sayuri's skull which was not there.

There was only vapor.

The bone had vaporized before it could touch Sayuri's hair.

So had his right arm, for that matter.

Fortunately for him, he felt no pain. His pain receptors were obliterated so fast his brain did not register the damage the moment it happened.

Sayuri's left ear twitched, again. She had never stopped staring at Makoto.

"Guh-aaaagh!" Orochimaru's favorite finally felt the vaporization of one of his limbs and stumbled back, crying out in agony with little restrain.

"Shit!" Makoto spat out before disappearing via high-speed movement.

There was a sudden sound burst, like an explosion, and then there was a crater on the street behind the stadium.

All the present turned their eyes in that direction. Sayuri lingered in midair; the short moment before gravity claimed her. Looking at the hole on the concrete far below her completed the wordless narration of what had just occurred.

"Holy…shit…" Yuria blurted out.

"She…punched him out of _**Shunshin**_…" Sarutobi gracefully added.

Before Sayuri could be dragged down, a roughly human sized fireball came to existence just under her. Sayuri calmly sat on the floating fireball, which quietly levitated over the Makoto-shaped hole on the street below.

A second Sayuri, still standing on the original spot in front of the fireball that contained Naruto, slowly turned her head to glare at Kimimaro.

Even with all his power, the gifted young man easily succumbed to the waves of indescribable vileness he felt emanating from the tiny foxgirl.

"Ah…aaaah…"

"Kimimaro-kun!" Orochimaru called out. "Pull back!"

But Orochimaru's spare body had lost control of his anatomy, paralyzed by power beyond human conception.

The nine-tails' blazing red eyes gleamed dangerously, and Kimimaro saw fire.

Fire, everywhere.

The world was fire, and even he, too, was fire, but he was also he, and his skin, his organs, his body fat…no! His very cells! They were on fire! Endless chains of nucleic acids in the cell nucleus, consumed by flames! Cells turned into miniature suns, and then into glowing red novas that spread blazing calamity throughout his system. Then the cells became trees, bones became mountains, blood became oceans, and then they all became fire.

The world was fire. He was on fire.

He was the world.

When the Genjutsu came to an end, he vaguely noticed the small many-tailed kitsune was caressing his chest with inexplicable tenderness.

Then she exploded.

It was the explosion which concealed the quiet voice of the real Sayuri seated on her unusual flying vehicle.

"Fire."

_**Fire Release – The Flying Foxgirl's Mysterious Assault Vehicle**_.

Like its name says, it is more than a weird ball of flame that flies.

"Pwetty Beams!" Yuriyo cried. "It fucking fires Pwetty Beams!"

Indeed, it was a weird ball of flame that flies and fires Pwetty Beams.

It can also shoot napalm, among other things.

The Assault Vehicle shot three of Sayuri's signature technique, one after the other, into the hole Makoto had ended up in.

The entirety of Konoha trembled like the end of the world was at hand.

"The-The underground shelters!" the Third Hokage called out, suddenly fearing for Konoha's civilian population, again.

"Sa-Sayuri-sama!" Kotonoha cried out. "Please! Please stop at once! It's pointless!"

Curiously, no more chakra cannons of doom emerged from Sayuri's flying fireball. Kotonoha knew she had the little foxgirl's attention.

"He's probably…not there…anymore…" It was hard not to sound disappointed. "He…probably got away."

The pulse of chakra that followed made Yurina shriek pathetically.

"No way…"

Orange and red yin chakra swirled menacingly around the tiny, furry terror. Her tails, too, swayed like cobras eager to strike.

"No way no way no way no way no way!"

Sayuri shook her head.

"He has to burn! He **has to BURN!**"

Rising a hand to the heavens, Sayuri invoked a gigantic ball of flames almost as large as the stadium itself.

"**Sayuri will just burn evwything, then!**"

Despite the urgency of the situation, Kotonoha could not stop herself from being impressed. As close as they were to such a massive ball of flames, they should be combusting from the sheer amount of heat that thing would irradiate. Yet she could only feel the air warmer in a mildly uncomfortable manner.

Sayuri's chakra control was abysmal. This was a fact. It was just as well known, however, that manipulation of fire was the obvious and only exception. Sayuri's prowess at wielding fire, even before her promotion to Kyuubi, was god-like. Probably only the supreme Sun Goddess herself could match it.

But Kotonoha could then see it went further than "just mere fire". Sayuri was bending thermodynamics and making it her bitch, if only for the sake of empowering her beloved fire.

Two black tails shot towards the flying foxgirl, growing unnaturally to reach her. Spontaneously combusting in no way stopped them from reaching Sayuri and wrapping themselves around her body.

"Mugyuu?"

"Knock it off **already!**"

Courtesy of Naruto's trademark grappling hook tail trick, Yuria's head met Sayuri's, which curiously enough dispelled the colossal fireball which spelled Konoha's doom. Unfortunately for Naruto's fiancée, she was not immune to gravity, thus she fell…into Sayuri's transport.

"OH MY GODS IT FUCKING HURTS!"

"Mugyuu…" a teary-eyed, pouty nine-tails effortlessly grabbed her half-sister with her tails and carried her back to solid…roof. "Only Sayuri can wide the aweshum fwying fire shootah…"

Just like a certain magical yellow cloud.

"Muu…not fair, Yuria-onee-chan…"

Sayuri would never use her most lethal defenses against her favorite sister.

"I won't take that from the likes of you!"

"Mou…Yuria-onee-chan's shtoopid! Shtoooopid!"

"Wha-oi!"

But Sayuri flew away from the stadium rooftop, to the streets below, jumping off her fireball to get on all fours next to the crater Makoto left after her punch.

"Muu…where's the mweanie…?"

Yuria scratched her head at the distant sight of her little sister sniffing the concrete. "Sayuri, you're not a hunting dog…"

"Ah, found him!"

"WHAT THE HELL!?"

When Sayuri took off after Makoto's trail (?), her flying fireball flickering out of existence behind her, Orochimaru knew he had his chance.

It was time for Plan B, also known as "Plan Let's Do What We Should Have Done since the Very Beginning of This Mess."

"_**Edo Tensei!**_"

Here we go again.

"Orochimaru!" The strange latest events, with the appearance of the child Kyuubi at their peak, rendered Sarutobi utterly unable to properly react to anything. He remained rooted to the spot, desperately trying to figure out how to respond to such a relentless flow of events. Age had really caught up with the poor guy.

At the same time two new coffins emerged in front of the rogue Sannin, Kimimaro's mostly unharmed form emerged from the carbonized remains of a huge snake which protected him from Sayuri's most-fortunately-not-nuclear exploding _**Kage Bunshin**_. He was still missing an arm, though.

"Split and get out of this place!" That was the former Konoha-nin's only command. Really, at this point, nothing more was necessary.

"Wha—like hell I'll let you!"

Yuria unhesitatingly leapt at Orochimaru, but a large figure quickly stood on her path. Jiroubou's left arm fell on her left side like a mallet, forcing Yuria to cross her arms to parry the blow.

"Guh!"

Airborne as she was, she was quickly thrown sideward by the powerful blow, sending her rolling and stumbling away until the very edge of the rooftop. The three-tailed kitsune and the large, bald human exchanged glares before he departed together with his companions. Yet Orochimaru remained.

A feral growl departed from Yuria's throat.

"I'll…never let you…get away!"

"Yuria!" Yurimi called out to her sister. "Don't just recklessly go after them!"

"I am **not** one of your obedient lilies, Yurimi!" the older foxgirl snarled, the rage boiling within her clear for all to see. Her sharp canines all of a sudden looked so much more threatening. "They…they…!"

She glanced at the remaining fireball, which still refused to let go of Naruto's body.

Technically, what happened to Naruto was Makoto's fault, but he would have never made it there in the first place had it not been for Orochimaru's forbidden jutsu. So it was the Sannin who took the brunt of Yuria's heated glare.

Considering the situation, Orochimaru deserved some credit for keeping his cool.

"I must ask you to calm down, independent kitsune Yuria-san."

The people on the rooftop turned their heads to Higashiyama Yuri, who had appeared on a distant corner and calmly walked back to her family, accompanied, of course, by her dear friend Kurosaki Sayoko. While she was doing a good job of maintaining her usual regal composure, it was more than obvious the former Silver Lily had taken quite a bit of punishment. Her beautiful kimono showed burn marks and missing spots, and her hair was no longer fixed in an ornate arrangement on the top of her head, messily cascading down the length of her back.

"This man is not an enemy you can defeat."

Yuri was more worried about the two caskets in front of Orochimaru. They had yet to reveal their contents, and somehow she knew she would not like them. Call it a gut feeling.

"Mother."

The oldest of the lilies curtly bowed to her Matriarch. "There is no reason to be worried about me, Yurimi-sama. Now, your orders…?"

Yurimi frowned. Truly, it was time for her to give instructions. The clan was always first and foremost, but…

Like Yuria before, she, too, glanced at the blazing ball of flames that embraced Naruto's body.

"Lilies of Higashiyama."

The entire clan perked up. Without the influence of Sayuri's overwhelming chakra, the younger ones could act properly.

"Split in small groups and return to camp."

The kitsune nodded uncertainly. They could get the order to return to camp—there was really no reason for them to stick around in this human mess any longer. But, why split…?

"On your way to camp, slay as many of Konoha's enemies as you can. That is your Matriarch's order!"

"Hawaa…"

"Ho-ho…" Yuriyo chuckled and crossed her arms. "So we fight, after all…"

"Hau...Yurina, Yurina really doesn't like to fight…"

Orochimaru did not waste his time anymore. The moment the coffins opened and two male figures slumped outside; he stepped in between the two and buried his controlling tags in their heads.

"Those two…" the Third spoke quietly and sorrowfully. Of all people, to summon those two.

"This…is a worrisome turn of events," Yuri admitted. "Yurimi-sama, if I may suggest?"

"Please, Mother."

The seven-tails glanced at Kotonoha. "Kotonoha, if I may ask, please watch over Naruto-sama."

The swordswoman's eyes brightened. "Of-Of course!"

"Yurisa, dear, please stay with Kotonoha until Naruto-sama is released."

The former Silver Lily had her doubts concerning Kotonoha's current combat capability, considering the latest occurrences.

"Ye-yes! Mayuri-chan, please stay close to me."

"Yuri-sama…"

"Sayoko-san, you may do as you wish. I do not believe your assistance is needed."

The Void kitsune nodded before sinking within her own shadow. As much as she did not want to leave Yuri, she had preparations to conclude.

"As for me…"

"Go!" Orochimaru commanded his two new summons right before leaping away from the stadium. Sarutobi braced himself to fight, but then Yuri appeared in front of him, her clawed hands coated in silvery chakra.

"_**Soul Mastery**_."

The double palm thrust met only air. The two undead quickly turned in opposite directions, dancing around Yuri to get at their true target. However, before they could attack the Third Hokage, silver tails like spears forced them to jump sideways and to the very edges of the rooftop.

Yuri rose to her full stature after her thrusting attack.

"Ara…" the seven-tails had to toy around with dangerously loose kimono before it fully slid off her shoulders. "This is really not the most appropriate garment for combat."

While she hurriedly tightened her clothes, Sarutobi dashed past her and after Orochimaru.

"He knows what he's supposed to do. Good man. Still, I would have appreciated some gratitude." Yuri's eyes flickered towards a certain small foxgirl. "Do not go after them, Yuria."

The three-tails growled, but assented. "Fine. I will not go after **that** guy."

Two of her tails rapidly twisted around each other, creating a very tight helix which Yuria then speared on the roof tiles behind her.

"All the other fuckers are fair game!"

She then commanded the helix to unfurl, transmitting force from the ground and the tip of her tails all the way up to her lower back, which she used to feed her mighty leap away from the rooftop. The result was a missile which streaked through the sky above the stadium and away, intent on hunting down the Sound Four.

Yuri sighed. "Really, such a reckless lady, that Yuria…I'm grateful you're not like…hmm? Where is Yurimi-sama?"

Indeed, at some point, the young Lily Seed had snuck away via _**Ghost Step**_. The remaining lilies exchanged doubtful glances.

"Then why are still here, girls? You have your orders, move!"

"Ye-yes!"

Like that, Yurika, Yuriko and Yurine disappeared just like their Matriarch moments before.

Yuriyo twitched as she glanced at the spot where her mother had been kneeling on just before.

"…gods, our mother is an idiot."

"Onee-chan…"

Yurina and Yuriyo still do not know _**Ghost Step**_.

"Let's…let's just go, Yurina."

"Um…"

And so they left, the normal way.

Kotonoha, Yurisa and Mayuri stayed, their eyes shifting between the fireball and Yuri, but wisely keeping their distance from both. Still, the Lily of the Netherworld knew it would be wiser to move the fight away from that place.

"But, still…the last known possessor of the Sage of the Six Paths' fearsome power, Senju Hashirama, and his brother…"

The two undead warily trace an ample circle around the seven-tails pondering possible avenues of attack.

"Even if they are undead, I guess it will not be that simple…"

Her eyes then fell on two who had remained ignored this whole time.

"You two," Yuri promptly addressed the two ANBU soldiers. "If you are just going to stand there and be useless, you might as well be of use to me."

Before the masked shinobi had any chance of speaking for or against such words, two tails of silver speared them right through the center of their chests, pulling their souls out of their bodies but otherwise leaving no wound or mark of the attack whatsoever. The glimmering souls became small silver spheres which idly floated around Yuri's body like will-o-wisps.

"They fought bravely but were ultimately defeated by the enemy forces. Yes, that will do, ufufufufu~"

With the preparations finished, Yuri properly addressed the two undead enemies.

"Very well. I must admit, I have not played this game for some time, so you will excuse me if I am a little rusty. That said, then, let us enjoy ourselves, children!"

The games were on.

* * *

"So…sorry about this, Neji-san."

Hyuuga Neji did not respond to the words coming from right behind him. He was carrying his teammate, Rock Lee, who was apparently still a bit groggy after waking up from Kabuto's Genjutsu.

The invasion caught him in the stadium's infirmary. Hyuuga Hiashi had just departed, leaving him with plenty to think about, but it seemed he would not be able to meditate on it that day.

His body still hurt, but Neji considered himself still able to move and fight if it came to that. Chakra was more of an issue, but he found half a dozen soldier pills in the infirmary, of which he took two. His immediate priority was finding his sensei, who directed him to awaken the sleeping Lee (everyone, even the author, forgot to wake him up earlier) and take him to safety.

So far they had been successful at avoiding enemy units.

"To think…I cannot do a thing…at such an important time…it's so…"

Neji did not say a word, but he could somehow understand Lee's feelings. He, too, would be extremely frustrated if he were in Lee's shoes.

"Then…make sure it does not happen again, idiot."

Rock Lee blinked a few times, as if to make sure he had actually heard properly…or at all. Only when he became fully aware that, yes, Neji had said such words, did the Green Beast of Konoha smile most gratefully.

"Um! Certainly, Neji-san! I'll be back in the team in no time!"

* * *

"Um! Today, today is the day!"

A man of short stature with the attire and headband of an Oto shinobi gazed upon the burning village from the top of the great wall that separated it from the exterior. With hands on his hips and a wide smile, he was a beacon of boisterousness in the midst of the overall quietness and no-nonsense-ness of Orochimaru's nameless forces.

At other sections of the wall, Otogakure's summoned snakes fought against Konoha's soldiers.

"Today is the day my name becomes a legend!"

Behind the loud man, the dozen troops he led exchanged uneasy glances amongst themselves. They found their leader's attitude annoying, but who were they to question Orochimaru-sama's decisions?

"Saa, Katon specialists from Konoha! Come and face me! Let's find out, once and for all, who the best fire master is!"

He had no name anybody knew of or cared about. His colleagues knew him only as "The Pyroninja."

"We're gonna die, aren't we?" a nameless mook inquired.

These guys are awfully genre-savvy.

* * *

Yuria's lips stretched into a feral grin when she caught sight of the Sound Four.

"Gotcha."

"I must give you credit, Yuria. You have become surprisingly swift of foot."

"Geh!"

The three-tails looked behind her to meet the impassive gaze of her younger sister.

"Yurimi! What the hell?"

The Fourth Matriarch of Higashiyama followed her sister atop the rooftops of Konoha, seemingly having little trouble keeping up with Yuria's deranged pace.

"What about me?"

"Why the hell are you here?"

"I presume for the same reason you are. We might as well work together."

"Hmph." Yuria turned her head back to look ahead. "Don't get in my way."

"I shall strive not to," Yurimi conceded before noticing a change in the situation.

Orochimaru's four guards split into pairs and took off in different directions.

"I take it this is where we split," Yuria declared.

"I would rather stay with you. I do not trust my chances against two experienced shinobi. If we two chase two of them, our chances of success increase substantially."

"Hmm…fair enough. Then we go right, to the mountain." Yuria smirked viciously. "I have a score to settle with fatass."

"Very well. I shall engage the foulmouthed lady, after all."

* * *

Hashirama tried to bury his left elbow in Yuri's gut, but the seven-tails danced around his body before sending one of her tails to capture him. She then raised a second tail to parry Tobirama's airborne heel drop, while she noticed the older brother slipping away from her tail grapple.

"Hmph. Rejecting a fair lady's amorous embrace? How rude."

Ghost-Stepping to a corner of the roof, Yuri sent a swarm of kudagitsune at the two undead Kage, who effortlessly grabbed them and tore them apart with their chakra-coated hands. That actually made Yuri make a face.

"So you have means to see the immaterial. I should not have expected any less—"

The Shodai Hokage closed the distance to the fox woman in an instant, and Yuri Ghost-Stepped away before he smashed her face with his powerful right straight. The moment she emerged, however, the Second Hokage was upon her, and Yuri realized they could somehow read her Ghost Step. She attacked with her tails, but Tobirama swiftly slid in between them and went for a punch to her face, which the kitsune grabbed by the wrist with her right hand.

"Got you-ah!"

Her feet up to her ankles were seized by entangling roots.

"This is! Mokuto—ugh!"

The Nidaime had struck Yuri's windpipe with a fierce kick that made her body bend backwards. The plant outgrowth that emerged from the roof tiles captured Yuri's body and made it lie horizontally, which allowed the seven-tails to clearly see the Second Hokage leapt over her. Water created by chakra gathered and rapidly spun around his right arm.

In an instant, she realized the First Hokage's Mokuton prevented her from becoming incorporeal.

"What a bothersome power!" She hissed.

"_**Suiton! Soudai Kaisaku!**_"

"Mother!" Yurisa called from a distance.

The fearsome water drill—**Water Release – Grand Water Excavation**—froze to stillness the moment it came into contact with Yuri's plentiful chest.

"Do not underestimate Spirit Techniques, child! _**Reiton! Fushi no Butai no Atakebi**_."

Throughout the entire village, the corpses of the fallen began to stir. At the same time, Yuri's chakra leaked into the roots that bound her and made them shrivel and fall apart, allowing her to teleport herself away.

"_**Reiton – Yuujyou no Nobori**_."

While the first jutsu animated corpses and ensured their obedience, it gave no means to direct their actions, especially not from afar. The second jutsu, **Spirit Release –** **Banner of the Ethereal Queen**, connected the animated undead into a single hive mind directed by Yuri's thoughts.

"I said I am not much of a fighter. Now this is more my—_**Aegis**_."

Yuri's barrier blocked a rushing onslaught of plants and water.

"Mou, let me finish my sentences!"

The two zombie Kage's attacks were interrupted by the sudden strike of a swarm of zombie mooks.

"Now this is more my thing. Let's see about moving the fight away from here…"

* * *

Hidden within a narrow alleyway between two fortunately-not-burning buildings, Tenten desperately hurried to catch her breath. She had just escaped certain death courtesy of the meteorological madness Sayuri's emergence in the real world had initiated.

"That…that was dangerously close."

**Close indeed, Master.**

"Damn that Kyuubi and her ridiculous power! What the hell is going on over there? And what's the stupid brat doing?"

**I do not know, Master. On another note, incoming attack from above.**

"Wha—?"

Quick reflexes saved Tenten from being split in two like a watermelon. Hinata's blade only struck soil.

"We're not done yet, Tenten-san!"

"Damn it girl, learn to read the mood!"

A pink blur and a purple blur clashed several times, bouncing off the opposite walls of the two buildings until they made it to the opposite roofs.

"I'll defeat you, and you'll stay away from Naruto-kun!"

"What part of **I WANT TO DO THAT MYSELF** don't you get! Aah, mou! Am I the only sane one in this goddamned place?"

**I would put Master's sanity into question myself.**

"Shut up! Magical Shooter!"

**Magical Shooter.**

Half a dozen pink orbs of energy coalesced around Tenten. Hinata strengthened her grip on the katana.

"Go!"

Hinata took to the air at the same time the energy shots went for her. Tenten's Magical Shooter had a homing feature, and the pink orbs promptly chased after the caped magical girl in the sky.

Hinata then made an inverted U-turn, leaning backwards and allowing the magical orbs to fly straight upwards between her spread legs just before flying back to the top of the buildings as fast as she could.

"She's coming!" Tenten stated the obvious. "Get ready for defense!"

Hinata jumped across the alley to the building Tenten was on. The magical orbs high up in the sky corrected their trajectory and streaked back down to chase Hinata.

**Strike Impulse.**

The katana girl flickered out of Tenten's sight.

"Fucking fast!"

**Behind, Master!**

**Storm Strike.**

Hinata's blade, coated in powerful rotating magical energy, clashed against Tenten's scepter, which the pink-clad girl held in between her hands. Sparks flew in between the two magical initiates, and Tenten felt her knees weaken under the extreme pressure.

"This…is not…my kind…of fight!"

**Ow. Ow. Pain. Agony. I'm cracking, Master.**

"Guh…sorry…"

Hinata pushed forward, her magical chainsaw gradually overpowering Tenten's feeble defense.

**Master, the magical shots.**

"Ah, shit! Magical Guard!"

Tenten's Magical Shooter fell upon the two girls, breaking apart a good portion of the roof they were standing on. However, even within the cloud of smoke the explosion created, Tenten could still feel HInata's sword pushing to break her omni-directional barrier.

"Kuh…! Damn it, you're persistent! Justice, blast her away!"

**Magical Counter.**

Tenten's barrier began to vibrate and emit a high-pitched hum, and soon enough Hinata's sword and the hands that held began to vibrate along.

"Wha…what is…this…?" Hinata muttered as she struggled to keep her assault.

The pink shell that protected Tenten then exploded, releasing all its energy in a single direction and blasting Hinata away from her opponent.

"And now Magical Shooter!"

"Spiraling Barrier!"

Tenten's four shots hit a circular barrier of energy rotating around Hinata's body.

"_**Kaiten**_?"

**A magical version of it, Master.**

Hinata managed to land on her feet.

Boing.

Tenten blinked.

The white-eyed girl glared at her older rival. "You're…strong…"

"They bounced."

Hinata blinked. "Huh?"

Tenten pointed at Hinata's chest. "When you landed just now, your breasts. They bounced."

"Eh? No-no way—"

"No, no, seriously," Tenten insisted. "Try pulling them up." She made a tiny jump on the spot. "Like this."

"Eh?" The blushing Hyuuga looked down at her chest, heavily accentuated by her skin-tight garments. "A-Ano…like…like this?"

She hopped.

Bo-yo-yoing.

"Kyah!" Hinata promptly covered her bouncy chest with her arms. "Tha-that's so embarrassin—"

"**Sneak attack!**"

TWACK!

"Kyan!" Hinata moaned cutely when she was thrown backwards by Tenten's nasty right hook.

"Haha! Success!"

**That was low, even for Master…**

* * *

Yuri had successfully diverted the reanimated Hokage away from the stadium. That left Yurisa, Mayuri and Kotonoha alone with the fireball that enveloped Naruto's body. The four-tailed swordswoman only had eyes for the blazing ball of flame, which left the other four-tails with the lookout role. It was the reason she had stayed, anyway.

Yurisa then felt a tiny hand tugging at the hem of her kimono.

"Mayuri?"

It was then that she noticed the very air a distance away twisting and distorting around itself. From the distortion stepped a masked figure, holding a tiny female form in his arms. The small lady trembled and squirmed in the ancient Uchiha's embrace, as if hopelessly attempting to conceal her damaged body.

"…can…any of you heal her?" Tobi's voice was full of shame. "I…have no healing skills…"

The voice brought Kotonoha out of her funk. "Setsuna…"

Tobi slowly approached the fox-women, noticing Yurisa's wary expression.

"I…bear no ill will. Please, just…help her…"

Kotonoha had no qualms about it. She gasped, however, when her self-proclaimed arch-nemesis fiercely grabbed her wrist.

"Koto…noha…"

"Ara…" A bitter smile. "You finally call me by my name, Setsuna-san."

"Sh-Shut up…just…"

The rest of the question never left Setsuna's lips, but it was clear in her fiery eyes.

"Sekai…Sekai's diary…was directly addressed to me," Kotonoha began. "That is why her mother gave it to me after I…after I killed Sekai."

The voluptuous fox-woman spoke clearly and loudly, for she was aware not only Setsuna was attentively listening.

"The human, Itou Makoto, was already dead by the time we became a couple. He died the summer before that, in fact."

Setsuna's pupils dilated to the maximum. "Su…mmer…"

"Trampled by a carriage out of control. I had to do some serious digging around to find out."

"However, the kasha that found his soul as it abandoned his body did not do what he was supposed to do. Instead, he devoured Makoto-kun's soul and possessed his body, effectively assuming his identity."

"He did this not only to indulge in the pleasures of the flesh, but to hide from Shinigami-sama. My guess is that he was not particularly satisfied with spending his entire existence as the Death God's servant."

"Sekai found out. That Makoto was dead, that he had been replaced by an amoral youkai, and she killed him at the one moment she caught him completely off-guard. It is quite impressive, if you think about it. Then again, he probably did not expect retaliation from Sekai of all people. All these things I learned from her diary." There was a heart-wrenchingly painful smile on Kotonoha's face. "I think…she knew I would kill her."

Kotonoha sighed.

"When he died, his soul did not return to Shinigami-sama as it should have. Shinigami-sama's guess is that he used Makoto-kun's soul as a sort of anchor to release himself from the geas that binds all kasha to him. He became a wandering soul, avoiding other kasha and the Void itself all these years. These things I learned from Shinigami-sama himself."

Yurisa finally understood. "Kotonoha-san…so, you…"

"I knew," Kotonoha confessed as she nodded. "I knew all this, and I knew that the kasha who took Makoto-kun's identity was an obstinate one, who wouldn't rest until he made it back to the world of the living somehow. The moment he did just that, I wanted to be there. To put an end to him with my own two hands." She looked like she wanted to cry again. "I didn't…expect him to be so powerful. He should not be so powerful."

Within Naruto's seal, the adult Sayuri nodded in agreement. All these things she already knew. Unlike Kotonoha, however, Sayuri also knew just how the kasha who claimed Makoto's soul had overcome the limits of his own power as a kasha.

She knew all these things because the kasha in the guise of Itou Makoto was the being she had originally being asked to slay.

"Koto…noha…"

There was a strange and pitiful mixture of anger and sadness in Setsuna's eyes.

"…why…?"

The busty four-tails wiped a tear off her right eye.

"Why did I not tell you?" Her tender smile could not hide her sorrow. "Sekai…asked me not to. In her diary."

Setsuna's lips parted from each other, a raspy "Sekai" barely escaping the tiny gap between them.

"She did not want you to know. She did not want you to begin a pointless crusade of vengeance. She did not want you to lose yourself to disappointment and disillusion. She wanted you to remember her as your best friend, and Makoto-kun as your first love."

Kotonoha chuckled bitterly.

"It was the impossible wish of an overly optimistic teenager. But, it was the last wish of a human I respected. I will not apologize for hiding this from you."

"The-then…" Setsuna gasped. Recovery to combat condition would take a while. "You…your…the skull…"

Kotonoha's eyes watered again. It was the question she did not want to answer.

However, it was time to move on. Both for her sake, and for Setsuna's.

"I didn't want you to hate him. The kind, thoughtful Makoto-kun, the one we and Sekai truly loved." She closed her eyes, her mind quickly reviewing memories of the last 150 years. "In that respect, I believe I failed in the worst possible manner, Setsuna."

Setsuna's lips trembled, and her own eyes threatened to shed tears.

"No…"

For she had understood what Kotonoha had not said. So had Yurisa and Mayuri, thus they remained silent.

Kotonoha was not naïve like Sekai. Kotonoha knew exactly how Setsuna would feel, and exactly how she would react to the death of the man she loved, at the hands of her best friend.

To protect the memory of the human she once loved, as well as that of a human she once respected, Kotonoha willingly accepted the entirety of Setsuna's hatred.

She assumed the role of a delusional yandere, to keep the memories fresh in Setsuna's mind. So that Setsuna would look only at her, and hate only her.

It was far from the best thing to do, but that, in way, was also Kotonoha's love.

"No…" Setsuna whispered one more time, as everything she had believed, the very foundations of her drive, her vengeance, everything she had done and strived for in the past fifteen decades collapsed under the weight of its worthlessness.

Her entire life, everything that made her who she was…was nothing but a lie.

"I cannot…" Kotonoha was already crying. "I cannot apologize enough…Setsuna…I…I'm so sorry…"

Kotonoha gasped and sobbed even as she healed Setsuna's large wounds. But the smaller four-tails was not listening. She could only hear her own memories, falling apart as their worthlessness came to light. So much hatred, so much dedication to that hatred…

…the human, Itou Makoto. She had believed, for the longest time, that he had betrayed her. That he had used her, enjoyed her and then thrown her away, and then done the same to her best friend. She had believed that human men were despicable, worthless beings who only thought about their own satisfaction. All her effort, all her dedication, all her countless plans were for the sake of vengeance; revenge aimed towards humanity. Itou Makoto had become the symbol of a disgusting world that would forever reject her unless she reshaped it in its entirety.

Everything! What meaning was there for everything she had done? The sacrifices she had made? The evils she had committed!

"I'm sorry…Setsuna…I…!"

Setsuna howled.

Her rage, her misery, the death of everything that meant anything to her.

Setsuna howled, releasing everything she had, now that it had lost its worth.

Misdirected hate, empty vengeance, pointlessness…the pointlessness of it all…what was she supposed to do?

What was she supposed to do with all the hatred which filled her black heart?

Setsuna howled, cried and raged, releasing everything that was Kiyoura Setsuna until nothing but emptiness remained.

That, and uncertainty.

* * *

**CHAPTER 19 - _To be continued..._  
**


	39. Genkyouien, Part Two

_**Naruto Genkyouien**_

_**- **__**ナルト**__**- **_**幻****脅****威宴**

**Chapter Nineteen: Phantom Menace Party – Festival of Violence (Part Two)**

* * *

"Tayuya…"

"Hnn."

They knew they were being followed. The chasers had not particularly hidden their intentions, really. Two of the kitsune were after them. Jiroubou and Tayuya knew their retreat would not be a straightforward thing, after all.

And where the hell did Kimimaro wander off to, anyway?

The large bulwark which was the Hokage Monument loomed in front and over them, which meant they had to turn left if they wanted to leave the village from the proper direction. However, this was as good a point to engage their pursuers as any.

Landing on the roof of the second to last house before the bottom of the mountain itself, the two young Sound nin turned around to face the youkai.

"Haha! Good, good, **good**!" Yuria exclaimed, delighted by the end of the chase and the beginning of the party.

"Yuria, wait—aah, who am I kidding…"

The three-tails had already made a high and mighty leap, right fist poised to smash Jiroubou's face. The largest of the Sound Four also readied his right fist, and Yuria roared a war cry.

Their fists connected, and the roof under the humans' feet fell apart.

"What the fuck!?" Tayuya exclaimed. Jiroubou could only grunt and fall backwards as his feet no longer touched a stable surface.

Even without her feet on solid ground, that girl's fist carried so much power!

Jiroubou and Yuria fell into the house underneath, while the red-haired kunoichi managed to leap away to another rooftop, but Yurimi immediately fell upon her like a lioness after her prey.

"Wah-shit!" Tayuya barely managed to sidestep before Yurimi slammed her left palm on her solar plexus. The young Matriarch then spun clockwise and reached forward with her right foot in an attempt to trip Tayuya, but her feet could not even reach that far.

The kimono was the problem, restricting how far Yurimi could spread her legs.

"Gu-agh!" Yurimi groaned when Tayuya slammed her open hand on her windpipe and began to choke her, at the same time her free hand reached for a kunai. She could not use Ghost Step: it still did not work for her when she was touching another living being—she had not mastered it completely.

"You're fucking dead, furry bitch!"

"Whooaaaaaaaa!" The voice of a boy swayed as he leapt highly to reach the rooftop and strike at Tayuya. He was not used to that kind of athletic feat. Still, he fulfilled the purpose of separating the Sound nin from the young foxgirl, as the human girl jumped back before he could smash her face.

A second later, a second boy landed just three steps behind Yurimi.

"Tch," Tayuya spat. "Effin' great."

"You two are…" Yurimi remembered them. She had first met them just the previous day, during the night festival. "Master's acquaintances."

"Haa, right, right…" Nara Shikamaru scratched his forehead. "You're the one with the crazy fetish. Yurimi, right?"

"You have a good memory."

The house with the broken ceiling suddenly collapsed in its entirety, right after the front door was blasted off its hinges when Jiroubou was thrown out. Yuria too, leapt out of the building before it buried her alive. The bulky young man quickly got back on his feet, aware that his opponent's small frame concealed tremendous strength.

Jiroubou moved to the offensive with a fierce palm thrust aimed at Yuria's face. The much smaller girl dodged it with a step to her left and immediately went for a left straight at the nin's right flank, but Jiroubou caught her left wrist before he could be harmed.

"Tch! Ora!" Yuria exclaimed right before pulling back her left arm, and Jiroubou found himself being pulled along with it, so he quickly let go, which allowed Yuria to turn her back to him with the aim to bury her elbow right below his sternum. This time, however, Jiroubou stopped the offending elbow with both his hands, and Yuria quickly took a step away and turned back to face him before he could grapple her.

Both human and foxgirl roared in unison before their hands met and both began to push.

"Shika…" Akimichi Chouji spoke. "Maybe one of us should go help down there…"

"**No!**" Yuria roared even as she measured Jiroubou's strength against her own. "This fight is mine and mine alone! Stay where you are and help Yurimi!"

"Ah…" Chouji flinched for some reason. That small girl had a very tough-sounding voice.

"Your call," Shikamaru told Yurimi, who nodded at that simple comment.

"You…do not seem very eager to fight."

"Mah, it was Chouji who saw you and decided we should help out."

"You are shinobi of Konohagakure. This is your job, I believe."

Shikamaru actually looked away in the face of hard facts. "Ugh…don't…don't put it like that."

"She's getting away!" Chouji called out.

Of course Tayuya was getting away. She was no idiot.

"Let's go," Yurimi declared.

"Sure, whatever."

"Yurimi!"

The Silver Lily stopped on her tracks.

"Don't you fucking dare hold back!" Yuria warned. "This isn't one of those silly spars you always won!"

The short-haired foxgirl watched her sister's back for a moment, and then turned away.

"Hmph. I never had the slightest intention of holding back. Those who hurt Master…those who stand in Master's way…this humble slave will exterminate them all like the pests they are. Follow me if you want, shinobi."

"O-Okay…" Chouji mumbled sheepishly before following after Yurimi and Tayuya.

"Man, what a drag…" Shikamaru complained, but still trudged along. He was not going to abandon his best friend. After all, had he not made it all the way back to the stadium explicitly to release him from the Genjutsu?

Once they were all gone, Yuria allowed herself to grin.

"I guess I didn't have to worry, after all. That crazy sister of mine is quite dependable when it counts. And now, it's just the two of us, my dear fatass."

Jiroubou twitched at the insult.

"**Let's tango!**"

* * *

Higashiyama Yurine had already crossed half the village via Ghost Step when she remembered her daughters could not possibly have followed her.

"HAWAAAAAAAAAN!"

Thus, Higashiyama Yurine was bawling her eyes out, completely lost in the middle of a village caught in the middle of a battle. She was just crying, not even calling out her daughters. Then again, her characteristic cries already made her pretty much unmistakable. A single tail—an old habit; walking around with five tails out could be difficult in narrow passages or when walking through doors—swayed wildly from side to side.

"HAWAWAAAAAAAAN!"

"Well, what do we have here?"

Two Suna dropped from who-cares-where, one appearing in front of the fox-woman and one landing behind her.

"Hawaa?" Yurine whispered before a very loud snort.

"Damn…" The shinobi in front of Yurine whistled appreciatively as his eyes roamed her body. "Kitsune never disappoint, really."

"Nope, not at all," the second nin reached for Yurine's breasts from behind, cupping them over the kimono shirt and squeezing them roughly.

"Hawa! Hawawawa-WAAAAAAAH!" Yurine resumed her bawling. Whether it was because of her daughters' absence or in response to the harassment, we might never know.

"Now, now, no need to get like that…" the shinobi in front of her proposed as he approached, eager to join his partner in fondling those magnificent breasts that threatened to pour out of her clothes.

"HAWAAAAAAAN! HAWAAAAN, HAWAWAAAAAAAAN!"

"Tch," the Suna nin finally spat. "What a loud bitch. Knock it off already!"

But Yurine did not stop crying loudly and squirming within the other man's hold on her breasts.

"Damn it, you stupid bitch, I said knock it off—"

A tail suddenly lashed out, slapping the man's right cheek with sufficient force to rip the skin of his neck, his muscles, blood vessels, vertebrae and spinal cord.

The headless man fell on his knees and then collapsed on Yurine's feet, blood freely pouring out of the open jugulars.

"Waaaah!" The man behind her quickly jumped back, renouncing to the joy of fondling Yurine's tits to stay away from the suddenly most threatening caramel tail, its tip stained crimson. "You-you monster!"

"Haa…ah…aaah…"

Yurine's eyes were fixed on the corpse at her feet; belonging to a man she had killed effortlessly, unknowingly.

"Ah…aah…wawawaa…WAAAAAAAAAH!"

The bawling five-tails ran away, scared out of her wits by the unexpectedly macabre sight at her feet.

"Wha-you're not getting away!"

The man's attempt at striking from Yurine's blind spot came to an abrupt end when four more tails appeared and swiftly seized him by his limbs, the fifth wrapping itself around his neck. With the same effortlessness with which the first victim lost his head, Yurine's four tails pulled until both arms and legs were ripped off.

The nameless ninja's scream managed to drown Yurine's own, but only until the fifth tail harshly threw him at a nearby wall. The last thing this poor man was able to do was release a choked gasp, for as soon as it threw him that same fifth tail speared him through his open mouth, piercing through the medulla oblongata and ending his misery.

Yurine had never stopped running, crying her lungs out while she escaped from carnage of her own making.

* * *

"Tch."

Jiraiya had a problem.

While killing Oto's giant summons was not that much of a problem, the issue was that beating them took time, and the time he wasted defeating a single one was time the others spent to wreak havoc on the village. Why the hell was Konoha so ill equipped to deal with massive summoned beasts, anyway?

"Whoaaaaaah!"

About five blocks away, Mitarashi Anko seemed to have trouble facing a giant snake with a giant snake of her own. He would consider helping, but he had a four-headed snake of his own to deal with.

"Ara, Anko-san, you seem to be in trouble."

The Special Jounin was not in the mood. Why the hell did Orochimaru pick the day she was suffering the mother of all hangovers to invade?

"What the hell do you two want?"

"Ya-hoo~!" Higashiyama Yurika called out and waved a greeting from the roof of a nearby building. "You look like you could use some help!"

"If you're gonna help then fucking help!" Anko yelled right before the snake she was riding was body-slammed. "Waaaah!"

The twins winced at the sight of Anko's ride crashing into another building.

"That's gotta hurt," Yurika muttered.

"Yeah, yeah…so, shall we get to it?" Her sister proposed.

Their new Matriarch, Higashiyama Yurimi, had given the order to dispose of the enemies of Konoha. While they could roam the streets looking for humans to hunt down, the twins found out far more efficient and useful to deal with the summoned beasts, and their potential for massive structural damage. A single of those giant snakes could wreak a lot more havoc than several dozen low-ranked shinobi.

Clasping their hands together, the identical lovers extended their tails in front of them. A hexagon of silver light connected the tips of the six equidistant tails, but immediately after that the tails projected small beams of light outwards, expanding the small hexagon and making it the center of a beautiful silver mandala. Then, a second identical mandala emerged from the first one and floated in the air just a yard ahead.

The two circular arrays of mystical light began to spin in opposite directions. Tendrils of silver light traveled from the first mandala to the border of the second, and then along the arcane traces within to gather at the very center, creating a glowing sphere of silver-colored chakra.

"_**Reiton – Nidan Reihou**_."

Before the giant snake attacking Anko could lash at the kunoichi's downed summon, a huge cannon of silver engulfed its head. The beast did not even have the chance to dismiss itself; its brain was obliterated in an instant.

"Waa…" Anko whistled at the sight. "That was pretty awesome, I'll give you that."

"Hmph!" Yurika nodded proudly at the sight of their deed. "After all, stupid beasts like that don't stand a chance after the might of foxes."

"Why are you so cocky all of a sudden…?" Yuriko muttered a bit tiredly. "Now help me aim at the next one."

"Yeeeeees."

* * *

"Uff, that was pretty close."

"O-Onee-chan…"

The three Oto nin fell upon Yurina and Yuriyo from above, but the fraternal twins jumped back just before they were impaled by their short swords.

Yuriyo glanced at the three nameless shinobi, and at the placement of shadows around them.

"I got this, Rina."

The three mooks leapt at them at the same time. Unlike those who found their end at Yurine's hands…well, tails, these three actually intended to do their job.

Yuriyo smirked.

"Service shot~" The half-Void winked saucily as she lifted the skirt part of her ero-kunoichi garb.

It needs no reminder, but Higashiyama Yuriyo does not have the habit of wearing underwear.

The very male shinobi faltered for an instant, and an instant was exactly what Yuriyo needed.

Spears of blackness emerged from the three's shadows and impaled through their heads cleanly and ruthlessly. Pinned in midair by the shadow weapons, they were sitting ducks for the onslaught of additional void-spears that emerged afterwards.

"Kyaaah!" Yurina was not very fond of such violence.

The shadow spears receded, and the three very dead mooks fell in front of the foxgirl sisters.

"And that's that," Yuriyo declared, wiping her hands off to make a statement. "Just like mother said: when all else fails, lift up your dress."

"Mother never said that!" Yurina complained with a shrieking voice.

"Huh? Really? Then was it Sun Tzu who said 'overwhelm your opponent with enormous cleavage and you shall be victorious'?"

"Of course not!" Yurina responded most heatedly. "He would have never said something like that!"

"Wha—Sun Tzu was a dude?" Yuriyo seemed truly surprised. Then she grimaced. "Damn, what a perv."

Yurina facepalmed.

Yuriyo's expression hardened.

"…Yurina."

Noticing the sudden change in her sister's tone, Yurina's face displayed worry. "…Riyo-nee-chan."

"Yurina, keep going. I'll catch up with you later."

"Eh? Onee-chan, why—"

Yurina tried to step closer to her sister, but Yuriyo pushed her away.

"Go."

The half-Celestial then noticed the taint in her sister's eyes. The white was being replaced by an inky black, again.

"O-Onee-chan, you are…"

"**Please**."

Yurina's eyes explored her sister's, and saw the plea hidden within those murky black and carmine jewels. Her lips trembled, but she did not want her beloved sister to think lowly of her.

"I…I'll be waiting, onee-chan."

"Aah."

"…you…you have to come back, Riyo-nee-chan!" Yurina whispered. It was a plea of her own.

Yuriyo snorted.

"Now what's with the melodrama…? I'll be right behind you, silly."

Yurina nodded, even as she struggled not to cry.

"Absolutely…you absolutely have to come back, onee-chan!"

"Yeah, yeah. Now, get going, get going! And stay out of trouble."

"Um! I'll leave now!"

"Have a safe trip."

Yuriyo watched the departing figure of her sister, who was kind enough not to look back.

"Damn, I'd tap that ass," Yuriyo muttered to herself, following it with a chuckle.

Once she decided Yurina was far enough, she sighed, and then glanced at her black-tinted nails.

"Haa…so there's no turning back this time, huh? A silly little jutsu and I'm like this already." She shrugged and smiled. "Well, at least it happens at a good time."

Clawing the air to her left, Yuriyo created an obsidian gash in space that devoured the shot of webbing which had aimed to capture her.

"Hoo…so you're not like the losers over there. Interesting."

"…you do realize I'll just go after your cute little sister once I'm done with you, don't you, kitsune?" Kidoumaru taunted from his hiding spot. Yuriyo was surprised she was not able to pinpoint his location, which implied the use of some sort of voice projection technique.

"Let me tell you a few things about us sisters, dear. You see, this sexy thing you are talking to is only good at looking good. The one who inherited Mother's fighting talent was most definitely not me."

Yuriyo's red pupils became narrow slits, and her smirk almost feral.

"Even if you kill me, Yurina will **tear you apart**. You should be grateful I sent her away."

"Second, I was born after her. I'm Yurina's cute little sister. Her calling me 'onee-chan' is just an odd quirk of hers. And third, well…"

She raised her left hand to face level, eyeing the blackness that began to seep past her nails to her fingers.

"You picked a really, **really** bad day to get in my way, darling."

Kidoumaru chuckled. "Hohooh…so you are eager to play, aren't you?"

"I'm always eager to play, sweetheart," Yuriyo teased before dropping her tone. "A warning, though: I play very, very rough. I fear you just won't be able to keep up, honey." She grinned. "Now, Naruto—he's got a body for long-lasting delight, with the proper...education. Believe me; I have checked it most thoroughly."

She followed up with an overly exaggerated sigh.

"Haa…if I had known the day would get so shitty I would have played with him a bit longer…"

The half-Void noticed next to a window two floors up and to her left. _There he is!_

"Enough banter! If you want to play the game of death, then playing is what we'll do!"

Yuriyo slowly slid her hands from the end to her neck downwards, over the curve of her breasts and down to her waist, as if smoothing the wrinkles in her flimsy clothes. Then she joined her hands together, stretched her arms in front of her, and finally upwards.

"Honey, I hope you get what you are saying. This game doesn't allow continues, you know?"

Kidoumaru's head appeared behind the open window.

"_**Kumosouka!**_"

"_**Aegis of Shadow**_."

Another fight to the death began in the streets of Konoha.

* * *

This scene, just to let you know, is a flashback.

"Nee, sensei…"

It happened on the last day of their training together, during their last _**Izanami **_session. Naruto was using his chakra tail to make push-ups.

"Hmm?"

"Will you give me a reward if I win tomorrow, sensei?"

"Buh!" Had she been drinking anything, she would have spat it out completely. "Re-Reward? Who do you think I—what kind of rewards could you possibly want from—!"

As if responding to a cue, Setsuna's mind was then filled with all sorts of not-suitable-for-work imagery.

"A-A-A-As if! As if I c-c-could possibly want to d-d-do something like that with you! P-P-Perverted brat!" The diminutive girl shook her head after covering her reddened face with her hands. "Whe-where-what are you doing? Tha-that's the wrong hole, you moron!"

Naruto quietly watched the strange woman's strange behavior, immersed as she was in a rather explicit delusion.

"What the hell are you saying, sensei…?"

"A-Aaa-Ah…Stay away from me, you pig!" Setsuna jumped away from the boy as if he were a disgusting bug.

"Now what did I do…?"

"I-I-I'm not the kind of loose woman who lusts after a brat's body!"

"WHAT THE HELL!?"

After a lengthy clarification that no, Naruto had no intention to claim her nubile body as his reward to ravage and savor in all sorts of perverted ways—the emphasis with which he denied it got him a lightning bolt to the face for some reason—, teacher and student actually discussed the idea of a reward in a more…civilized manner, sitting on the hard, barren ground in front of each other.

"We-Well…" Setsuna was still plenty embarrassed, which translated into cute stammering and an awkward blush. "I-I guess it would be fair to reward a student's success, yes…so, you had something in mind, boya?"

"Hmm!" Naruto nodded eagerly. "I was hoping Setsuna-sensei would teach me her best jutsu!"

The girl raised an eyebrow. "My best…? Hmm…" She shook her head even as she smiled in a rather derisive manner. "You do not know what you are asking for, Naruto. You cannot learn my best jutsu."

"Why-why do you assume things like that?" Naruto planted his hands on his knees. "I won't know before I try!"

"I know why I say it, boy; it would be a waste of time. There are other things you can learn."

"Bu-but!"

Setsuna narrowed her glance. Naruto had stopped himself from saying the rest of that sentence. Suddenly, it was he who was blushing and looking away in embarrassment.

"What?" the girl inquired.

"It's…well…"

"Cat got your tongue, boya? Spit it out already."

"We-Well…I mean…sensei…sensei will…not…" Naruto's face changed to reflect his sadness. "…be my sensei anymore after this…right?"

Setsuna blinked, and Naruto felt he had to correct himself.

"Ah, no! What I mean, well…I mean! Sensei will always be sensei! And-and I'll always be grateful for everything you've taught me! Really!" He bowed hastily and exactly once. "Bu-but…we won't…train anymore like this, after all…"

"Oh…"

Now why was she blushing? She should be happy! The results of training were satisfactory, and she no longer had to spend her time helping the brat.

"Well, ye-yes. I only need you to teach a lesson to the stuck-up Hyuuga, after all," Setsuna responded stubbornly.

"Yeah…that's why…"

The hybrid youkai glanced at Naruto, wondering what he wanted to say next.

"That's why…if I learned sensei's best jutsu, I thought, dunno…"

It was really embarrassing, what he wanted to say, thus he took his time and scratched his left cheek.

"I…wanted to feel closer to sensei…or something like that, heheh…hmm…"

Setsuna had reacted to those words by drilling holes on Naruto's face with her big, wide and round eyes. However, before Naruto could become aware of just how abnormally open her eyes were, Setsuna hurriedly looked down and away, which of course mostly concealed her reddened face as well.

"Ah-aaah, um. I…I see."

No, she really did not.

"We-Well! E-Even if it would be hopeless for the likes of you to try to learn my signature jutsu, I-I-I…guess I…don't mind at least showing it to you."

Cue excitement from Naruto's part.

"Really!?"

"Hmm." Setsuna did not trust in herself enough to speak another word for at least another minute.

"Awesome!" The boy raised his arms in celebration. "Oh man, I bet it's like, incredibly badass! Yosh, now I really gotta win this! Awesome jutsu!"

Naruto acting like a child had a certain soothing effect on Setsuna. It reminded her that she was an adult and she had no reason to feel embarrassed because of such a brat.

The satisfied Naruto allowed his back to fall on the ground, but even then his eyes still look for his teacher's face.

"Thank you, sensei."

And just as quickly, what little composure she had regained went down the flush.

"Wha-wha—what is it now?"

"Unn," Naruto uttered while shaking his head. "For everything. For responding that day I summoned you, and for coming all the way here to teach me. Nobody had ever gone this far for my sake, so…"

"Iiiii—it's not like I did it for your sake, you know?" Stubborn to the end, this Setsuna.

"Yeah, yeah, but still…" Naruto's smile became even brighter, something Setsuna thought impossible. "Thank you, sensei." His eyes finally left the girl, to focus on the clouds of the artificial world. "You know, I wish I had met you earlier, much earlier. I think I would be so much more awesome!"

Despite her trembling lips and awfully warm ears, Setsuna still managed to put up some feeble resistance.

"Wha-d-do, don't be so pretentious, boya! Why would I bother to train you for years, anyway?"

Naruto shook his head.

"No, not training. Just…meeting you, sensei." He chuckled. "I feel I am a greater person thanks to you."

Twin clouds of steam burst out of the fox-woman's ears.

"Uhh…sensei, is that normal?"

* * *

…_there was that, right…? No matter how insignificant…there was…that…_

"Ugh…"

At some point, Setsuna had run out of tears to shed, closed her eyes and immersed herself into deep silence and recollection. Her blessed mind had brought that specific memory, and she had not failed to understand why.

"Are you feeling a bit better, Setsuna?" Kotonoha hurried to help the smaller kitsune get back up, but the loli brushed off the swordswoman's hands.

"I have no need for your kindness, you cow," she spat with her characteristic venom. "Go and make some yoghurt or something."

"Ah, haha…" Kotonoha sweatdropped. "Glad to see you're back…I think."

"Grandma! I'm so glad you're al—buh!"

Setsuna pulled back the hand she used to slap Tobi's left cheek. "Be grateful I'm not in the mood to char you, Madara."

Looking at the world around her for the first time in a while, Setsuna caught sight of the quietly raging ball of fire near the edge of the yellow rooftop.

"What is that?"

The change in Kotonoha's and Yurisa's expression told Setsuna she had asked a difficult question. She had reminded Kotonoha of the terrible, cold void she suddenly had in her heart.

"Naruto-sama's…body."

"Naruto? Just what is that su—wait, 'body'?"

Kotonoha's left arm trembled, and she brought the hand up to cover her face.

"I couldn't…do anything…" she sobbed. "…I couldn't save him…from that man!"

"Kotonoha-san…" Yurisa kneeled closer to the other four-tails. "None of us could…"

"How is that supposed to make me feel better!?" the long, dark-haired beauty cried out. "I…! That boy was, to me…!"

"…_you are…you're the mother I've always dreamt of."_

"To lose him like this…! I can't…I can't…"

As she cried, Kotonoha's head slowly leaned towards the floor under her legs, until her forehead rested on the yellow tiles. It was a strange and uncomfortable position, but the woman was not thinking of such things.

"It hurts too much…I wanted to…I really wanted to…"

…_be his mother forever…_

"…where is he…?" a low voice growled to Kotonoha's left.

"Gah, grandma!" Madara hurried to hold Setsuna's tiny body as she stood up with some effort. "You're still weak—"

"I'm asking where he is! Itou Makoto, or whatever he's called! **Where is he!?**"

Tiles in multiple directions were blow away as lightning streams flowed out of Setsuna's feet and across the roof.

"Sayuri-sama is looking for him right now…" Yurisa meekly responded.

"Sayuri?"

"Things…happened…" Yurisa was not really sure how to explain it. "That fireball is also her doing, but I don't really know…"

"Hnn." Having become obvious that Yurisa had no answers for her, Setsuna pushed Tobi off her to stand on her own. "Kotonoha."

She got no response from the sobbing woman. Setsuna thought of stepping on her hated rival's head for the hell of it, but finally decided against it.

"I don't know about you, but I refuse."

Tobi gasped in amazement when his grandmother's eyes began to change. Could it be…?

"I refuse to let that man take everything from me!"

Her changing eyes fell on the blazing ball of flame for a moment. He was there…

"_Yes, mistress!"_

Turning her back to the conflagration, Setsuna proudly walked away from the scene. "Let's go, Madara."

"Ye-yes!"

The bumbling idiot happily followed his ancestor, mesmerized by her transition to a new level of power and beauty. It looked a lot like Itachi's, only her black nebula-like 'arms' were thinner and there were nine of them.

Setsuna's _**Mangekyou Sharingan**_.

* * *

"Shino, watch out!"

He did not really need that warning. Leaning to his left, he slid his right foot backwards, tripping the Sound kunoichi about to strike the back of his neck. It was he instead who struck her upper vertebrae as she fell, knocking her unconscious before her face touched the street.

"Hmph. You are not hot enough to give me trouble," the boy declared to the fallen mook.

"Stop that," Ino demanded, at the same time the tag team of Kiba and Akamaru finished off a second enemy nin. "This…this is really kinda scary…"

She did not mean fighting for their lives; they were somewhat used to that already.

However, this time they were fighting within Konoha territory, with the fate of their village at stake. It was intimidating.

"And no clue where Kurenai-sensei might be," Kiba added.

"Or Asuma-sensei."

Kiba acknowledged Ino's short comment. "Or Asuma-sensei."

"So, what should we do know? We took Sasuke-kun to the shelter, so…we just join the battle?" Ino pondered.

"I presume all the civilians are in the shelters by now," Shino offered. "Our best plan would be to stay together and engage the enemy forces as—"

Ino did not need Shino's sudden silence or Kiba's expression to realize the enemy presence right behind her.

Not bothering to turn around to face the enemy, she allowed the instincts driven by a whole week of having her ass thoroughly kicked by Higashiyama Yurina do their work.

She ducked, at the same time her left hand made a counter-clockwise arc upwards and over her head, her wrist suddenly stopping the descent of what she assumed was an arm. Her left foot reached behind her, hoping to trip her unknown enemy, but whoever it was noticed her intent and took a step backwards, which in any case allowed Ino to partially turn and try a punch with her mid-section. It was caught by the enemy's free hand, however. That did not mean Ino's attack was interrupted, for she was still spinning to face her enemy, which meant she could use the momentum of her right leg to drive a high roundhouse kick to the light-haired newcomer's head.

It was caught by a third hand.

"Wha—guh-ah!"

The short moment of surprise was enough for Sakon to stab his kunai in Ino's midsection, immediately jumping backwards before Kiba could reach him. The two Genin boys quickly stood in front of their female comrade, but they did not dare look back, as the strange three-armed man might seize the chance.

"Ino!" Shino called back, his voice unusually high in volume.

"Do-Don't mind me…" the girl whimpered a response. Her hands were unable to stop the flow of blood out of her wound. "It's not that deep…"

She doubted something had been ruptured, but it still fucking hurt!

"Tch," Sakon spat in disappointment. "I thought I'd at least take out the girl in one shot."

"Alright, this fucker's dead," Kiba growled. Shino did not say a word, but black insects began to pour out of his wide sleeves, becoming a cloud around his hands.

Most battles do not begin with hot-blooded speeches or dramatic word exchanges.

Most of the time, two groups of people find each other on opposite sides of a battlefield.

Most of the time, no other reason is needed to shed blood.

* * *

Kotonoha silently watched the undying ball of fire. Her tears long dry, the buxom swordswoman could only stare, quietly, unmoving, at the unrelenting, non-expanding conflagration. Yurisa sat next to her, holding her left hand, but offering Kotonoha no other show of support in her grief.

Some distance away, Mayuri watched the scene with her usual, bored expression. Displaying emotions was just too much unnecessary work.

Of course, it was hard not to look at the fireball. On the positive side, her secret had become a secret again. However, how could she just put aside the fact that this human boy…?

She was sure the other Sayuri, the one from a different timeline, was doing her best to save Naruto's life, but…did it really matter to her, Higashiyama Mayuri?

She bit her bottom lip. This is what she gets for being hopeful; for opening her heart to someone, if only a little.

_**Droplets on the Spider's Web **_kicked in just as it always did. So…should she get away or play damsel in distress—

A big hand roughly grabbed the back of her kimono shirt and pulled her up.

Damsel in distress it was, then.

These guys are fast.

Despite all her distress, Kotonoha was still the superior fighter, and noticed the newcomers before Mayuri's mother. The sudden sharpness of her glance caught Yurisa's attention, and then she, too, noticed her daughter had been seized.

"Ma-Mayuri!"

Hoshigaki Kisame effortlessly lifted the tiny two-tails with his left hand. She did not look very scared; if anything, she looked bored.

"…I don't like your face, brat."

Mayuri raised an eyebrow.

"…let me hold her."

"Don't make me hit you, Itachi."

A short glance at the shorter of the two newcomers revealed the mysteries of his worldline to the little goddess of time and space. Were she any other person, she would have made a face.

Suddenly being grabbed so nonchalantly by this beast of a man did not seem so bad…

"Who are you people?" Yurisa cried. "Put my daughter down!"

Kotonoha slowly got back on her feet after Yurisa. Itachi stepped forward, deciding to speak in behalf of the two.

"We are the Knights of Flats."

"Huh?" the two adult kitsune tilted their heads in confusion.

"DON'T USE THAT RIDICULOUS NAME!"

Mayuri winced. Hideous and loud-mouthed to boot. Such misfortune.

"I am the Knight of Nine," Itachi continued, obviously uncaring of his partner's opinion. "And this is my partner, the Knight of Six."

"IT'S THE OTHER WAY AROUND!" Kisame loudly corrected…and then noticed he was treading a dangerous path. "I-I mean…shut up! Just…" It was good he had a free hand to rub his temple. "Just…let's do what we came here to do."

"Very well," Itachi acquiesced with a nod. "We have to come to test our capacity—"

"NO!" Kisame roared. "No, no, no-no-no-no-NO!" Blood red eyes glared at the rogue Uchiha with deranged intensity. "We did NOT come to test our capacity!"

Itachi frowned imperceptibly. "I am quite sure that is what we came to—"

"IT'S NOT!"

Itachi's frowned deepened a millimeter. His eyes then fell on the still restrained Mayuri.

She could free herself whenever she felt like it, sure, but she could not do so in a way that would not appear overly suspicious.

The only reason Mayuri did not inch away from Itachi's lengthy stare was because she could not. Eventually, though, Itachi's eyes turned to Kisame.

"Kisame, thank you. You didn't have to—"

"I'M NOT KIDNAPPING LOLIS FOR YOU!"

Yurisa trembled at the latest outburst from the shark man. "Who…who are they…?"

Kotonoha shook her head slowly. "They appear to be some sort of evil stand-up comedy duo…"

Kisame glared at the two fox-women. "Comedy duo, they say…listen up, you damn foxes! We're taking the Kyuubi brat, and that's—!"

He immediately took a step back, right before a flash of metal struck the space where he had just stood. Suddenly, there was a thick, long scar on the roof tiles right in front of him, and Mayuri was running towards her mother's awaiting arms.

Had he not released the girl and stepped back, he would have lost his left hand.

Kisame's eyes found Kotonoha's, and he actually had to swallow down a whimper.

Blackness; a black void; emptiness and a promise of remorseless pain.

The eyes of someone who could inflict the most terrible atrocities with a smile.

In all his years encountering all sorts of weird shit, he had never seen such…derangement.

She then blinked, and her eyes recovered their luster and warmth.

"My, my…" Her voice was like birds chirping in the morning and a dance of sharp steel and flowing blood. "I hope I heard wrong, Intruder-san."

Her pupils moved from Kisame to Itachi, but the traitor Uchiha's Copy Wheel Eyes seemed to be fixated on a rather notorious part of Kotonoha's anatomy.

"Uuu…uuuh…" His lips trembling before his entire face contorted into a grimace. "Ugh…"

Kotonoha frowned.

Kisame groaned.

"Ugh…" Itachi repeated. "I…I'll leave this one to you, Kisame…"

"YOU'RE PATHETIC!" Kisame did not hesitate to voice his thoughts.

The young missing-nin stumbled past the two swordsmen, holding his forehead on his right head as if suddenly struck by a spell of dizziness.

Yurisa immediately pushed her daughter behind her, standing protectively in front of both Mayuri and the blazing ball of flame.

"So you're really here to take Naruto-san?"

Itachi's eyes fell on Mayuri's small figure.

Staaaaaaare.

The half-Time kitsune sweatdropped, and Itachi shook his head.

_Focus, Itachi, focus!_

"Yes," he responded, even if his eyes were still stuck to Mayuri's small form. "Yes, I…we, we came for Naruto."

It was not hard for Yurisa to realize that it was in her best interests to keep Mayuri away from this man.

"Mayuri, sweetheart, do you think you can make it to the camp on your own?" the four-tails spoke softly, her eyes leaving Itachi's still form only for an instant to acknowledge Mayuri's eager nod.

"…good. Please stay out of trouble and don't stop running until you find the others, okay?"

Mayuri nodded one last time and began to dash through the rooftops at her own pace. She was probably the slowest runner in the Higashiyama Clan.

"Ah…"

All the present glared in response to Itachi's weak whimper, his face one of obvious disappointment at the cute little girl's departure.

"I see he's one of those types…" Kotonoha muttered; her expression a mixture of amusement and concern.

"I'm ashamed to be his partner," Kisame admitted.

With the lolicious distraction gone, Itachi's crimson and black eyes promptly landed on Higashiyama Yurisa, who did her best not to be intimidated by the sudden pressure. Those eyes were scary.

"I was appointed to protect Naruto-san," she declared with as firm a tone as she could muster. Being a mother, it was actually pretty damn firm. "I must ask you to leave at once."

Itachi narrowed his cold glare. "You…cannot stop me."

Yurisa frowned at the sight of Itachi's body dispersing into a flock of crows, cawing ominously as they flew around her. Any pretense of congeniality or amiability disappeared from the woman's dark blue eyes. Her four golden tails began to sway slowly, they hypnotic dancing a warning of future violence.

"Like this, it's over," Itachi suddenly whispered right behind the fox-woman.

Yurisa's tails suddenly lashed out, growing in length to strike like spears at the spot where Itachi had been standing before becoming a flock of birds.

Back in the world as seen by normal senses, Itachi's Sharingan had allowed him to move just the absolute minimum necessary to avoid being impaled by four furry spears.

"To presume I could be beaten by such a low-quality illusion is an insult to my pride as a lily of Higashiyama, **human**."

Yurisa's tails returned to their normal length, and her hands assumed a unique hand seal: ring and pinky fingers touching the palm before placing both hands together in front of her chest, long fingers touching each other.

"For the last time, I must ask you to leave this place at once. Otherwise I will be obligated to retaliate."

Itachi's expression did not change, of course.

In an instant, he estimated the size of her breasts.

Too large to his liking, but not nearly large enough to cause him **actual physical discomfort**.

Were he any other person, he might have considered smiling.

"I guess I will be testing my capacity, after all."

"Ugh…" Kisame shook his head, some distance away. "He's in that mood again."

Noticing Kotonoha was looking at him, he explained. For some reason.

"He's forgotten about the mission. Now he just wants to fight. Not that I can blame him, though."

"Hmm…"

Kotonoha's weapon being smaller and lighter, it was far easier for her to draw it. Kisame side-stepped to his left to avoid the woman's rising slash and then reached for his Samehada. Gripping it with his right hand, he immediately brought it down upon Kotonoha, who grunted at the exertion of stopping the vertical swipe with her free hand.

"Heh!" Kisame smirked. "You just lost your left hand!"

He finished the attack, but the sharp scales of his large weapon only released ice flakes instead of ripped skin and blood.

Kotonoha's left hand was protected by a gauntlet of frozen water.

"Tch!" Kisame voiced his disappointment.

The fox-woman leaned forward to unleash a wide arc aimed at beheading the S-rank missing-nin, but Kisame only had to move his sword, its tip still resting on the roof tiles, to catch the incoming weapon. She then grabbed the edge of Samehada with her armored hand to support herself as she jumped over it to roundhouse kick Kisame's face.

The tall man grabbed the incoming foot by the ankle and threw the woman away, but Kotonoha knew how to fall properly. With a proper distance between them, both combatants ensured their grip on their respective weapons and assumed a proper stance. That's when Kisame realized this huge-breasted fox lady was fighting him with a hatchet.

"That's…different," he muttered, but he still chuckled. "Hmm, yes, I remember now."

Kotonoha frowned.

"…why I stick around Itachi." Kisame's grin revealed rows of awfully saw-shaped teeth. "I remember now."

Kotonoha paid no attention to those words. Her eyes fell on the fireball for a short moment.

_Naruto…_

* * *

As expected, his sight was blurry as he opened his eyes.

"Huh…bwuh…?"

Naruto rubbed his eyes with his right hand, hoping to focus his visual field. He could feel he was resting on a hard, flat surface, and then there were these darkened, aged walls…was he inside the seal again?

He frowned.

No.

This was someplace else.

It smelled different; old. Awfully old.

And it was dry.

Thus, it was a different place. But, still…

Nostalgia?

No, he did not feel nostalgic. But the place felt familiar. Like, he belonged to this place…but, at the same time, he did not want to be here.

How strange.

"Ugh…" Naruto groaned as he struggled to stand up. He felt awfully weak, and his chest hurt like never before. And it was not some shitty emo thing like the pain of rejection. He had not experienced that one lately, admittedly. It was the advantage of spending his days in the company of a bunch of over-affectionate foxgirls.

"So, where am I…huh?"

It was hard not to notice. And it was hard to look at anything else.

It was huge.

It was a door.

The room was at least as large as the house which housed Sayuri, and it looked as ancient as it smelled.

It was a completely non-descript room, except for the gigantic door, and there were apparently no other ways into or out of the room. No windows, either. It was faintly illuminated, but Naruto could not see any obvious light source.

It was an odd place.

Naruto examined the gargantuan stone door, as tall as the bars of Sayuri's prison. Countless symbols were engraved on its surface; runes beyond his comprehension. And…

"…did they just move?"

He looked intently.

No, of course they did not move. They were engraved on the rock.

He blinked. Then, his eyes widened.

They moved!

Every single time he blinked, different symbols covered the gigantic slabs of stone. Or maybe the same symbols arranged in a different way; there was no way he could tell.

Naruto's shoulders slumped down, but he resisted taking a step back.

"Creepy…huh?"

He had put his hands in his pants' pockets, and the fingers of his right hand came into contact with something.

"What…?"

Idly noticing he did not have his weapon bag and holsters, he reached for whatever was in his pants' pocket.

"Huh…?" He frowned. "Wha…"

He blinked when a stray beam of reflected light threatened to blind him.

"What…is this…?"

An amorphous silver stone gleamed ominously on his right hand.

* * *

**CHAPTER 19 END**


End file.
